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CBC
18-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Northern Ontario towns and cities try to buy Canadian, but it's not always easy
Social Sharing In early March, the small northern Ontario town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands passed a buy Canadian motion that would direct staff to purchase Canadian-made goods "when possible." The motion was a response to tariff threats against Canada from the United States and the ongoing trade war that has ensued. "We drafted a motion at the council meeting to push us in that direction and to indicate to our constituents that we were going to join the battle, so to speak, against those tariffs," said Mayor Alan MacNevin, whose municipality includes Little Current. But MacNevin said despite intentions for the town to avoid American products and services whenever possible, it can't always be done. "[For] things like fire trucks and garbage trucks, often the manufacturers for certain parts of those vehicles come from the U.S.," he said. "Generally speaking, in a small community like ours, there wouldn't be a lot of situations where that happens, but [it's] mostly major purchases for those kinds of things." Cities and towns across northeastern Ontario are grappling with their procurement contracts as many make efforts to cut out American products and services to support Canada's broader defiance of current and proposed tariffs. In Elliot Lake, councillors debated whether or not the city should go ahead with purchasing a $205,000 shade structure for a waterfront park that was manufactured in the U.S. ultimately deciding to go ahead with the contract. Deputy Mayor Charlie Flintoff said that while the parts for the shelter would be made in the U.S., the city's contract is with a company based in Paris, Ont., called ABC Recreation, that will be installing the structure. "It's complicated for probably every municipality out there," Flintoff said. "Do we just stop doing business? Do we not go forward with our strategic plan? Let's say something broke at a water treatment plant and we needed to order a part from the U.S., are we not going to order the part?" So it's been very tricky. - Tyler Hannemann, general manager, Canoe The City of Elliot Lake used a procurement system from a not-for-profit organization called the Canoe Procurement Group of Canada to choose its shade structure. Canoe acts as a one-stop-shop for municipal procurement and can save time and money because many projects are pre-approved. For example, if Elliot Lake went ahead with its own request for proposals for the sun shelter, it would require plans from an engineer before going to tender. Tyler Hannemann, Canoe's general manager, said the municipalities that use their services are now asking more questions about suppliers in an effort to buy Canadian. "So it's been very tricky," he said. "I would say, you know, across Canada, a lot of municipal governments have questions and are looking at supporting local and, and looking at who they're using and what contracts they have in place." But Hannemann said even purchasing something as straightforward as tires for a municipal fleet can present challenges if the goal is to buy Canadian. "So in our tire program for instance, we have Michelin Tire, which is a French company that has manufacturing operations in Canada," he said. "But we also have Goodyear. That's an American company and it has manufacturing in the states. It has manufacturing in Argentina [and] Asia as well." Hannemann said Canoe also works with Canadian suppliers such as Kal Tire and Fountain Tire that carry brands from around the world. Concessions at Sault arenas go Canadian In Sault Ste. Marie — which has been hit by U.S. tariffs on its local steel production — municipal arenas are moving away from American food options for concessions. Mayor Matthew Shoemaker said the city is looking at other areas to buy Canadian, such as purchasing new fire engines made in Manitoba. But he added the city will never be able to fully divest itself of American products or suppliers. "The supply chain for the last 80 plus years has become so integrated that to disintegrate it would take an equivalent amount of time," Shoemaker said. "Yes, we're going through our trade disagreements at the moment, largely driven by one individual whose every whim is being acquiesced by his party. But there will be a restoration of normal relationships between the two countries. I'm confident of that." The Association of Municipalities of Ontario says tariffs could increase municipal infrastructure costs by $1 billion on nearly $50 billion in planned expenditures over the next two years. "Municipalities can use the 2.1 per cent municipal capital cost increase to help inform decisions on upcoming contracts," the organization said.
CBC
12-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
How a 'simple structure' in Elliot Lake, Ont., is raising questions about buying Canadian
Social Sharing Plans to build a new shade structure at a waterfront park in Elliot Lake, Ont., were made more complicated by an ongoing trade war between Canada and the United States. After a lengthy debate on Monday night, the city's council decided to go with a design from an American company called Poligon for the $205,000 structure. But it was not without some pushback. "I don't want to get into the trade war stuff, but I know a lot of places are getting away from going with this, buying stuff from the States," said Elliot Lake Coun. Rick Bull. Coun. Helen Lefebvre responded that the work to build the structure would be sub-contracted to a company called ABC Recreation, based in Paris, Ont. "They're from southern Ontario. A small community as well," Lefebvre said. "So we are supporting another small community in Ontario." Like many small municipalities in Ontario, Elliot Lake uses a procurement system from the Canoe Procurement Group of Canada which acts as a one-stop shop for different builds and contracts municipalities might need. Coun. Merrill Seidel wondered why the city didn't put forward its own request for proposals on the project. I'm disappointed, you know, and I'm almost ashamed to be a citizen of Elliot Lake, considering what they just did. - Richard Montegani "Part of the public input was why we did not consult with local contractors to look at such a simple structure," he said. A city staff member said that if Elliot Lake were to go with its own request for proposals on the project it would be a more lengthy and expensive process, and would require a design from an engineer. Elliot Lake resident Richard Montegani said it was shortsighted for the city not to open the door to local options while Canada is in a trade war with the U.S. "I'm disappointed, you know, and I'm almost ashamed to be a citizen of Elliot Lake, considering what they just did," he said. "They're not thinking about being Canadian. "It's really shameful." Ultimately, Elliot Lake city council decided it would submit a separate tender for a $100,000 concrete pad needed to support the waterfront shade structure. That would go out to local suppliers. Danny Whalen, the president of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM), said the "vast majority" of the 110 municipalities he represents are reviewing their current purchase agreements to buy Canadian as much as possible. But Whalen, who also sits on Temiskaming Shores council, added it's a difficult process, especially for smaller municipalities. "Lots of the municipalities we represent are 3,000 and under population. So they don't really have the resources and the staff resources to do a detailed review of all of their accounts," he said. The Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands, for example, passed a motion earlier this month to buy Canadian first whenever possible. On March 18, Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre is expected to provide an update on the city's procurement process. Two American companies — ASM Global and Global Spectrum Facility Management — have responded to a request for proposals to manage the city's new arena and event centre.
