The B.C. government is forming a new cabinet committee to act as a “day-to-day war room” that responds to proposed U.S. tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods as early as Saturday citing — without evidence — a flood of drugs and migrants from north of the border.
In a Wednesday media release, Premier David Eby announced Housing and Municipal Affairs Minister Ravi Kahlon will head the committee, tasked with co-ordinating a “whole of government” tariff response.
“This threat isn’t going away anytime soon — not while this president is in power,” Eby said.
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“Every minister has an important role to play in fighting back.”
The committee will include B.C.’s jobs, finance, energy, agriculture, forests, mining, environment and water, land and resource stewardship ministers, along with the minister of state for trade.
“We didn’t ask for this fight, but B.C. will not be bullied,” Kahlon said. “My colleagues and I will work shoulder to shoulder with workers, business and community leaders to meet this moment.”
On Tuesday, Eby warned the fallout of U.S. tariffs could rival the economic impact of the 2008 “Great Recession,” while Finance Minister Brenda Bailey has warned of a $69-billion economic impact over the next three years.
BC Conservative Leader John Rustad said the NDP government was wrong to use “rhetoric trying to ramp up” the dispute with the U.S.
“We need to do everything we can to avoid this, The damage that will be done to British Columbia that damage that will be done to workers, to families, to communities, would be very significant,” he said.
“It’s not a matter of bending our knee (to the U.S.), it’s a matter of dealing with the issues and being a good neighbour, dealing with the fentanyl, dealing with our ports.”
Rustad argued that if B.C. took action on Trump’s complaints and the president decided to impose tariffs anyway, at least the province would have done everything it could to try and protect the economy.
Eby has previously said the province could direct B.C. Liquor Stores to stop importing U.S. alcohol and referenced Florida orange juice and Harley Davidson motorcycles as U.S. products to target.
Along with possible retaliatory trade measures, the province says it is responding to the threat by expediting project approvals in British Columbia and working to diversify trade markets to make it less reliant on the U.S.
