MOOSE JAW — U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian goods and Canada’s tit-for-tat response demonstrate this country’s lack of leadership, Moose Jaw’s member of parliament says.
“Tariffs are unreasonable and undeserved. There’s always been a balanced and mutually beneficial relationship, and these tariffs, they hurt both Canadians and Americans,” said Fraser Tolmie, who represents the Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan constituency.
Despite Canada fulfilling Trump’s demands to address border security and reduce the flow south of fentanyl, the president imposed the economic penalties anyway, which Tolmie said exposes the “weak government in place” in Canada.
“(The Conservative Party has) been sounding the alarm bells in the House of Commons for months now … to have an election,” he continued. “And both the Liberals and NDP have looked out for their own self-interests. It’s come to the 11th hour and we’re now in an international crisis between countries.”
Tolmie pointed out that the governing Liberals shut down the House of Commons and its ability to conduct business — it returns Monday, March 24 — so they could hold a leadership race after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation earlier this year.
This decision has left Canada “leaderless at the most critical time,” especially since the outcome of that leadership race is uncertain and it forces Canadians to wait weeks to learn what that party plans to do, the MP said.
“We’re void of leadership, and this is one of the biggest problems for Canadians, is not knowing how this is going to impact them because there’s no one letting them know what direction we’re going to be going in,” he continued. “And everything is make-it-up-as-you-go-along.”
Tolmie was uncertain how badly the tariffs would affect Canadians and the goods they purchase, noting that everyone wants to “err on the side of caution” with predictions.
However, he thought Canada needed to take a “reasonable and rational approach” that didn’t verge into over-reaction. Moreover, he thought that either the House of Commons needed to return immediately, or a federal election needed to occur so a “strong leader” could respond better to the situation.
If the Conservative Party was in power, it would respond to Trump’s tariffs “in a strong and reciprocal way,” while it would take the monies collected from tariffs and hand them back to the most affected individuals and businesses, Tolmie said. This compares to the Liberals, who put money into “slush funds,” waste it on pointless projects and are never held accountable for where the funds go.
“So Conservatives really need to be at the bargaining table in this negotiation,” he stated.
This leadership void in Ottawa has forced the premiers to act on their own and take measures they believe are fit, which shouldn’t happen because that’s the federal government’s job, Tolmie added. He commended Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe for acting but thought he shouldn’t have had to.
