As Trump confirms plans to hit Canada with 25% tariffs, Rustad and his MLAs still oppose retaliatory action
VICTORIA– John Rustad and his MLAs may vote this evening to back a motion supporting retaliatory action against Donald Trump despite spending the last two months and much of today opposing retaliatory measures.
This morning Rustad continued to validate Trump’s false claims about the border by committing to appease him on that instead of responding with strength: “those are the first steps that we should have been doing, not talking about retaliatory tariffs.” On taking U.S. liquor off the shelves, Rustad said “I still think banning is just not the approach we need to take.”
During debate on the motion, Peace River North MLA Jordan Kealy said “banning Kentucky bourbon is ridiculous” and criticized Canadians for booing the U.S. anthem at hockey games.
Langley-Abbotsford MLA Harman Bhangu, who is a strong Trump supporter, tried to shift the blame away from Trump and suggested that tariffs were not a real threat: “the real threat to our economy does not come solely from the actions of the U.S. government. The true threats lie within our borders.”
Courtenay-Comox MLA Brennan Day was one of several other Conservative MLAs to argue against retaliatory action: “retaliatory tariffs create uncertainty, and uncertainty is the enemy of prosperity.”
A vote on the motion will be held this evening after 6 pm. Despite speaking against the motion, Kealy said “I’m voting for this motion, but I do not support most of it.”