North Cowichan has imposed a travel ban on its employees going to the U.S. for conferences and training until the trade dispute between Canada and the U.S. is over.
As well, at its meeting on May 7, council directed staff to amend North Cowichan’s procurement policy and add new provisions to encourage staff to purchase locally, where possible, rather than buying materials from the U.S. to reduce the municipality’s reliance on imported goods and services from the U.S. that are subject to tariffs.
George Farcas, North Cowichan’s general manager of planning, development and community services, said in a report that buying locally when possible will reduce the municipality’s expenses and demonstrate its commitment to supporting Canada’s interests during the trade dispute.
Farcas said the recent imposition of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods and services and the resultant Canadian counter-tariffs have significant implications for the Canadian economy, and increases costs for Canadian consumers.
“These challenges also directly affect North Cowichan,” he said.
“Specifically, the increased costs of imported goods and services will strain municipal budgets, potentially leading to higher taxes or reduced services.”
Farcas pointed out, however, that most goods and services purchased by North Cowichan are already from local suppliers, particularly for goods and services valued below $75,000.
But he said amending North Cowichan’s procurement policy to direct staff to buy locally when possible enables North Cowichan to show support for the “Buy Canada” initiative.
“Additionally, it demonstrates support for local companies and suppliers at this crucial time,” he said.
But Coun. Bruce Findlay said he wouldn’t vote for the motion.
“I think it’s fantastic that we’re buying local as much as we can, but I don’t think we should handcuff ourselves just because we have a local product that might be available while something a little further off is cheaper,” he said.
“Our job is to be fiscally responsible as possible for our residents, whether that means we’re buying in Nanaimo or Nantucket. To me this is a bit of virtue signalling.”
Findlay also said he’s also not in favour of imposing a ban on sending staff to conferences and training in the U.S.
“I think if there is a conference that is important to our staff and if it’s in Vegas, then it’s in Vegas so we should be sending our people to Vegas for that conference,” he said.
The motion passed, with Findlay and Coun. Tek Manhas opposed.
Other local governments in the Cowichan Valley have also taken similar steps in response to the ongoing trade war with the U.S.
In March, the Cowichan Valley Regional District’s board unanimously voted for the district to explore options to buy products and services from Canadian sources or from other nations instead of from the U.S.
As well in March, the City of Duncan decided to look to Canadian sources to provide the municipality with new collection carts for garbage, recycling and organics for when the new fully automated-garbage collection begins this spring instead of American manufacturers, citing the fiscal uncertainty caused by the tariffs.
