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HALIFAX – The New Brunswick and Nova Scotia governments are creating a joint office to cut the red tape and harmonize business regulations.

Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil says the goal of the Joint Regulatory and Service Effectiveness Office is to enable businesses to operate more efficiently between the provinces and foster economic growth.

“We want to become one of the most competitive and prosperous business climates in Canada,” he said. “To do that we have to remove obstacles and increase regulatory predictability so businesses are confident in making investments in our region.”

New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant says it makes sense for smaller provinces to work together as sluggish economies face the same challenges.

“Many New Brunswick companies do business in Nova Scotia and vice-versa,” he said. “By reducing and better aligning regulations in both provinces, we will help create the conditions for economic growth and job creation.

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“New Brunswick and Nova Scotia may be among the smaller provinces in Canada, but by working together, we can achieve more for businesses and families in the Atlantic region.”

The office will be staffed by government employees seconded from existing departments. Co-leaders will be appointed for the new office in the near future.

Armour Transportation, which does daily business between the two provinces, said a big change it will see is the ability for is long combination vehicles to transport dangerous goods in both provinces — before, only single trailers were permitted to do so in Nova Scotia.

The move will save money and improve logistics according to Ralston Armour, executive vice-president for the company. He said people loading the trailers wouldn’t have to be concerned about regulatory differences between the two provinces.

Jordi Morgan, vice-president, Atlantic Canada for the Canadian Federation for Independent Business, said the streamlining will be a positive for business.

“One of the problems has been when you have different regulations in each province, you run into barriers, problems…everything that goes along with those regulations,” he said.

Under the memorandum of understanding signed by the premiers on Tuesday, the office will have a three-year mandate to reduce obstacles to business growth.

“We have to work together to face the challenges before us,” Gallant said.

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With files from The Canadian Press