Liberals open to recalling Parliament to pass tariff relief: Minister

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OTTAWA — Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the government is looking at existing programs it could use to offer relief to those hit by U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs and is open to recalling Parliament, should opposition parties agree to vote on an assistance package. 

Wilkinson’s comments come the day after NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who has vowed to bring down the minority Liberals at the first chance he gets, expressed an interest in potentially working with the Liberals on a tariff-related relief package.

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Governor General Mary Simon agreed to suspend Parliament until Mar. 24, at the request of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced on Jan. 6 he would be resigning, setting in motion a leadership race to replace him as Liberal leader and prime minister. The Liberals will name their new leader on Mar. 9.

Speaking at an announcement in Calgary on Wednesday, Wilkinson said he believes the dynamics with opposition parties have shifted, given Trump’s threat of tariffs. The White House confirmed on Tuesday that Trump’s threat of applying a 25 per cent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico by Feb. 1 remains in place. Trump initially vowed to do so upon taking office last week.

“Our primary argument right now with the United States is we shouldn’t have tariffs in the first place and we haven’t given up on that,” Wilkinson said, who is set to travel to Washington next week.

“But, should the tariffs come into place, we have obviously been doing some thinking about how we could use some existing programs and existing resources to be able to provide some of that assistance. Should we need access to additional resources through Parliament, there is an option to be able to have conversations with the other political parties to see if there is sufficient support to call Parliament back to actually vote in favour of such a package.”

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The government has been planning a potential relief package for businesses, but is waiting to see what potential U.S. tariffs look like.

Singh said on Tuesday the Liberals have not approached the NDP to help pass a relief package, but said he would be willing to have a conversation with other opposition leaders about what such measures could look like.

With tariffs possibly coming this weekend, a spokeswoman in Singh’s office said the Liberals cannot sit back until March to take action.

“The government must take action to fight back, and protect jobs and workers — not just watch for seven weeks as Canada’s economy and workers’ jobs are steamrolled by Trump,” said spokeswoman Erin Morrison. 

Opposition Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who says the country deserves an election, has previously called on the Liberals to recall Parliament.

Wilkinson, who is a member of Trudeau’s cabinet committee dedicated to Canada-U.S. issues, said those conversation are still premature.

As the clock ticks down to Feb. 1, federal ministers continued their efforts to dissuade the Trump administration from making good on the president’s threat of slapping tariffs on Canadian goods. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly arrived in Washington on Wednesday for several days of meetings, including her first official one with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

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Howard Lutnick, who Trump has picked to head up the U.S. Commerce Department, said during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday that Canada and Mexico could avoid the Feb. 1 tariffs if they tighten up their border security, which was the main irritant Trump named when he threatened his 25 per cent tariffs.

The president has said he wants both countries to curb the number of people crossing into the U.S. illegally and halt the flow of the deadly drug fentanyl. Canadian officials have since released a new border security plan, but say the bulk of Trump’s concerns about illegal migration and fentanyl comes from the U.S.’s border with Mexico, not the Canada-U.S. boundary.

Lutnick said on Wednesday that the Feb. 1 tariffs are directly tied to those issues and are separate from the study about trade in general, which Trump directed through an executive order, that is scheduled to be finished April 1.

“If we are your biggest trading partner, show us the respect, shut your border,” Lutnick said. 

“This is a separate tariff to create action from Mexico and action from Canada. And as far as I know, they are acting swiftly, and if they execute it, there will be no tariff. And if they don’t, then there will be.”

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-With files from Bloomberg

National Post
staylor@postmedia.com

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