REGINA – Opposition New Democrats are crying foul over the omission from the Speech from the Throne of any commitment to remove electric vehicle tariffs.
In response the NDP says in a release that they intend to bring an emergency motion to the Legislative Assembly on Thursday to push the Sask Party government to take a clear stand on EV tariffs. The NDP says that China ambassador has confirmed that their steep tariffs on Canadian canola are a direct response to Canada’s EV tariffs on China.
At a news conference Wednesday in response to the Speech from the Throne, NDP Leader Carla Beck pointed to the lack of mention of the issue in the address.
“This is a Throne Speech that is silent on one of the most significant issues that's facing our province right now, “ said Becky. “The tariffs on Chinese EVs, which have resulted in devastating counter tariffs on Canadian canola, pork, peas, and seafood.
This after the Premier has changed his position on the issue mid-September and has since stopped calling for them to be removed.”
Beck accused Premier Scott Moe of having been “slow to respond and missing an action at a time when producers desperately need a champion. They need clarity on this issue, and as I have said before and will say again, we need the EV tariffs removed, and we need these tariffs to stop crippling producers in this province. There's no room to waffle. There's no room for nuance, and failure to have these tariffs removed will mean that the legacy of this Premier will be closed canola crush plants, family farms on the auction block, lost jobs, and shrinking communities.”
Becky also blasted the Throne Speech on affordability, saying it “delivers not a single new measure to provide relief to Saskatchewan families who are struggling with the cost of living.”
In his news conference Wednesday, Premier Moe was asked about the balance between EV tariffs and canola tariffs currently in place. In his response he emphasized the importance of the canola industry compared to the EV industry.
“Well, it's a pretty easy balance. The canola industry is very real. It's been here as a mature industry. It's employing 200,000 people. Over $40 billion of GDP contributed to our nation. It's a very real, tangible industry that is providing paychecks for Saskatchewan and Canadian, I'd say largely Canadian, families. The EV industry that we see today has no such record,” said Moe.
Moe said he has talked with other premiers, in particular Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and acknowledged “we all have a job to do in defending our regional interests.”
“But we also have a job to do as we are Canadians first, is to have some open and frank discussions on what the future is going to look like for all of us. Well, the future for us, certainly in this province and this nation, is going to involve market access, market access to both the American market as well as the markets like that in China.”
Moe said the path forward is to be negotiating “on our trade relationship with China as well, because I would put forward that our opportunity is not only to maintain the current trade relationship that we have with China, but is actually to expand it.”
When asked if canola would be a priority for the government in the session, Moe said “absolutely.”
“That's why there's one Premier in this nation that has been in China in the last six years. That's why there's one Premier that has had a sit-down meeting with the Minister, Federal Minister of Agriculture, Federal Minister of Trade, and the Prime Minister, as well as the canola growing industry, the Canola Growers Association and others, as well as our exporting entities as well across Canada. One Premier has done that, and that's the Premier of Saskatchewan. I think that speaks to the priority that we place when it comes to not only the agriculture industry, the primary production agriculture industry, but our export opportunities that we have.”
