Canadians need to play the long game

For all those who are watching closely, happy tariff morning. Or not.

Today is the day that U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest round of tariffs against us “nasty” Canadians is scheduled to take effect. Sooner or later — probably sooner — you’ll know whether Trump actually did end up putting 50 per cent tariffs on a wide range of Canadian products, or whether he or Prime Minister Mark Carney gave in on this latest game of economic chicken.

It doesn’t matter.

Well, certainly it does matter to all the specific industries, including everything from honey producers to hockey stick manufacturers, who would face the tariffs, or the American consumers who will be impacted by the latest Trump Tax increase.

In that regard, it matters a great deal.

But in the broader scheme of where we are and what happens next, today’s decision is just one small point on a continuum that will go on until Trump is no longer president or, as a nation, we manage to disentangle our economy from our nearest neighbour to the greatest extent possible.

Why?

It doesn’t matter if you’ve struck an excellent deal that benefits both sides, or whether you’ve sacrificed whole industrial sectors and weakened Canadian health protections to allow food products to contain substances that have been banned here. Because this is Wednesday, tomorrow is Thursday, and by Friday, Trump will be making new demands.

Sure, those demands may be aimed at the European Union for a while, or at South Korea, or at whatever nation has the misfortune of garnering his fleeting attention.

But, sooner or later, some trade issue will be raised with Trump by an American industrialist who has made the necessary financial contributions to gain the ear of the president about one trade issue or another.

And since we’re such a large trading partner with the U.S., interventions with the president will no doubt eventually have him calling us nasty and implementing new executive orders aimed at crippling some other facet of the Canadian economy.

So don’t look at today’s tariff battle. It’s just another impediment. Look at the long game.

We say this because United States trade representative Jamieson Greer is quite wrong when he says this is not a “trade war.” He and the Trump administration may not view it that way, but Canadians sure do.

So let’s find markets for energy in Canada — build a transnational electrical grid and sell Canadian energy to Canadians. Let’s find new markets for oil and gas, and politely tell the U.S. that we no longer have product to sell to them.

In fact, that’s already happening with aluminum, with a sizable portion of our exports now going to Europe, making prices soar for American manufacturers who need the metal. In May, U.S. customers were paying US$6,200 per ton for the metal, while European customers were paying US$4,300 a ton.

Let’s be measured and direct and go through the slow motions of negotiation even though we know that Trump’s word is worthless.

Anything we give him, he’ll keep. And then he’ll do it all over again and come back for more.

Most of all, Canada’s provincial politicians have to start looking at the long game as well — and start pulling on the same oars and heading in the same direction.

Individual premiers have to look at the real threats facing Canada and not decide it’s an opportune time to try to squeeze the federal government — and the country — for things that will benefit those individual premiers politically.

Trying to bring in two-tier public/private health care, threatening referenda on staying in Canada, heading south to curry favour with Trump or sending provincial representatives to do so — as at least two Canadian premiers have now done — distract from the necessity of working together and maintaining a united front.

Low profile, one voice, united in direction and intent.

It is the only way to fight this war.

» Winnipeg Free Press and The Brandon Sun

Oops …

In yesterday’s editorial on the community question periods that are held during regular Brandon city council meetings, I introduced some incorrect information regarding the length of time speakers may take within the 15-minute overall limit.

In actual fact, there is no specific limit for individual speakers, and the mayor has some discretion over how long a person may speak.

Just for the record.

» Matt Goerzen, editor