A group of mayors of cities and towns that embrace the border with Canada-United States is asking the Canadian federal government for help as cross-border political tensions and tariff uncertainties create difficulties for their communities.
The eight mayors who comprise the Alliance of Mayors of Border sounded the alarm at an online press conference on Friday. They say that their economies, jobs and local companies are at risk, especially because war tariffs with the United States has reached the pandemic heels.
“We have been paddling dogs during the last four or five years due to Covid, and this [U.S. tariffs] It is the last thing to happen, “said Mike Bradley, mayor of Sarnia, Ontario.” We feel the pain and we are in the front line … so we don’t want to stay behind. ”
Tax -free stores face ‘literal death’
Mayors say their communities depend on cross -border companies, such as tax -free stores to strengthen their economies.
Barbara Barrett, Executive Director of the Frontier Rights Association (FDFA), says that tax -free stores, which depend completely on cross -border trips, now face the “literal disappearance” amid the tariffs threatened and imposed by the president of the United States, Donald Trump, on Canadian goods.
Dave Carlson, Reeve of the municipality of Manitoba of Emerson-Franklin, says that the tax free store in Emerson is a vital gear in the local economy and employs more than 20 people, one of the largest employers in the city of about 675 people, according to 2016 census data..
Carlson believes that cross -country messaging to “buy Canadian” is harming the communities of the Alliance.
“We hope that the Federal Government can, sooner rather than later, arrive at the negotiating table and resolve this, because this has spent too much time with a rhetoric saying ‘Do not buy us, do not go to the United States,’ said Carlson.
“That affects many works, many businesses and many communities, so our hopes are that we can overcome this sooner rather than later.”
There are 32 tax free stores in Canada, which operate in seven provinces, according to a Report 2024 For the FDFA.
Tax -free stores represent approximately $ 35 million a year in federal, provincial and local taxes, and operators invest a total of more than $ 60 million in border communities, according to the report.
Cameron BriSsonnette, owner of a second generation tax store in Osoyoos, BC, was crying while explaining the serious situation of his business during the current climate. He says he lost $ 67 last week, which means that transactions were not carried out, except for a refund.
“I have not raised a payment of my business since June last year. Now I am reaching the point where I wonder how much more I can pay my staff,” said Bissonette.
Trina Jones, the mayor of Woodstock, NB, says that the provinces and Ottawa need to “act quickly and intelligently” to help companies in border communities such as their own before it is too late.
