With the prospect of a blanket exemption from Buy American policies now looking unlikely, Canada is seeking a deal that would allow Canadian firms to take part in the Biden administration’s green energy push, said Canada’s chief trade negotiator.
“The prospects of us getting a complete exemption from the Buy America provisions is something that’s not likely to be politically possible in the U.S.,” Steve Verheul, chief trade negotiator, told a parliamentary committee today.
Verheul told MPs that Canada is looking for sector-specific exemptions in negotiations with the U.S. He said the most likely area where the two countries could work together is on green energy and other green initiatives.
“That’s the major focus that we’re looking at because that’s, I think, where we can very easily align with the U.S., demonstrate that those markets, like many others, are very integrated and that we can produce a lot of those types of goods and services together,” he said.
Canada has the advantage, Verheul added, of being a much more reliable supplier to the U.S. than other countries might be when it comes to green energy investments.
Watch: Steve Verheul on the possibility of a blanket exemption from Buy American
Canada’s Chief Trade Negotiator Steve Verheul says “it’s not likely politically possible” for Canada to be completely exempt from the U.S. Buy American policy. 1:10
That hope for a lucrative exemption from the U.S. on clean technology has been stoked by recent developments.
Biden administration officials have on multiple occasions referred to Canada as a partner in building a clean energy economy.
The president’s top climate envoy, former secretary of state John Kerry, delivered that message again this afternoon.
Speaking to a virtual forum hosted by the Canadian government, Kerry said Canada and the U.S. are connected on climate issues and both stand to gain economically from the pursuit of net-zero emissions.
“We know that our fates are tied on this issue,” Kerry said in a video released as part of Great Lakes Day 2021. “The United States and Canada face similar climate impacts in the Arctic, along our coasts and throughout the entire continent.
“Our policies are also deeply tied — we share an energy system and a vehicle supply chain. We also stand to both benefit, greatly, from the economic opportunity of building a clean energy future. The United States and Canada can, together, create millions of good, high-paying jobs to reach the net-zero future.”
The cost to Canada
Asked by MPs how much Buy American might cost the Canadian economy, Verheul said he wasn’t sure because Canada hasn’t seen details of Washington’s infrastructure plan.
Canada supplies steel, aluminum and concrete products to the U.S. that the American economy cannot produce itself, Verheul said, expressing optimism that the Biden administration’s willingness to consult with Canada will provide opportunities.
“What we’re trying to do on Buy American is make sure that we have the proper kinds of relationships with the new U.S. administration, that we can have these kinds of conversations,” he said.
“They have opened that door … and there’s an openness to make sure that they don’t take actions that are going to cause damage to us that we would certainly have difficulty with.”
Asked what the impact on the Canadian economy would be if the U.S. offered Canada no exemptions from Buy American, Verheul was less optimistic.
“If they did have a strict Buy America it would be costly because we supply a lot of the goods that go into the products that they are looking for,” he said.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
