CCA to follow up on West’s trade barrier concerns
The Canadian Construction Association has committed to following up with member associations in Saskatchewan about the province’s use of clauses in tender and construction contract documents that give preferential treatment to Saskatchewan companies.
MHCA, the British Columbia Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association and the Alberta Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Association had a meeting, via Zoom, with the CCA this week, to seek the national body’s help in getting those clauses removed.
Tender and contract documents award points, for example, to bidding companies that employ Saskatchewan residents on the project, and impose significant penalties on companies that fail to meet employment thresholds.
Those “preferential treatment” clauses offend a number of trade agreements that Saskatchewan has signed on to, including the New West Partnership. Companies that are resident outside of the province have lost competitions for infrastructure contracts even though their bids were significantly lower than the Saskatchewan company that won.
The three other Western heavy construction associations looked to CCA to assert its long-held position supporting free trade generally, and in particular the free movement of goods, services and labour across provincial borders.
“There is real harm to all economies when trade barriers are constructed, including for the jurisdiction that attempts to skirt free trade agreement provisions,” MHCA President Chris Lorenc said.
“Saskatchewan taxpayers are shouldering higher costs for infrastructure projects, for example.”
As well, once trade barriers start to rise, the natural reaction – if it is not possible to have them removed through political persuasion – is for other provinces to adopt similar measures, Lorenc noted. Canada, as a whole, suffers when free movement of goods, services and workers is barred.
The CCA has committed to following up with the MHCA, BCRB&HCA and ARHCA on the issue in the coming weeks.
