Essex County gives initial approval to ‘Buy Canadian' policy
Essex County Council has given initial approval to a policy prioritizing the purchase of Canadian goods and services when possible.
The Buy Canadian Procurement Strategy was presented to council at Wednesday night's meeting.
Similar to strategies adopted by other Canadian municipalities, the county has set limitations to avoid breaking international trade agreements.
'So the intent is to strengthen support for Canadian businesses, especially those right here in our community, while staying within the boundaries of legislation and aligning with Ontario's broader public sector response to international trade dynamics,' Melissa Ryan, the county's financial services director, told council.
Essentially under certain financial amounts, Essex will favour Canadian providers. However, over those amounts, they must stick to the typical bidding process.
In the event a supplier's costs are impacted by tariffs, the business will have to provide notice and documentation to the county.
'So, the process would require justification and documentation of mitigation efforts from the vendors, so helping us to manage the long-term financial risks while treating vendors fairly and consistently,' Ryan said.
Council also approved a motion put forward by Kingsville Mayor Dennis Rogers to look at targeted municipal tax deferrals for Canadian businesses impacted by tariffs.
When questioned by councillors about the risk of passing on cost increases to taxpayers, Ryan said there are few U.S. bidders for applicable projects.
The procurement strategy stems from a notice of motion created in February by Michael Akpata, the deputy mayor of LaSalle, in the face of U.S. tariffs and annexation rhetoric.
On Wednesday, Akpata said he believes the policy serves a purpose despite the fact that it may not affect many U.S. businesses.
'In the absence of policy, you go by past practice,' Akpata said.
'We've listened to people doing their best to buy Canadian, and we, who are spending their dollars, have a responsibility to make sure that we echo the sentiment that's currently going on in this country.'
When it comes to potentially increasing costs, Akpata said he's comfortable having that conversation with constituents, rather than keeping the status quo.
'We have to decide right now. This is about economic stability. This is about economic independence, and this is about the fact that there's another country that has said over and over and over again that they want to take us over,' he explained.
The procurement policy will now return as a bylaw for council's approval at a future meeting.
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