By: G. Ray Gompf, CD
President Trump is imposing tariffs on goods imported into the USA. Thatโs his prerogative, whether or not itโs a practical approach in forcing others to solve American problems, but thatโs a whole different debate. Canada among others, according to President Trump, have been negligent in preventing the manufacture of fentanyl that has been flooding the United States and killing Americans.
Also, according to President Trump, Canada hasnโt been living up to its NATO commitments and that is obvious. During Prime Minister Trudeauโs tenure, his policies have decimated the ranks of our military to the point that recruiting is next to impossible. The Prime Ministerโs view of our sovereignty, especially in the far north, has been abysmal at best.
There is considerable concern on President Trumpโs part which can be justified but Prime Minister Trudeau, instead of addressing President Trumpโs concerns, makes light of them. So, in President Trumpโs bombastic manner, heโs offered what HIS solutions will be, should Prime Minister Trudeau neglect his responsibility as leader of Canada. Not only does our Prime Minister abandon his responsibility, he tenders his resignation effective when a new leader is chosen and prorogues Parliament so no one can oppose anything, no debate is allowed, just bring the machinations of government to a halt until a new government can be arranged and a new session of parliament can begin. President Trump, highly annoyed said the tariffs, severe in scope, will be imposed before parliament can be recalled. Timing is an important thing, and Prime Minister Trudeau failed the test.
So now weโre faced with tariffs of 25% on everything crossing into the USA. Granted, these tariffs will raise prices for Americans but because of the intertwining of the two economies, will raise prices for Canadians plus make our resource sector and our manufacturing sector uncompetitive. So yes, it will cause intensified unemployment by the hundreds of thousands, thrusting Canada into a deep recession or maybe even a colossal depression.
So, how is this going to affect our trucking industry? Of our 300,000 trucks the overwhelming number are involved in cross border transport. As our resource and manufacturing sectors settle into low to no activity, the trucking companies start to park, then auction off capital assets, preceded by the laying off of human assets. Some companies will go out of business never to return to the transport industry. Some companies will pivot and figure out how to make a living without crossing the border.
There isnโt even free trade amongst provinces. The federal government claims they have no say constitutionally because interprovincial trade is a provincial responsibility. The federal government could bring the provinces to the same table and in two days, work out a satisfactory deal. That being said, trading internally is not the answer to Canadaโs problems.
The answer is to negotiate first the solutions that President Trump is demanding and make them happen. Further, to negotiate other markets for our resources and manufactured goods and yes increase our ability to over produce food more than our needs. We need to build the proper infrastructure to deliver our resources to markets is needed. Here again, our federal government has stubbornly said there is no business case. Our liquid natural gas, of which Canada has virtually an unlimited supply, could earn trillions for our country. Stubbornly, our government choses carbon reduction over survival on the belief that carbon makes life unsustainable, ignoring the facts that plant life is on the verge of starvation because the carbon levels are being lowered past 400 parts per million. Without plant life there is no animal life.
Canada needs to get back to being the resource supplier to the world as it once was. Canada needs to learn how to survive as the mouse living in the elephantโs stall. Canada needs to learn not just how to survive but to learn how to thrive again. The tariff situation is a short-term inconvenience, if we can learn that President Trump might just have a point. Canada is no longer going to be tolerated living in the pocket of the USAโs suit, at least not without rent.
Stop fentanyl production, period. Arrest the makers and sellers of fentanyl and try them for crimes against humanity. Stop the importation of fentanyl ingredients, period. And elect leaders who are leaders with solid resumes because right now there arenโt too many of them. Thereโs lots of wannabes but few capable and certainly none in this crop of leadership hopefuls.
