Singh calls for urgent worker supports and fightback « Canada’s NDP

February 10, 2025 at 5:10 pm  Federal, Politics

WINDSOR—NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh issued the following statement in response to Donald Trump’s implementation of tariffs on steel and aluminum:

“Donald Trump has unleashed a trade war on Canada and our workers. We can’t let it go unanswered, and we can’t let working Canadians pay the price for Trump’s attack.

Workers are worried they’ll lose their job. Families are worried about how they’ll keep putting food on the table. It’s urgent that we get financial supports into the hands of impacted people.

And there’s no faster way to end a trade attack than with a strong fightback. That’s why I want dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs in place urgently, a 100 per cent tariff on Elon Musk’s Teslas, and changes to procurement so Canada buys Canadian-made steel and aluminum for Canadian construction and manufacturing – protecting good, Canadian jobs.

Canadians will stand strong and united. We will not let Donald Trump – or anyone – threaten our values, our economy or our sovereignty.”

BACKGROUND: BUILD CANADIAN BUY CANADIAN AND SUPPORT FOR WORKERS

  • Singh’s NDP has committed to a Build Canadian Buy Canadian plan to make more of what Canada needs and reduce our reliance on unreliable trading partners.
  • The NDP will ban American companies from all federal government procurement contracts and projects when Canadian workers can do them, until Trump removes his reckless tariffs.
  • The NDP will order changes to Canada’s procurement policies to:
    • Favour Canadian companies in the bid selection process.
    • Give preference to suppliers and contractors with a unionized workforce in the bid selection process.
    • Increase Canadian content requirements.
    • Prioritize building materials, like steel, made by Canadian workers, in all publicly funded infrastructure projects.
  • The NDP will also incentivize value-added processing in Canada, reducing the country’s reliance on exporting raw materials to the United States. Canada can increase its capacity for value-added processing of products including lumber, wheat, milk, iron, energy and critical minerals. Incentives would have strings attached—creating unionized jobs for Canadians.
  • Singh has also called for cutting off the flow of critical minerals to the Unted States, and a 100 per cent tariff on Teslas in the event of a trade war. Elon Musk’s Tesla relies on Canada’s critical minerals like lithium and cobalt for electric vehicle batteries.
  • Singh has called to support impacted workers by implementing long-needed reform of employment insurance such as:
    • Expanding Work-Share Program.
    • Increasing EI replacement rate to two-thirds of insurable earnings and raise the ceiling on insurable earnings.
    • Eliminating the one-week waiting period and extending EI benefits to 50 weeks nationwide.
    • Implementing a uniform national qualifying threshold of 360 hours or 12 weeks of employment.

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