Breaking down inter-jurisdictional regulatory barriers (closed)

Consultation has concluded

The Government of Canada works with provinces and territories and other jurisdictions to reduce unnecessary regulatory barriers to trade and competitiveness, while continuing to protect the health and safety of citizens and the environment. This includes working with other governments to:

  • Adopt international standards
  • Harmonize or align regulations
  • Share information and experiences
  • Reduce unnecessary regulatory differences
  • Eliminate duplicative requirements and processes

Canada participates in a number of regulatory cooperation tables to help accomplish these goals. These tables include:

  • Canadian Free Trade Agreement Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table (RCT)
  • Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC)
  • Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Regulatory Cooperation Forum (RCF)
  • Agile Nations (AN) Regulatory Cooperation Network (consisting of Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Denmark, Singapore, Italy, and the United Arab Emirates)

To learn more about the tables and explore their workplan items, please visit the regulatory cooperation page.

In addition, Canada participates in other global regulatory cooperation efforts such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the World Trade Organization.

Regulatory cooperation efforts are voluntary efforts undertaken between jurisdictions.


Share your thoughts

We are seeking input from Canadian organizations and individuals on:

  • Opportunities to align and cooperate on regulations with other governments and regulatory barriers impeding trade such as unnecessary regulatory differences, divergent standards, duplicative product testing or approval processes, overlapping inspection, or certification procedures across jurisdictions.
  • New challenges or opportunities for regulatory alignment and cooperation to respond to changing issues, technologies and needs as we look towards recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Potential future workplan items to inform Canada’s position on the regulatory cooperation tables.
  • Issues and ideas for how to improve the security and resiliency of Canadian supply chains.

Please share your views using the tools listed below by June 27, 2022.

Sharing your views using this platform provides an opportunity to engage in conversation with others, however, if you would prefer to share your views using email, please feel free to email us at regulation-reglementation@tbs-sct.gc.ca.


For assistance

Visit the Let's Talk Federal Regulations 101 Page to learn how to use the platform, register and provide comments, and how the feedback will be reported back. For technical assistance, visit Technical Support.

The Government of Canada works with provinces and territories and other jurisdictions to reduce unnecessary regulatory barriers to trade and competitiveness, while continuing to protect the health and safety of citizens and the environment. This includes working with other governments to:

  • Adopt international standards
  • Harmonize or align regulations
  • Share information and experiences
  • Reduce unnecessary regulatory differences
  • Eliminate duplicative requirements and processes

Canada participates in a number of regulatory cooperation tables to help accomplish these goals. These tables include:

  • Canadian Free Trade Agreement Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table (RCT)
  • Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC)
  • Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Regulatory Cooperation Forum (RCF)
  • Agile Nations (AN) Regulatory Cooperation Network (consisting of Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Denmark, Singapore, Italy, and the United Arab Emirates)

To learn more about the tables and explore their workplan items, please visit the regulatory cooperation page.

In addition, Canada participates in other global regulatory cooperation efforts such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the World Trade Organization.

Regulatory cooperation efforts are voluntary efforts undertaken between jurisdictions.


Share your thoughts

We are seeking input from Canadian organizations and individuals on:

  • Opportunities to align and cooperate on regulations with other governments and regulatory barriers impeding trade such as unnecessary regulatory differences, divergent standards, duplicative product testing or approval processes, overlapping inspection, or certification procedures across jurisdictions.
  • New challenges or opportunities for regulatory alignment and cooperation to respond to changing issues, technologies and needs as we look towards recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Potential future workplan items to inform Canada’s position on the regulatory cooperation tables.
  • Issues and ideas for how to improve the security and resiliency of Canadian supply chains.

Please share your views using the tools listed below by June 27, 2022.

Sharing your views using this platform provides an opportunity to engage in conversation with others, however, if you would prefer to share your views using email, please feel free to email us at regulation-reglementation@tbs-sct.gc.ca.


For assistance

Visit the Let's Talk Federal Regulations 101 Page to learn how to use the platform, register and provide comments, and how the feedback will be reported back. For technical assistance, visit Technical Support.

Tell us how regulatory cooperation efforts have helped you

We would like to hear how Canada's regulatory cooperation efforts have helped to address challenges faced by you/your organization?

Current and past workplan items are found at the following links:

  • Federal-interprovincial workplan items are found here.   
  • Canada-US workplan items are found here.
  • Canada-EU workplan items are found here.
  • Agile Nations work program items are found here.

Your input will help us to understand the impact of these initiatives.

Thank you for sharing your story with us.
CLOSED: Consultation has concluded

  • Regulatory cooperation to reduce costs and facilitate trade is more important now than ever

    by Kristin_Willemsen_FHCP, almost 2 years ago

    Business is not back to normal. Food Health and Consumer Products of Canada’s members manufacturer and distribute the vast majority of everyday essential products found in every refrigerator, pantry, cupboard and medicine cabinet in Canada. From the cross-border blockades to the BC floods to the impact of Omicron to chronic labour shortages, our members have faced unprecedented challenges to ensure that Canadians have access to essential everyday products.

    With Canada’s inflation rate now at a 30-year high, it is not surprising that cost pressures are a huge challenge, posing risks to food security. FHCP members have told us that overall... Continue reading

  • RCC workplans and improved standards alignment

    by khou, about 2 years ago
    Under the previous RCC workplans, alignment was improved for a number of vehicle safety standards (e.g. CMVSS 114) and some new harmonized standards were introduced (e.g. CMVSS 214 and 226), resulting in cost savings or costs avoidance versus those that would be imposed by unique requirements such as increased vehicle development and design costs, diversion of limited engineering resources, increased manufacturing costs due to additional hardware and tooling requirements, reductions in plant capacity utilization, unique certification, and potentially reduce model selection, as well as administrative burden associated with tracking regulator differences.

  • Standards support regulatory alignment

    by dmorton, about 2 years ago
    CSA Group has been involved in a number of RCT initiatives to-date that have been ratified, all of which reference our related standards:

    - Canadian Registration Numbers for Pressure Equipment

    - Occupational health and safety for Head Protection, Foot Protection, Eye Protection, Hearing Protection, Fall Protection, and First Aid Kits

    We are also currently paying attention to the following RCT initiatives that impact our standards and codes, or our educational capabilities:

    - Canadian Electrical Code

    - PPE

    - Gasfitter/gas technician licensing/certification

    We will also pay attention to the deferred topic of an Occupational Health and Safety Management System, and a... Continue reading

  • Regulatory Cooperation in an emergency

    by Kristin_Willemsen_FHCP, about 2 years ago

    Canada's many opportunities to consult on regulatory cooperation over the years were foundational to support Health Canada's rapid and effective pandemic response.

    These consultations to review the full regulatory stock and address specific irritants to regulatory cooperation that limit trade, innovation and competition served as a well-researched menu of meaningful, stakeholder-supported options for Health Canada to draw upon during this emergency. Regulatory cooperation concepts were implemented as temporary regulatory measures to speed market access for both existing and new health products in the face of the pandemic. For example, recognizing foreign decisions, inspections and testing helped increase imports to help... Continue reading