Taking a toll: Scrapping bridge, ferry fees would be a 'big win' for businesses on P.E.I.
'It's one of the most visible trade barriers but it is an important one,' says policy analyst
Prince Edward Island businesses contend with many barriers when it comes to selling their products in other provinces, but they run into the first one even before their truckloads of product leave Island soil.
Maybe not for much longer, though.
Premier Rob Lantz said this week that eliminating the cost of crossing the Northumberland Strait to the mainland by bridge or ferry is more possible now than it ever has been.
Island business owner Kevin Murphy agrees it's time for Confederation Bridge tolls and ferry fees to go.
"Whether it's just us travelling to Nova Scotia or New Brunswick for business or whether it's truckers — there are thousands and thousands of truckers that cross that bridge every year, so there's no question it would be a big win," said Murphy, who owns Murphy Hospitality Group.
"Absolutely, the timing is perfect with the [impending federal] election, but also the bigger picture that is happening in the world, especially the U.S. and… the threat of tariffs."
Lantz lobbied Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week to eliminate all the tolls to leave P.E.I., in the interest of lowering that particular interprovincial trade barrier, and said his pitch seemed well-received by the prime minister.
Trudeau plans to set up a meeting between the premier and federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc to discuss the possibility.
"Minister LeBlanc took note of the comments formulated by Premier Lantz during yesterday's First Ministers' Meeting regarding the removal of tolls on the Confederation Bridge and the Northumberland ferry," a spokesperson for Leblanc said in a statement to CBC News Thursday.
"He looks forward to engaging with Premier Lantz in the coming days on ways our two governments can work together to make it easier to trade within Canada and strengthen Canada's economic resilience."
'It adds up over time'
Premiers across the country have been looking at ways to lower interprovincial trade barriers in an effort to boost the domestic economy after tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.
This week, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston introduced a bill to reduce those barriers for provinces that enact similar legislation.
Murphy's businesses includes hotels and restaurants around the Maritimes, as well as the P.E.I. Brewing Company in Charlottetown.
While he said the interprovincial concessions may be a small step, he thinks combining all the measures being proposed could add up to one big benefit for this province.
"There's hundreds, if not thousands on P.E.I. that would be seeing this as a win in their business," Murphy said. "It could be small, but that's what we are on P.E.I. — we're small businesses."
Business group lobbying too
For year, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has also been calling for the reduction or removal of bridge and ferry fees.
Frederic Gionet, a CFIB senior policy analyst, said the group remains "100 per cent" behind the idea.
"We do believe that it is a trade barrier. It is something that is very unique that small businesses in P.E.I. and people and professional services have to deal with when they get in or off the Island, import or export goods, it is always there," Gionet told CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin.
"It's one of the most visible trade barriers but it is an important one," he said, before specifically citing the cost for a two-axle vehicle to leave the Island via the bridge.
"That $50.25, and more so if it's commercial, it adds up over time."
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With files from Wayne Thibodeau and CBC News: Compass