Ottawa presents plan to provinces to deal with Trump’s tariff threat

The Trudeau government presented a plan to provincial premiers Wednesday afternoon to deal with the tariff threat from President-elect Donald Trump.

This plan is broken down into five points and aims to strengthen security at the Canadian-American border, a government source familiar with the matter told -.

The strategy includes measures to strengthen fentanyl detection, including increasing the Border Services Agency’s capacity to test at points of entry.

Better coordination between police forces as well as better sharing of information on the borders are also among the priorities targeted by Ottawa.

The federal government also wants to invest in new equipment to increase surveillance capabilities.

In addition to equipping itself with drones, helicopters and anti-drone technologies, Ottawa is raising the possibility of expanding the mandate of the Border Services Agency so that its agents can inspect packages intended for export.

Minimizing unnecessary influxes at the border is also one of the measures that the Trudeau government wishes to put in place. For example, it could repeal travel back and forth to the United States to renew Canadian work permits.

Costs associated with this plan were not provided.

Donald Trump has said he will impose 25% tariffs on Canada as soon as he takes office next January. He plans to maintain these tariffs until Canada strengthens its border to prevent the flow of fentanyl and illegal migrants into the United States.

“Positive feedback”

We shared details of the border plan with provincial and territorial premiers and received positive feedback. We were encouraged by their desire to contributesaid Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc during a press briefing following the meeting.

They made suggestions for provincial personnel, equipment and vehicles that can support the work of the RCMP and the Border Services Agencycontinued Mr. LeBlanc.

The idea of ​​working together was very encouraging for us. We will incorporate suggestions from the provinces to finalize our border plan. One of the priorities will be to share this plan with the Trump administration as well as with Canadians in the days to come.

Mobilization of the provinces

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland spoke of the involvement of provincial premiers in negotiations with the Americans.

We all work very hard to explain the value of this economic relationship [entre le Canada et les États-Unis] to our American counterparts… The Prime Minister [Trudeau] began the meeting by thanking the prime ministers for their proactivity and efficiency. We take a team Canada approachshe said.

Several prime ministers are in favor of a robust response. And some are very proactive in protecting products that come from their province and are exported to the United States. It’s part of the Canadian responsesaid Ms. Freeland, who recalled the importance for Canada to be united and strong in the face of this challenge.

After granting an interview to Fox News on Tuesday evening, Ontario Premier Doug Ford made another appearance on American television on Wednesday.

In an interview with CNBC, he said that Mexico had become a gateway for Chinese products and suggested that it be left out of the renegotiation of the Canada-United States Agreement -Mexico (CUSMA).

If Mexico imports Chinese automobiles and parts and puts a Mexican label on them to send them back to the United States and Canada, it does not deserve a place at our common tablea dit M. Ford.

Tuesday evening, in an interview with Fox News, he said he was ready to take the plane today to meet Donald Trump. If the president (designate) has a few minutes, I will be there in a snap.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith met with the governor of Nevada in recent hours to discuss energy, technology and trade.

As for Quebec Prime Minister François Legault, he had the opportunity to plead his case to Donald Trump last week in Paris, on the sidelines of the celebrations for the reopening of Notre-Dame-de Paris Cathedral.