Senator Henkel: Mr. Gallant, thank you for joining us today. I’m delighted to see you again, and it is nice to see that you are as passionate as ever.

When you were premier of New Brunswick, you most likely faced challenges regarding barriers to internal trade, which often impede collaboration between provinces and territories. What types of obstacles stood in the way of implementing some of your projects?

In your experience, what specific measures would help SMEs and entrepreneurs in rural areas — who are often ill-equipped to bid on large tenders — take greater advantage of the strategies targeted by Bill C-5?

Mr. Gallant: It’s a pleasure to see you again, senator. I would say there are plenty of examples, if I can be very frank with you. When I was in office, I was one of the premiers who signed the Canadian Free Trade Agreement. Honestly, I’m rather frustrated to see that there are still regulatory details that are hindering the mobility and exchange of goods among the provinces and territories, goods that Canadians are entitled to. This serves as a reminder that, although we were all at the table, ready to sign and work together, there were still little things that had to be addressed. Canadians are ready to move forward with regulatory harmonization.

I think it’s very important for SMEs that we harmonize regulations because it enables them to do business in other provinces. For example, if the regulations were harmonized, an SME in New Brunswick could sells its products in Ontario and Quebec. It is easier for the big companies in New Brunswick to find ways to mitigate the problems, meet the challenges and absorb the costs associated with non-harmonized regulations than it is for SMEs. SMEs even have a hard time understanding the differences between regulations. I think that this bill will help all companies and SMEs in that regard.