Essex County Council is being asked to approve the development of a 'Buy Canadian Procurement Strategy' in the face of tariff threats from the United States.
When the council meets Wednesday, they will discuss a motion that calls on administration to examine the viability of a 'Buy Canadian Procurement Strategy.'
Part of the strategy would also clearly define the term 'Canadian Content' for the purposes of procurement of both goods and services.
On Feb. 3, U.S. President Donald Trump delayed a plan to slap 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods entering the U.S., putting a 30-day pause on the threat until early March, but the threat has not disappeared.
LaSalle Deputy Mayor Mike Akpata, a member of the county council, is behind the motion, which is like the one approved by the LaSalle council on Feb. 11.
Akpata says we have been shaken alert.
"I think that we have had a great relationship with our neighbour over the fence, if I call it that way. But as soon as our neighbour starts to throw stuff at us or in our backyard, if this was in our own home, we change our views," he says.
Akpata says we as a municipality have to spend tax dollars responsibly, but we also have to do something to make sure we demonstrate the economic circumstance we're in.
"What makes it difficult is that as the province of Ontario and Canadians, we will adhere to any of the trade agreements we currently have as opposed to some of the trade partners that currently are not," he says. "The question is, can the administration come up with a procurement policy that doesn't violate any of our other trade practices, is responsible, fiscally practical, and executable?"
Despite the pause, Trump is still threatening to impose steep tariffs on imports from Canada and other countries.
He plans to impose automobile duties around April 12 but he hasn't said which countries they would target or how high they would be.
The president also announced last week a plan to impose what he called "reciprocal tariffs" as early as April-U.S. duties to match the tax rates that other countries charge on U.S. imports.
Trump has already signed executive orders to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., including Canadian products, starting March 12.