As the U.S. Government continues to threaten tariffs against Canada, the local member of the Border Mayor’s Alliance says the group is still fighting to stand up for all border communities.
Fort Frances mayor Andrew Hallikas is a member of the group that was formed in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments and tariff threats against Canada. The group is comprised of the mayors of border communities across Canada, including Yukon, and Hallikas said the alliance’s goal is to stand up for the municipalities and cities that are in line to be significantly impacted by potential U.S. Government policies.
“President Trump has clearly stated his intention to impose tariffs on Canadian imports into the U.S., and right now he appears to be focusing on steel and aluminum,” Hallikas said.
“Then we have the fact that he stated that he wants to put 25 percent tariffs on on all Canadian imports, and is holding that in abeyance until March. We, the Border Mayor’s Alliance, feel that these tariffs demand immediate action to try and mitigate the economic pressure that they’re going to create, and they’re going to create economic pressure. These border communities are going to face an immense threat to local economies and jobs, and all of these cities along the border and towns are vital to cross border trade. They make up a significant portion of the Canadian economy.”
Hallikas pointed to the Windsor-Detroit border crossing, one of the busiest in the country. He said the figures that are in play surrounding that crossing are enormous, with crossings comprising nearly a quarter of merchandise trade between the two countries. In addition, with 75 percent of Canadian exports bound for the United States, the threatened tariffs could cause significant economic woes.
“These tariffs would really disrupt established business relationships, and they would necessitate like costly supply chain reorganizations,” Hallikas said.
“And just bluntly, they threatened to disrupt Canada’s prosperity. They’ll have severe economic consequences for our cities and our families, and that’s to say nothing of the effects it would have on American businesses.”
As much as there is concern around what the U.S. Government plans to implement early next month, Hallikas stressed that the alliance’s fight is not with everyday U.S. citizens.
“I mean, look at International Falls,” he said.
“They’re our friends. We have relatives there. They’re our neighbours. And the Canada/U.S. relationship is one of, if not the, largest trade relationships in the world, with integrated supply chains, and it supports billions of jobs on both sides of the border.”
In the groups recent meetings, Hallikas said the alliance has been working to hear from affected border communities to determine what the impacts of potential tariffs could be, as well as working to reach out to their counterparts in border communities on the U.S. side of the border.
“We really feel that collaboration is our best tool,” he said.
“That collaboration is essential to safeguard our economic interests. I mean, one thing the most recent hockey game proved is that Canadians are strong and resilient, and we need to draw on that resilience in facing these challenges. At the most recent meeting, we decided that we were going to hire a national strategic organization to to help us out. On Thursday, we were presented with a with a strategic approach to strengthen our association of mayors, and we were presented with corresponding tactics to amplify the interests of the Border Mayor’s Alliance and its members. And this would take us over the next six months.”
Hallikas said the Alliance will be asking member communities to contribute, on a per capita basis, to a fund to help pay for this strategy, which he said will hopefully allow the group to build their advocacy efforts and “hit the ground running” and allow them to run as a registered not-for-profit organization.
“Out of out of Thursday’s meeting, e’re going to develop a strategic plan, and we’ve got three objectives,” Hallikas said.
“We want to strengthen the Border Mayor’s Alliance voice amidst these tariff threats, and we want to build allegiance across the border. We want to meet with our counterparts. I’ve already met with mayor Gill in International Falls. And we want to advocate for investment from Ottawa and the provinces. We feel that the tariffs are urgent issues, but there are also other issues unique to Canada’s border communities, which we feel require immediate attention and investment from Ottawa and from the provinces. One of them is we feel that monitoring and enforcement of the border has been neglected for some time, and we’re going to advocate for stronger, safer borders to ensure that Canada is doing its part to protect its citizens and economy. We’re not doing this in response to anything that Trump has said. We’re doing this because we feel that we Canadians also need to have safer borders to make our country safer for our citizens.”
Hallikas also noted that the Alliance hopes to preserve the fellowship between the two countries as he pointed out the times in the past that Canada has been there for its southern neighbour, including the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1979, making rooms for stranded planes to land in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and, more recently, sending firefighters down to help with wildfires.
“We want to continue our strong relationship with our American friends and neighbours,” Hallikas said.
“So we look forward to the participation of our friends and neighbours, both on both sides of the borders, in the public and private sectors, to continue to makeCanada and the U.S. the most successful international relationship in the world.”
The mayor said he will continue to provide updates on the actions of the Border Mayor’s Alliance as the group continues in its advocacy efforts.
