New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island have signed a memorandum of understanding to improve trade and labour mobility.
It is the fourth MOU New Brunswick has signed, following similar memorandums with Manitoba, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Premier Susan Holt said it is another step to creating opportunities for our people and products to shine across the country.
“Prince Edward Island is our much-loved neighbour, and we look forward to having more co-operation across the Confederation Bridge,” Holt said in a news release on Wednesday.
P.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz said the two provinces have always worked closely together and this agreement builds on that relationship.
The memorandum will make it easier for people to move, work and do business across our shared region, he added.
Holt told reporters last week that New Brunswickers should expect to hear announcements about even more MOUs being signed very shortly.
“There’s a real willingness among the premiers to continue to do this at the same time as we wanna see that [Canadian Free Trade Agreement] get over the finish line and have that really supersede as the ultimate free trade agreement for Canada,” she said.
“The deadline for the CFTA is at the end of this year, and I imagine by then we’ll probably be in a place where we will have concluded agreements with pretty much every province and territory by that point as well.”
Several amendments were passed during the last legislative session aimed at improving labour mobility and reducing internal barriers in the alcoholic beverages sector.
That includes allowing eligible workers from another province or territory to begin working in regulated professions during the registration process, allowing New Brunswickers to participate in the direct-to-consumer sales of alcoholic beverages and eliminating personal exemption limits for liquor.
Officials said regulatory changes are currently in development to allow for the changes.
