The New West Partnership Agreement plans finalized this past week will remove trade barriers, and it will have a definite impact for us in Portage la Prairie. Portage la Prairie MLA Ian Wishart says it's huge but will take time to fully make itself known.

"The impact will be huge, but it may take a little while to show. We are a trading province and a trading nation. We want to maintain as much trade with our neighbours in particular because we do a huge amount of business with our neighbours on a regular basis. Being part of the New West Partnership provides a great opportunity for a number of businesses including some in the Portage area."

He notes trucking firms will definitely be affected in our city, as he says he cannot recount how many times issues arose for trucking between provinces. Wishart says the agreement will minimize that, and expects it to eliminate that altogether. He says Ag producers will have some degree of impact, but most regulations for commodities like that will remain intact for quite some time before changes occur.

Wishart explains who it will affect rural communities in Manitoba in general.

"I think it will eventually open up our marketplace a little but more. There are advantages to group-buying for the province when working with other provinces on pharmaceutical, and things like that. It will help in the cost of healthcare from which we all benefit. Even some firms that build or supply -- RTM Homes, for instance, will be directly impacted. Some bidding already was restricted on some of the RTMs. If you weren't part of the New West Partnership you couldn't bid on them. That would certainly have an impact on some businesses in the Portage area. I know there are firms that build or supply to these marketplaces. We're talking about across Western Canada with about $400 billion in terms of the economy, so it's huge."

It also has some impact on labour market mobility. If you're an apprentice or journeyman here in Manitoba, you will get recognition in other provinces. At the moment it's not that big of an issue because the oil industry has been quiet these days. But Wishart says there was a time when labour market mobility was an issue. He adds a lot of people went to Alberta needing the recognition of their apprenticeship or their journeyman papers. This will help on that.