Earlier this month, Premier David Eby asked provincial government staff to move away from U.S. suppliers where possible, due to the trade war with America, sparked by President Donald Trump's tariffs and talk of annexation.
A provincial government news release on April 10 said the B.C. government has updated its direction to ministries, health authorities and core Crown corporations to "critically review all contracts" with United States companies to decrease the province’s dependence on goods and services from U.S. suppliers.
“As people are choosing to buy B.C. and buy Canadian, British Columbians expect their government to join them in choosing to avoid U.S. purchases wherever possible,” said Premier David Eby, in the release.
“That’s why we’ve directed our government to use its purchasing power to exclude American suppliers and support Canadian companies and trusted and reliable trading partners instead ... We’re expanding that directive to include looking for every opportunity to move existing contracts away from U.S. suppliers and cancelling non-essential government travel to the United States.”
So, has local government done the same?
A spokesperson for the District of Squamish told The Squamish Chief that it mostly deals with Canadian suppliers, but there are some things it still depends on U.S. companies for.
"Although the vast majority of the District's contracts are with Canadian suppliers, the District does use U.S. suppliers to provide some critical IT technology, such as Microsoft, and sometimes specialized equipment not available elsewhere," the muni spokesperson said, in an email to The Squamish Chief.
"Today’s supply chains are very complex, with Canadian and U.S. businesses being deeply interwoven/integrated. The District is therefore taking a thoughtful and measured approach to prevent unintentional harm to Canadian and local suppliers. As the tariff situation continues to evolve, the District will continue to monitor its requirements and contracts and address as necessary."
The spokesperson also noted that in 2020, the District joined the British Columbia Social Procurement Initiative.
This initiative aims to harness B.C. local governments' purchasing power to "support the local economy, mitigate climate change, contribute to reconciliation, and provide many additional community benefits," according to the organization's website.
As a result of joining the initiative, the District adopted a new purchasing policy also in 2020, "to encourage future supplier contracts to go beyond ‘best value for money’ and become a tool and opportunity for positive economic, environmental, and social impacts that build a healthier local community," the District spokesperson said.
"This approach has set us up well for this current situation."
