Free Trade Federalism: Negotiating the Canadian Agreement on Internal Trade

Synopsis

The Pressures of Regional as Well as Global Free Trade Are Crossing Ever more deeply into the fabric of Canadian federalism. Based on interviews with key negotiators, and set in the entwined histories of trade policy. industrial and regional policy and federal-provincial policy Doern and MacDonald provide an integrated account of the negotiations that in 1993-1994 led to the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) between the federal government, the provinces, and both territorial governments. The authors examine both the central negotiations and the trade-offs among the federal government and key clusters of provinces and sectoral representatives in fields such as investment, regional policy, procurement. the environment, and resources. Arguing that AIT and FTA/NAFTA should be seen as the fourth and fifth pillars of Canada's bedrock institutions, joining the parliamentary system, federalism, and Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the book positions AIT as a significant achievement, signalling important changes in both federalism and policy formation. They argue that key issues regarding Canada's social union have yet to be confronted but will increasingly occur as the AIT is built upon.