Premier David Eby and Attorney General Niki Sharma announce B.C.'s response to U.S. tariffs.
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00:00Pretty good-looking flag. I gotta say, thank you to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly for the fancy new decoration. I think it looks fantastic.
00:09I'm pleased to be joining you on the territory of the Lekwungen people, the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations.
00:14And I'm joined today by Attorney General Nikki Sharma.
00:20Way back there.
00:25British Columbians know and Canadians know this is an unprecedented time for our country and for our province.
00:33A country that has always been Canada's ally, Canada's closest friend, our best trading partner.
00:41The people that we turned to in emergencies and who turned to us in their moment of need as well.
00:47Their President, Donald Trump, has declared economic war on our country.
00:53And what we see is that despite claims to want to strengthen the border, in fact, Trump wants to eliminate the border.
01:02He wants to not buy our resources and create jobs here and mutual opportunity on both sides of the border.
01:13He wants to just take them. He wants to annex Canada and turn us into the 51st state.
01:19That's not a kind invitation. That is a threat to Canada.
01:25Trump thinks he can bring us to our knees by threatening tariffs.
01:30Well, what he is seeing is that Canadians are standing tall in one voice, both official languages, many other languages.
01:39We're saying very clearly we will never be the 51st state.
01:48Canadians are united in our vision of Canada as a democratic and sovereign nation that makes its own decisions.
01:57May it ever be that. And you're seeing evidence of this everywhere you look.
02:01Drive through the neighbourhoods of anywhere in British Columbia right now, you see Canadian flags on front porches, on balconies and windows.
02:08See a couple of people with Canadian gloves on here on the lawn of the legislature today.
02:13People checking labels to make sure they're buying products from B.C. and Canada.
02:19Now, the chaos and the swings back and forth, the tariffs are on, the tariffs are off, the threats, the orders rescinded, put in place.
02:31It's all a deliberate tactic to weaken our resolve and it will not work.
02:38We're going to protect British Columbia's workers and families and businesses, and we're not going to stop.
02:46I'm here to share that we will be introducing a new law in the coming days to respond to this historic challenge.
02:55Unprecedented legislation.
02:57It will include such countermeasures as allowing the province to apply fees to commercial trucks that transit through British Columbia on their way to Alaska.
03:08If passed, it will provide legislative authority to remove internal trading barriers that stop us from trading with our partners and friends from coast to coast to coast.
03:22Among other authorities, the legislation will give government flexibility to respond rapidly to executive orders from the president as they arise.
03:33It will also assist us in developing the long term solutions that we need to ensure our economy grows and that although we face this threat right now,
03:43we will come out the other side stronger, more united and more prosperous than ever.
03:53To respond to this unprecedented threat, we need every possible tool available to us, and I look forward to sharing much more detail about this new law when the legislation is introduced in the coming days.
04:07We are fighting back hard in this trade war. We didn't ask for it, but we're sure not going to shrink from it.
04:16Our initial response included removal of liquor products from Republican states.
04:21Texas vodka, Tennessee whiskey, Kentucky bourbon from B.C. liquor store shelves. We're not buying it anymore.
04:27We directed B.C. liquor distribution to stop purchasing these products.
04:31The provincial government and Crown corporations have been directed to buy Canadian first.
04:36To buy B.C. goods and services and goods from across Canada as part of our Team Canada approach.
04:43Absolutely right thumbs up.
04:45Nice thing about doing the event on the legislature lawn is everyone gets to participate.
04:50Ottawa has announced 25% tariffs on billions of dollars of goods imported from the United States and other provinces and territories, including British Columbia, are acting together to reduce trade barriers between our jurisdictions.
05:03Just yesterday, ministers announced an agreement to ensure that liquor products from B.C. wineries, distilleries and breweries can ship freely to consumers across Canada.
05:14Ours are the best products in Canada, and they've got access to a whole new market.
05:19This is something we fought for for a long time. It's great news.
05:23Now we're pressing ahead to ensure that labor credentials are recognized as well across the country.
05:28So the teachers and the doctors and the nurses have their skills recognized equally in all provinces in the country.
05:35It'll open up more opportunities for workers as well as employers that are looking for workers to fill critical vacancies.
05:42And we're gonna make it easier for us to buy goods from other provinces and vice versa by recognizing the standards and regulations of other provinces for consumer goods.
05:51Now, while we're doing this, we're still reaching out to Americans.
05:55We're speaking directly to Americans through American media and through international media about the cost of this for American families.
06:04Their homes will be more expensive with a 50% tariff on B.C. lumber.
06:09Their electricity will be more expensive with a 10% tariff on Canadian electricity.
06:15Filling up the gas tank will be more expensive with a 10% tariff on Canadian petroleum products.
06:21Their pasta will be more expensive with a tariff on Canadian wheat.
06:26Their farmers will be struggling with higher bills for the potash that they need to grow food for Americans with a 25% tariff on potash.
06:35This is foolish, it hurts Americans, it hurts Canadians, and it needs to stop.
06:41We continue to strengthen B.C.'s economy by speeding up major projects.
06:4618 projects, including clean electricity projects, major mines across the province representing 8,000 jobs and billions of dollars in direct investment in the province.
06:58And we're finding more and more markets for Canadian products and B.C. products by diversifying our trading relationships overseas.
07:07We can never, ever again be in the position of being at the whim of one single person in the White House,
07:15who, it turns out, is an unpredictable and untrustworthy partner who is not keeping his word.
07:23I created a Trade and Economic Security Task Force with business and labour and Indigenous leaders to grapple with this issue.
07:31Together, we are working on solutions to ensure our economy grows and is prosperous.
07:35A task force on agriculture and food to ensure that if the U.S. weaponizes food,
07:40that we have the food security we need to feed British Columbians and grow our economy and grow our exports.
07:46A B.C. Softwood Advisory Council, one of the most vulnerable sectors to this unjustified and bizarre trade war,
07:53where Americans, through the President, are trying to make their housing more expensive.
07:58Our Softwood Advisory Council will assist us in moving products to new markets and dealing with these unjustified tariffs.
08:06And finally, a new Cabinet Committee is coordinating this work across government.
08:11We need all hands on deck.
08:12All Canadians, all British Columbians are pitching in, and we're going to do this together.
08:16These tariffs are a profound mistake.
08:18They hurt people on both sides of the border.
08:20We didn't ask for this trade war, but since one has been imposed on us, we're sure going to fight back.
08:26We're stronger because we work together.
08:28We'll always be the True North, strong and free, elbows up.
08:32Here we go.