Saskatchewan drops license plate ban against Alberta; both sides offer reasons

Alberta’s minister of economic development and trade was expecting a phone call with his Saskatchewan counterpart Monday but instead got an email hours before the license plate spat between the provinces was scheduled to go to arbitration.

A letter informed Deron Bilous that Saskatchewan would be ending its December decision to ban vehicles with Alberta license plates from its work sites.

“There’s a reason they dropped this at the 11th hour,” Bilous said, pointing out going to arbitration would likely result in a trade panel imposing monetary fines. “Saskatchewan knew from day one that this was non-compliant.”

The letter by Saskatchewan trade minister Steven Bonk pointed to Bilous’ comments regarding an upcoming hearing dispute on the NDP’s beer pricing policies and that if an initial ruling stood, that the NDP would make changes.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall referenced the same issue on Twitter.

“The recent confirmation of AB’s willingness to concede and reverse discriminatory beer pricing policies when confirmed on appeal is what we were hoping to see License plate policy is therefore suspended,” Wall said. “We’ll also work together to level playing field for contractors in both provs.”

But while Bilous is happy with Saskatchewan’s decision, he isn’t buying the reasoning, saying the beer issue is going through its own process.

“I was asked earlier if this was a quid pro quo, what did Alberta have to give up? And the answer is nothing,” he said. “This wasn’t a negotiation, Saskatchewan knew that they were in the wrong.”

While Saskatchewan politicians pointed to the beer dispute, they didn’t comment on other original reasons for the ban.

When it was imposed in December, the government said it was because Alberta had implemented similar restrictions, which Bilous and other ministers denied.

Despite the claim, no examples were ever offered and the Lloydminster Construction Association even appeared in a news conference with the NDP government to discuss how the ban would affect workers on both sides of the border.

Bilous hopes all parties can move on, as a January 31 meeting between both sides is still scheduled.

“This isn’t about rubbing it in Saskatchewan’s face, this is about Saskatchewan doing the right thing, which we’re very happy that they have,” he said. “This is a win for workers and companies on both sides.”