Canada/City of Ottawa votes to buy local and Canadian
On Wednesday, Ottawa City Council unanimously adopted a motion to encourage local and Canadian purchasing to mitigate the financial impact of Canadian and U.S. tariffs.
Among other measures, city staff will develop a plan to relax regulations and encourage, where possible, the purchase of local Canadian, not American, goods and services.
We need to do everything we can as a city to support small businesses, to provide information on how to navigate through this potential crisis," explains Orléans-Sud-Navan ward councillor and motion sponsor Catherine Kitts.
The Regroupement des gens d'affaires de la capitale nationale (RGA) welcomed the vote, saying in a written statement that it was pleased to see the Mayor of Ottawa take the lead on a regional initiative to stimulate home buying.
In the face of an anticipated economic train wreck, the gesture is seen as a lifeline: it will allow some to stay afloat.
A quote from Pascale de Montigny Gauthier, General Manager of the Regroupement des gens d'affaires de la capitale nationale
A lot of work has been done in the last seven days," said Cyril Rogers, General Manager of Finance for the City of Ottawa. Guaranteeing regular follow-up to councillors, the expert reminded them that the City already works closely with the province and other municipalities.
Cyril Rogers also pointed out that the City already had several tools in its toolbox, thanks in particular to the COVID crisis. Obviously, when we went through the pandemic, the supply chain was really unstable," he reminded councilors.
So we have some of those strategies that we were using during that period, which proved to be effective.
Most contracts signed locally
The motion comes as the city enters the construction and tendering period.
At least 90% of the City's contracts for goods and services are already signed with companies in the National Capital Region, assures the CFO. But some of the materials used by these companies may come from different destinations.
The motion passed calls for Mayor Mark Sutcliffe to meet with Ottawa business leaders to produce an action plan to encourage the purchase of local products and promote local businesses. We're better when we work together, so we can withstand this trade war as best we can," says Catherine Kitts.
The RGA reminds us that its members already have the reflex to prioritize the choice of local businesses whenever possible.
More pragmatically, Riverside South-Ruisseau Findlay ward councillor Steve Desroches has asked city staff to ensure that bids remain competitive to avoid jeopardizing projects, especially when materials such as steel cannot be purchased locally.
By simply saying 'buy Canadian', we may not be satisfied with the bids we are presented with, even if we want to be patriotic and help the cause.
A quote from Steve Desroches, Councillor, Riverside South-Ruisseau Findlay Ward, Ottawa
The RGA is hoping for the same flexibility from the Quebec government. Current laws [in Quebec] require public administrations to go to the lowest bidder, which is not necessarily a Canadian company," explains Pascale de Montigny Gauthier. We'll have to see whether the Quebec government amends its law accordingly.
Partnership with Gatineau
Another point voted for in the motion was to continue working with the mayor of Gatineau to ask other levels of government to eliminate obstacles to interprovincial trade.
Questioned on the measures to be taken in response to the latest threats of steel tariffs, Maude Marquis-Bissonnette indicated on Tuesday that a cell had been set up as soon as the first American announcements were made.In times of crisis like this, everyone works together to find the right solutions and then contribute what they can.
We remain vigilant. [...] We want to be able to mitigate the impact, and then we're going to stand by our entrepreneurs to do as much as we can.
A quote from Maude Marquis-Bissonnette, Mayor of Gatineau
Canadian banks only?
The banking question remains. City councillors asked City of Ottawa staff to study the possibility of using only Canadian financial institutions for banking and investment services.
The Director of Finance pointed out that the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) remains the City's main bank, even though it does have a U.S.-dollar bank account.
We keep a very small balance there, simply because it's more efficient," explains Cyril Rogers, "particularly when it comes to transactions with foreign suppliers.
The currency tends to be the U.S. dollar," he notes.
City of Ottawa staff are committed to providing Councillors with regular updates on progress and changes.
Source: ici.radio-canada.ca/
