Tough stance in defence of Quebec

‘We are going to defend our workers,’ premier says of U.S. visit

QUEBEC Premier Philippe Couillard has announced plans for a diplomatic mission to the United States to preach the advantages of free trade and limit the damages on the home front of American protectionism.

And he has taken a cue from a growing campaign on social media and asked Quebecers to think twice before buying American goods — food in particular — when there are equivalent Canadian and Quebec alternatives.

“We all have the capacity to make choices, and the addition of all those individual choices will have an impact, and I think it will be felt in the States,” the premier said.

The government itself will use its considerable public spending clout to try to compensate Quebec firms whose American clients disappear given the looming new reality, Couillard said at a news conference, unveiling an action plan to respond to what he said is a threat to Quebec’s economy.

He went so far as to urge any company feeling the pinch to come forward now and find out what kind of support measures the government already has on the books.

“We are going to defend the jobs of Quebecers, we are going to defend our workers, we are going to defend our entrepreneurs, we are going to defend our farmers,” Couillard said.

The overall plan is simple: denounce U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies south of the border at the same time as softening the impact in Quebec by finding new markets for Quebec’s goods and services in Europe and other Canadian provinces.

Quebec already sells $72 billion worth a year in the other provinces, thanks in part to a newly signed pan-Canadian free trade agreement, he noted.

There is also a diplomatic side to the plan. Couillard announced he will be in Washington Tuesday to meet elected officials in the Trump administration directly.

On Thursday his team will touch down in New York for other meetings, including an encounter with the influential Foreign Policy Association.

“I am going to cement alliances with those in the United States who think like us and there are many who do,” Couillard said repeating American jobs are just as much on the line as Canadian ones in the current row.

But he said he has no illusions about being able to change the mind of the U.S. president, whom he now routinely describes as erratic.

“I’m not expecting that anything we will do will convince Mr. Trump to change his behaviour,” said Couillard. “I don’t know how his behaviour can be changed or predicted.

“What I know is we will have and we have many allies in the States, people who think like us at many levels of public administration, states, large cities, boards of trade.

“In the final analysis, this is America. The president is important, of course, but he is not the only part of the U.S.A.

“We admire and love the American people, but we are bewildered by this behaviour by the president of a country that has been our ally and neighbour for centuries.”

Figures released by the government reveal how dependent Quebec’s economy is on the U.S. giant and why Quebec is on red alert. Half of Quebec’s economy is based on exports and three quarters of those exports go to the United States.

Quebec estimates as much as 30 per cent of its products, including aluminum, steel and paper, will be hit by America’s new zeal for trade tariffs and barriers. Thousands of jobs could be affected, including some of the 460,000 in the manufacturing sector.

In a separate document distributed to reporters, Quebec bluntly states the Trump election has created a “climate of uncertainty,” and the effects are starting to be felt.

On hand for the news conference, Finance Minister Carlos Leitão confirmed he has already heard of delayed investment plans or projects moved elsewhere. He would not specify.

He was careful to say things have not escalated to a full trade war — he prefers the words skirmish — but Quebec is bracing for anything that could plunge its robust economy into a recession in an election year.

Couillard noted the fact the province is sitting on reserves and has balanced the books means it is better prepared for potential rainy days ahead.

“We have a cushion,” Couillard said.

He has also turned to newly elected Ontario premier-designate Doug Ford for help in protecting the economies of the two provinces, which together represent nearly 60 per cent of the overall Canadian economy.

The two will hold their first faceto-face meeting in July when they attend the annual gathering of the Council of the Federation in New Brunswick.