A Canada-first policy for the Town of LaSalle.
Council agreed Tuesday night to explore and implement, where possible, procurement strategies that provide an advantage for Canadian businesses, especially local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), while maintaining fair and competitive bidding practices.
The decision comes amid threats of tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Deputy Mayor Michael Akpata said it's about time that the town implement this policy.
"I'm disappointed that it took an entity other than us to push us to clean our own house and to take care of our own people," Akpata said. "The push has happened, we can't sit and whine about it, that's not what we do. We act, we act decisively and we make economic decisions based on supporting us and our people."
Councillor Mark Carrick called the situation sad.
"Hopefully it gets resolved sooner than later but what we see, and what's going on is very scary, so absolutely 100 per cent support this," Carrick said.
Mayor Crystal Meloche said the town will send a request to Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to work with municipalities to ensure that Canadian procurement policies prioritize Canadian-made goods and services.
"Urging their support for a robust Canadian procurement policy, that emphasizes job creation, the growth of local businesses, and Canadian industry," Meloche said.
Moving forward, the town has agreed to prioritize the use of sustainable and innovative Canadian products that align with environmental and technological goals, in line with national policies addressing climate change and economic diversification.