The Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) entered into force on July 1, 1995, and includes government departments, agencies, commissions and

Crown corporations Crown corporation () is the term used in Canada for organizations that are structured like private companies, but are directly and wholly owned by the government. Crown corporations have a long-standing presence in the country, and have a sign ...

of the 10

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

s, the three territories and the federal government. The Agreement on Internal Trade is an intergovernmental agreement between the

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

and the provinces and territories to reduce and eliminate barriers to free movement of people,

goods In economics, goods are anything that is good, usually in the sense that it provides welfare or utility to someone. Alan V. Deardorff, 2006. ''Terms Of Trade: Glossary of International Economics'', World Scientific. Online version: Deardorffs ...

, services and

investment Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...

s within Canada. Under the Agreement, these governments have agreed to apply the principles of non-discrimination, transparency, openness and accessibility with respect to their procurement opportunities and those of their municipalities and municipal organizations, school boards and publicly funded academic, health and social services entities. The Agreement covers only those tenders where the procurement value exceeds a specified amount. Currently, the thresholds require that all institutions in the MASH sector (Municipal/Academic/Social Services/Healthcare) tender for public bidding contracts worth $100,000 or more, or in the case of construction, $250,000 or more. The agreement mandates the "equal" treatment of people, goods and services anywhere in Canada. That means businesses in any province or territory are to be considered for procurement bids, eliminating "buy local" policies. There are some exceptions in the deal. Provinces or municipalities can still designate sole-source suppliers in particular circumstances. Its ultimate goal is to eliminate barriers to trade, investments and product mobility.

External links

AIT Introduction

Canada’s Problem: Domestic Trade Barriers
1995 in Canadian law Economy of Canada Economic history of Canada Federalism in Canada {{Canada-gov-stub

See also

External links