On behalf of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), Jasmin Guenette, its vice president of national affairs, expressed support for senate bill S‑239 as a “constructive step” to help improve internal trade across the country.
In a statement on CFIB’s website, Guenette acknowledged that bill S-239 will not remove every interprovincial trade barrier remaining.
However, he explained that the bill adds a significant accountability mechanism to help federal, provincial, and territorial governments address the Competition Bureau’s recommendations to eliminate internal barriers to the flow of goods, services, and people within the country.
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“Greater transparency and accountability in how governments address these barriers will help ensure meaningful progress and keep internal trade reform on the national agenda,” Guenette said in the statement.
He noted that needless internal trade barriers continue to:
- Increase the costs of small and medium-sized businesses
- Decrease their growth opportunities
- Limit their access to talent and markets
- Raise prices for consumers
- Reduce consumer choice
“CFIB believes S‑239 can complement ongoing efforts under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement and Canadian Mutual Recognition Agreement by encouraging governments to act on commitments and deliver real results for Canadian businesses,” Guenette said in the statement.
On CFIB’s behalf, he encouraged policymakers to drive this momentum further and strive to achieve additional reforms for more open, competitive, and efficient domestic markets.
As the country’s association of small and medium-sized businesses, CFIB has 103,000 members spanning all industries and regions. CFIB aims to help business owners thrive by promoting policy developments at all government levels, offering expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings.
More on bill S-239
According to LEGISinfo, Senator Martin Klyne sponsored bill S-239, An Act to amend the Competition Act. With its second reading in progress, the bill completed its first reading on Oct. 30, 2025.
Per the bill’s current text, it will amend s. 10.1 of the Competition Act, 1985, by allowing the competition commissioner to recommend to a responsible federal or provincial institution that an internal trade barrier — including through an Act, a regulation, a rule, an order, or a by-law — unduly impacts the state of competition in a market or industry subject to an inquiry or in any related market or industry in Canada.
The bill requires the head of a federal institution to respond to a recommendation within 120 days. The bill allows the head of a provincial institution to respond to such a recommendation within 120 days.
The bill requires the commissioner to publish the response received from the federal institution’s head or the provincial institution’s head on a publicly available website.
If the head of a provincial institution does not respond, the commissioner should publish a notice to this effect on a publicly available website.