Premier Scott Moe has returned from Washington D.C. after his second meeting with U.S. representatives this month to discuss Saskatchewan’s role in trade.
The 25 per cent tariffs being imposed on most Canadian goods is set to take effect on March 4.
Speaking to media upon his return, Moe said the province will be actively working to divert any form of tariffs in Canada or abroad.
“What we are doing as a province, and what we will continue to do for the foreseeable future, is to make every effort to head off any imposition, whether it’d be tariffs coming from President Trump and the United States or whether it’d be counter-tariffs from Canada,” Moe said at a press conference Friday.
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Questions quickly shifted to Moe’s declaration of all pipeline permits involving Saskatchewan being considered “pre-approved.”
“All pipeline permits going east, west, or south received in Saskatchewan will be considered pre-approved,” Moe said in a social media post on Wednesday. “We encourage all provinces and the federal government to do the same.”
Moe said he wants to provide certainty at an uncertain time but didn’t hesitate to lay some of the blame on the federal government.
“What we’ve seen over the last nine years is a federal government that has constantly injected their ideology and their politics into those decision-making processes and that just isn’t right, and Canadians are realizing that today,” Moe said.
Saskatchewan opposition leader Carla Beck agrees with the premier in wanting to see trade enabling infrastructure like pipelines or rail lines but wants less litigation and more negotiation.
“It’s easy to put a tweet out, we’ve seen a lot of that,” Beck said. “What’s difficult, but is necessary, is to get everyone to the table and to hammer out a deal.”
Moe said with tariffs looking more likely next week, anything is on the table.
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