“Canada Won’t Back Down”: Melanie Joly Vows To Protect Industries As Trump’s Tariffs Hit

Many of these sectors had been hit by tariffs in the past, particularly during the first mandate of President Trump. Following the end of the negotiation, we are now in the second chapter of the trade war, and 700 different products are being targeted by the administration for tariffs. Of course, thank you, Mark, for hosting us here. It's a pleasure to be here at Trent, and Mr. Mayor, Jeff, thank you for the kind introduction. I know you have a lot of experience when it comes to agri-food, to say the least. So, here at Trent Farm Research Centre, researchers, students, and industry partners are turning research into practical solutions for Canadian farmers and food businesses. businesses, and they're testing new technologies, developing new approaches, and helping shape the future of Canada's food system. And this is exactly why we're here today, because cost of food is increasing, and Canadians are facing difficult choices at the grocery store. And that's why we launched the National Food Strategy, because at the core of this strategy, it's about more choice, more control, and more Canada. And ensuring more food Canadians eat is grown, processed, and prepared right here at home. So to do that, Canadian food businesses are being asked to produce more, compete more, and adapt faster than ever before. So of course, meeting those challenges requires investments and a willingness to move ideas from the lab to the test field and also to the drawing board into the marketplace it's a what are what better place than Peterborough and being with Emma to announce great news about our food sector today and so I'm pleased to announce 50 million dollar investment in the Canadian Food Innovation Network that's a lot of money it will help more than 200 businesses modernize their operations and bring new ideas to the market it will also attract more than 200 million dollars in follow-up investments and create approximately 300 new jobs and also support 450 existing jobs across the country and and really position Canada as a leader in food innovation so let me say this in French Donc j'ai le plaisir d'annoncer 50 millions for the Canadian Food Innovation Network. Ça va aider environ 200 entreprises à moderniser leurs opérations et à mettre en marché des It will also be able to attract investments of about $200 million by creating 300 new jobs 450 emplois à travers le pays. Donc c'est essentiellement d'excellentes nouvelles pour le secteur agroalimentaire So the Canadian Food Innovation Network helps everyone along the value chain to prosper by stimulating innovation and productivity. And Peterborough is a wonderful setting to remind us of where food sovereignty starts. Whether it's a family-owned processor reducing waste through smart manufacturing systems or a growing company using automation to expand production. So this funding will help businesses modernize their operation, scale their growth, and create new opportunities for workers and communities. And at a time where we're facing a trade war and American tariffs are really affecting a lot of our agri-food businesses, it is important that we work together and make sure that we put our strategy and our vision into the reality of so many entrepreneurs and so many workers. So Canada must continue building its capacity at home. So congratulations, and let's keep growing. So two things on that. First, when you look at the first chapter of the trade war, what I call the first chapter is before the Prime Minister Carney left the table at the end of August because it was a really bad deal that was offered to us by the Americans. um it the tariffs were hitting industries such as steel aluminum auto and forestry um and many of these sectors had been hit by tariffs in the past particularly during the first mandate of president trump following um the the end of the negotiation uh we are now in the second chapter of the trade War. And 700 different products are being targeted by the administration for tariffs, including the agri-food sector. Many businesses are impacted by 25% tariffs, and sometimes even more, depending on how you calculate. And that's a real issue. So for us, we know that some of our agrifood sector is highly dependent on the american market and we've been there to support them but also we want to make sure that we help them diversify we help them enter new markets and that's our job and my job because my job is to offer support measures through FedDev Ontario through the BDC and really being able to help these businesses have access to capital, have access to liquidity to keep their operations going, keep their employees, but at the same time to help them, like I was saying, pivot, going to new markets, developing new products. The other thing is many of our agri-food businesses have been impacted by the tariffs, not on them, but on steel aluminum, including linked to packaging, including for aluminum cans or steel cans. And that's really a problem. And so the tariffs on aluminum and steel are at 50%. So that's why we want to continue to not only protect our steel plants, protect our aluminum plants, but also being able to have clear plants here in Canada making aluminum cans, making steel cans, because that's an industrial capacity we didn't have in the past. And I've been working a lot with the Ontario government to land these different plants across Ontario and also across the country. And so we think that in due time that will help. And then finally comes in the national food strategy, which is to address the affordability issue when Canadians go at the grocery store and it's extremely expensive. And at the same time, to be able to have greater food made in Canada. So it's a question of food sovereignty. And so you can see that there's many different pieces to your question. It was a very relevant question. Thank you for asking it. But also, that's the entire strategy of the government. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Hi, Mark Woodhouse, Global News. I've got a question for my colleagues in Ottawa. Minister, you say that Stelco has broken its commitments, but the company is proceeding with layoffs. What specifically needs to happen before you take legal action, if that is on the horizon? So I answered that question yesterday. I said indeed that it is our opinion that the commitments by Stelco under the Investment Canada Act are broken. And in that sense, we don't think that any market conditions or a different business plan can explain the behavior of Stelco. The CEO has been clear. He has been advocating for the imposition of U.S. tariffs on steel and steelmakers here in Canada. So we're reviewing this deal, the Stelco letter that was sent to us. I also said that a few possible options of a court process would include, first, forced compliance of undertakings, second, financial penalties, and third, and more importantly, I must say, forcing divestiture, so forcing Stelco to sell its assets here in Canada. uh we've hired the best lawyers in Canada to help us uh to deal with that and we will fight to keep the jobs in Hamilton and that is the position of the government and meanwhile if Stelco wants to come back to the table to negotiate i'm always open to that okay and uh if tariffs do stay in place just more focused on this announcement today um how much can investments like this realistically offset and what still needs to be solved at the negotiating table so today's announcement and the announcement you will hear from us when it comes to national food strategies really to help our businesses to have access to financial support in times of unpredictability so it's more difficult to have access to capital it's more difficult also just to take a decision to invest in your company we want to counter that that how can I say yeah that's so exactly thank you to that chill we want to offer options to business owners to say you know what I know it's a tough world out there but I'll invest and I'll be ambitious because in times of crisis boldness is always rewarded and so that's exactly what we're doing today thank you Subscribe to OneIndia and never miss an update. 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