Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act (S.C. 2025, c. 2, s. 2)

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act.

Marginal note:Definitions

2 The following definitions apply in this Act.

federal regulatory body

federal regulatory body means

• The following provision is not in force.

  (a) in relation to a good or service,

  • (i) a body that is empowered under an Act of Parliament to regulate the good or service, or

  • (ii) a body designated by the regulations that regulates the good or service; and

• The following provision is not in force.

  (b) in relation to an occupation,

  • (i) a body that is empowered under an Act of Parliament to issue authorizations to practise the occupation, or

  • (ii) a body designated by the regulations that issues authorizations to practise the occupation. (organisme de réglementation fédéral)

federal requirement

federal requirement means a requirement established under an Act of Parliament or by a federal regulatory body. (exigence fédérale)

Minister

Minister means the member of the King’s Privy Council for Canada designated under section 6. (ministre)

provincial or territorial regulatory body

provincial or territorial regulatory body means

• The following provision is not in force.

  (a) in relation to a good or service,

  • (i) a body that is empowered under an Act of the legislature of a province or territory to regulate the good or service, or

  • (ii) a body designated by the regulations that regulates the good or service; and

• The following provision is not in force.

  (b) in relation to an occupation,

  • (i) a body that is empowered under an Act of the legislature of a province or territory to issue authorizations to practise the occupation, or

  • (ii) a body designated by the regulations that issues authorizations to practise the occupation. (organisme de réglementationprovincial ou territorial)

provincial or territorial requirement

provincial or territorial requirement means a requirement established under an Act of the legislature of a province or territory or by a provincial or territorial regulatory body. (exigence provinciale ou territoriale)

Marginal note:Act and regulations prevail

3 The provisions of this Act and the regulations made under it prevail over the provisions of any other Act of Parliament and any regulations made under any other Act of Parliament to the extent of any conflict between them.

Marginal note:Purpose

4 The purpose of this Act is to promote free trade and labour mobility by removing federal barriers to the interprovincial movement of goods and provision of services and to the movement of labour within Canada while continuing to protect the health, safety and security of Canadians, their social and economic well-being and the environment.

Marginal note:Binding on His Majesty

5 This Act is binding on His Majesty in right of Canada.

Marginal note:Order

6 The Governor in Council may, by order, designate a member of the King’s Privy Council for Canada as the Minister for the purposes of this Act.

Marginal note:Application

7 Sections 8 and 9 apply in respect of a federal requirement only if the federal requirement pertains to

• The following provision is not in force.

  (a) a good or service that is also subject to a provincial or territorial requirement; and

• The following provision is not in force.

  (b) the interprovincial movement of the good or provision of the service.

Marginal note:Goods

• The following provision is not in force.

  8 (1) Subject to the regulations, a good produced, used or distributed in accordance with a provincial or territorial requirement is considered to meet any comparable federal requirement.

• The following provision is not in force.

  Marginal note:Comparable requirements

  (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a provincial or territorial requirement is considered to be comparable to a federal requirement only if

  • The following provision is not in force.

    (a) the requirements are in respect of the same aspect or element of the good;

  • The following provision is not in force.

    (b) the requirements are intended to achieve a similar objective; and

  • The following provision is not in force.

    (c) any conditions set out in the regulations are met.

• The following provision is not in force.

  Marginal note:Decision

  (3) The federal regulatory body responsible for the administration and enforcement of a federal requirement may decide, in accordance with subsection (2), whether a provincial or territorial requirement is comparable to the federal requirement.

Marginal note:Services

• The following provision is not in force.

  9 (1) Subject to the regulations, a service provided in accordance with a provincial or territorial requirement is considered to meet any comparable federal requirement so long as the provincial or territorial requirement continues to apply to the service provider.

• The following provision is not in force.

  Marginal note:Comparable requirements

  (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a provincial or territorial requirement is considered to be comparable to a federal requirement only if

  • The following provision is not in force.

    (a) the requirements are in respect of the same aspect or element of the service;

  • The following provision is not in force.

    (b) the requirements are intended to achieve a similar objective; and

  • The following provision is not in force.

    (c) any conditions set out in the regulations are met.

• The following provision is not in force.

  Marginal note:Decision

  (3) The federal regulatory body responsible for the administration and enforcement of a federal requirement may decide, in accordance with subsection (2), whether a provincial or territorial requirement is comparable to the federal requirement.

Marginal note:Recognition

10 Subject to the regulations, a federal regulatory body must

• The following provision is not in force.

  (a) recognize an authorization to practise an occupation issued by a provincial or territorial regulatory body as comparable to an authorization that the federal regulatory body may issue to practise that occupation; and

• The following provision is not in force.

  (b) on application by the holder of such a provincial or territorial authorization, issue them an authorization to practise that occupation.

Marginal note:Governor in Council

• The following provision is not in force.

  11 (1) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations respecting federal barriers to the interprovincial movement of goods and provision of services and to the movement of labour within Canada, including regulations

  • The following provision is not in force.

    (a) providing for exceptions to subsection 8(1) or 9(1) or section 10;

  • The following provision is not in force.

    (b) imposing obligations, prohibitions, conditions and restrictions for the purposes of any of sections 8 to 10;

  • The following provision is not in force.

    (c) respecting, for the purposes of subsections 8(2) and 9(2), the meaning of the expressions “same aspect or element” and “achieve a similar objective” or any term used in those expressions;

  • The following provision is not in force.

    (d) respecting the meaning of the term “authorization” for the purposes of this Act;

  • The following provision is not in force.

    (e) respecting any transitional matters arising from the coming into force of this Act or of any amendments to it; and

  • The following provision is not in force.

    (f) respecting anything that by this Act is to be provided for by the regulations.

• The following provision is not in force.

  Marginal note:Consultation

  (2) Before recommending a regulation to the Governor in Council under paragraph (1)(a) in relation to a federal requirement or authorization, the Minister must consult the federal regulatory body responsible for the administration and enforcement of the federal requirement or for the issuance of the authorization.

Marginal note:Acts done in good faith

• The following provision is not in force.

  12 (1) Despite any other Act of Parliament, no civil action lies against His Majesty, a servant or agent of the Crown or a federal regulatory body in respect of anything done or omitted to be done, or purported to be done or omitted to be done, in good faith in the course of applying section 8, 9 or 10 or any regulations made for the purposes of any of those sections, including anything in relation to whether provincial or territorial requirements are comparable to federal requirements and the recognition and issuance of authorizations to practise an occupation.

• The following provision is not in force.

  Marginal note:For greater certainty

  (2) For greater certainty, subsection (1) does not apply in respect of applications for judicial review or to proceedings under Chapter Ten of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement.

Marginal note:Review and report

13 Within five years after the day on which this Act comes into force, the Minister must complete a review of this Act and its operation and cause a report on the review to be laid before each House of Parliament.