The Town of The Blue Mountains will look at options in response to the threat by the United States government to impose tariffs on Canadian goods.
At its committee of the whole meeting on Feb. 3, council held a brief discussion with staff about possible town responses to the tariffs promised by US President Donald Trump. The president had promised to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods starting this week.
However, later in the day – after the committee of the whole meeting had ended – the president announced a month-long pause on the tariffs after speaking with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Town of The Blue Mountains staff told council they would be preparing a full report about possible responses the town could consider should the tariffs become a reality.
Acting CAO Adam Smith said he was aware of other municipalities passing resolutions encouraging the purchase of locally sourced goods and products, as well as possible municipal procurement restrictions.
“We’ll look at ways to respond,” Smith said.
Monica Quinlan, the town’s director of finance, said a municipal purchasing consortium is looking at options for responses to the tariffs. She said, in general, the town doesn’t directly buy a lot of US goods, but noted that the town did not have any control over what goods its suppliers purchase.
“We need to do our due diligence,” said Quinlan, who said one impact on the town would be sourcing of a new fire truck. Quinlan noted that fire trucks are almost always sourced from the United States as there are no Canadian companies that produce that kind of equipment.
Quinlan said the town would have to wait and see how the federal and provincial governments respond to the tariffs.
“The devil is going to be in the details,” she said.
Mayor Andrea Matrosovs – who is also Grey County Warden – said the county has begun conversations about how to respond to Trump’s threatened tariffs.
“Grey County is already having discussions,” she said.
Coun. Gail Ardiel urged local citizens to be thinking about Canadian products when shopping and purchasing goods.
“Just think when you’re buying: buy locally,” she said.
Coun. Paula Hope said the situation could be an opportunity for the town to promote itself as a tourism destination for Canadians reluctant to travel to the USA at this time.
“I suspect people are not going to be going to the (United) States as much,” said Hope, who suggested the town market itself as a “viable option for travel.”
Tim Hendry, director of strategic initiatives, said the town has already been discussing the situation with tourism organizations about possible responses.
“This is a time to support our local Town of The Blue Mountains businesses and our Canadian businesses as well,” said Hendry.