Everywhere and always, trade barriers are bad in the sense that they raise the real cost of producing goods and services, they reduce competition and they encourage monopoly, all of which are bad for the consumer, for productivity and for the economy. Yes, everywhere and always, pulling those barriers down is critical.
Having said that, our constitution is set up to give powers of regulation, in many of the important areas, to the provinces. To the extent that those provinces individually want to exercise those powers in a way that creates barriers, it is very difficult.
Historically, I have to say, ever since Justice Haldane and the JCPC back in the 1890s, the federal power to regulate trade and maintain that balance has been eroded over time. The trade and commerce power, which initially the fathers of Confederation viewed as being a very powerful, transcendental power, has been eroded by our courts.
We have ourselves to blame for it, but it's not something the federal government alone can deal with because the regulatory powers that create the barriers are provincial powers.