SASKATOON — Opposition Leader Carla Beck said they are reaching across the aisle, as the Saskatchewan NDP is ready to work with the Saskatchewan Party-led government in putting forward Canadian interests when it comes to US trade negotiations.
Beck, who joined her opposition colleagues in attending the Annual Midwestern Legislative Conference at the TCU Place, said trade tensions continue to rise between Canada and the US, and economic uncertainty looms with the Aug. 1 deadline set by President Donald Trump.
She said they are taking a collective stand, calling for unity and acting across political lines, in response to the continued threats by US President Trump to Canada’s economy and sovereignty.
“This is a time for all hands on deck. This is a time to put aside political, partisan differences, differences across provinces, to come together as Canadians and show strength, show that we value the relationship with the United States,” said Beck on Monday, July 28.
“When we're faced with this kind of threat, we're not going to take it lying down. We need to diversify our markets and do everything in our power to take control of the future of this province and this country.”
She added that she agreed with what former Prime Minister Stephen Harper said during the keynote session on the need to diversify trade markets and invest heavily in infrastructure to secure Canada’s economic independence.
“This is a time to build those rail lines, pipelines, power lines, and get our ports working so that we are not in this position ever again. We hope that relations are restored and there's a lot of great relationships across the border,” she said.
“But we can never forget what has happened over the last seven months, and this is a time, as I said, for Canadians to come together, and I agree with many of the comments that former Prime Minister Harper put forth today in the discussion.”
Beck added that completing the infrastructure projects would benefit different regions and industries in the country, as it would create new jobs not only in the province but across the country, which would help Canadian products reach other markets outside the US.
“We need more of the world-class products that we produce here in this province, more reliably getting to markets, be that the US or diversified markets abroad. I think we need to be thinking about not only getting those exports to market,” she said.
The Opposition Leader said she is still hopeful Canada’s trade relations with the US would return to normal, before Trump’s threats of imposing massive tariffs and even floating the idea of annexing Canada as the 51st State.
“But right now, as former Prime Minister Harper said, we have to learn the lesson. We can't be left in this situation again. We must take a serious approach to collaborating across the country to build that critical infrastructure,” added Beck.
“That's not just going to be in words, and press releases, that has to be getting to the table across provinces, across political lines, and start hammering out those projects that are going to not only improve our capacity, but are going to show Canadians that leaders of all political stripes at all levels of government are serious about building the infrastructure that we need for all Canadians to be successful into the future.”
