Nova Scotia waters down plans to attract workers, showing limits of its ambitions to ease trade barriers - The Globe and Mail

Nova Scotia's Amended Legislation

Nova Scotia initially introduced legislation to streamline interprovincial trade and labor mobility, aiming to remove red tape for out-of-province workers. This was met with resistance from professional bodies who worried about a lack of regulatory oversight.

Concerns and Amendments

Professional licensing bodies raised concerns that the initial bill would remove their authority to regulate workers relocating to Nova Scotia, creating a regulatory gap and potentially endangering public safety. Consequently, the government amended the legislation to maintain licensing requirements within Nova Scotia, while stipulating a 10-business-day approval timeframe.

Criticisms and Existing Agreements

Some argued the initial legislation addressed a non-existent problem, citing the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) which already facilitates labor mobility and mutual recognition of licenses among provinces. The amendments, while addressing some regulator concerns, haven't fundamentally changed how these bodies operate, suggesting the original bill wasn't necessary.

• Alec Stratford (Nova Scotia College of Social Workers) described existing internal free trade laws as primarily 'performative'.
• Pal Mann (Engineers Nova Scotia) highlighted the amended bill's potential to lower standards due to varying requirements across provinces for professional qualifications.

Despite the amendments, the Nova Scotia government maintains that it's crucial to remove barriers to interprovincial trade and labor mobility, stating that changes were made in response to stakeholder feedback.