Atlantic Provinces should join Western free trade deal

The recent New Brunswick court decision acquitting Gérard Comeau portends well for free trade in Canada. According to the judge, the law that Comeau was accused of breaking — transporting liquor into New Brunswick — violates the constitutional prescription of free trade between the provinces, going back to 1867.

Unfortunately, it is not only restricted trading of alcohol that stands in the way of the founders’ dream. Many Atlantic Canadians know well that when it comes to doing business across provincial boundaries, discrepancies in laws and regulations can be nightmarish. A business that works in more than one province has to contend with unnecessarily varying rules.

It boggles the mind that four provinces with small populations continue to burden their entrepreneurs. This is why the Joint Office of Regulatory Affairs was set up last autumn, to attempt to resolve at least the more egregious problems among New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and P.E.I. It has made some progress, with mutual rec…