When it comes to Donald Trump, the one thing you can absolutely count on is that you absolutely cannot count on him.
Just one month ago, the American president officially celebrated the new United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, touting it as “the largest, fairest and most advanced trade deal every reached by any country, and it will bring enormous prosperity.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wisely opted to forego those festivities in Washington, D.C. It’s possible he was aware even then that the ever-fickle Trump was already plotting to launch a new trade war with his northern neighbour.
And that’s what Trump did last Thursday in announcing new tariffs on Canadian aluminum, in violation of the spirit, if not letter, of the new trade deal he so lavishly and recently praised.
While the move will hurt millions of people on both sides of the border, Trump hopes it will help him, his Republican party and their increasingly precarious re-election hopes. How selfish can he get?
Trump’s justification for slapping a 10-per-cent tariff on most Canadian aluminum as of Aug. 16 is, like so many of his other arguments, a rotten fish wrapped in a tissue of lies.
First, he alleges there’s a “surge” in Canadian aluminum entering the U.S. When the two countries resolved a previous trade dispute in 2019, both sides agreed the U.S. could reimpose tariffs on Canadian steel or aluminum if there was a sudden surge in either product.
The Grand-Canyon-wide hole in Trump’s defence of his latest tariffs is that there is no “surge” in Canadian aluminum exports to the U.S. Canadian metals producers as well as most of the American industry agree on that. In fact, overall imports from Canada are on par with their levels in 2018, when Trump imposed the first round of his politically-motivated tariffs.
Second, Trump says the new aluminum tariffs are necessary for the “national security” of the U.S. What clap-trap. Shipments of Canada’s raw aluminum are hardly packed with electronic devices that hack into Pentagon secrets.
On the contrary, those shipments promote America’s economic security by providing a product that U.S. manufacturers need and cannot be solely supplied by the domestic aluminum industry. Ford Motor Co., relies on Canadian aluminum. So, too, does the U.S. military.
Far from benefitting Americans, Trump’s new tariffs will ensure that U.S. products that use Canadian aluminum cost more to make and buy. That’s bad for American consumers as well as manufacturers that use Canadian aluminum. Meanwhile, this trade dispute is escalating. A day after Trump announced his tariffs, the Canadian government unveiled retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products, a reasonable defensive response but one that could sting Canadian consumers.
More costly goods, new trade barriers, rising protectionism — these are lead weights on the economies of both Canada and the U.S. as they struggle to escape from the pandemic-induced recession.
But sadly, there is method to Trump’s madness. With just three months before the next presidential election, he’s badly trailing in public opinion polls. He needs an enemy around whom he can rally his dwindling band of supporters. Canada, which he accuses of “taking advantage of us, as usual,” is a convenient scapegoat.
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Trump’s ploy might even work in places like Kentucky, where Century Aluminum Co., which lobbied for the tariffs, is located and where Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is in a tight race for re-election.
Whatever good the Canadian government’s pushback accomplishes, real salvation can only come on American Election Day. The best way to get rid of these mutually-destructive trade wars is for American voters to get rid of Trump. Oh, may that happen.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
