Senate Opposition Leader Leo Housakos is calling on Parliament to form a special committee that will hear directly from businesses, workers, and industries impacted by the deepening U.S.–Canada trade dispute, with Canadian counter-tariffs set to go into effect Sept. 8.
In an Aug. 28 statement, Housakos said a special committee is all the more needed in light of Ottawa’s Aug. 26 decision to take American fish and seafood products off the retaliatory tariff list while adding in other goods including charcoal and copper wire, saying the changes show the importance of breaking down the impact of counter-tariffs by industry and region.
“On an issue as consequential as our trade relationship with our largest trading partner, meaningful parliamentary oversight is essential,” Housakos said.
“With billions of dollars in economic activity and thousands of Canadian jobs hanging in the balance, the Senate has a role to play in looking beyond the spreadsheets and understanding the regional and sectoral considerations affecting the supply chains, communities and people behind those numbers.”
A series of Canadian counter-tariffs of 15, 25, and 50 percent on roughly $27.6 billion of U.S. imports was announced by Ottawa on Aug. 25 in the wake of 50 percent American tariffs put in place on approximately the same value of Canadian goods on Aug. 22 after the two sides failed to reach a deal.
Special Committees
Senate committees are small groups of senators who examine legislation and important public policy issues in greater detail than the full chamber. They can call witnesses, examine evidence, request documents, and report their findings and recommendations back to the Senate.
Unlike standing Senate committees, which usually exist for a whole Parliamentary session, special Senate committees can be formed by way of a Senate motion “from time to time,” and are usually dissolved after submitting their recommendations and final report to the Senate.
The recommendations from a special committee are not binding but can often influence subsequent parliamentary debate and policy decisions.
Recent special Senate committees include the Special Senate Committee on the Charitable Sector authorized in January 2018 and which submitted its final report in June 2019, and the Special Senate Committee on the Arctic, which was authorized in 2017 to study how changes in the Arctic are impacting indigenous peoples and issued its final report in June 2019.
The Conservative Senate Caucus said a special committee on Canadian counter-tariffs against the United States would let senators hear valuable input.
“A Special Senate Committee would provide a structured forum to hear directly from frontline stakeholders from across Canada, including producers, exporters, workers, local businesses and the seafood processing sector which successfully advocated for adjustments to the tariff measures,” he said.
The special committee would also give different regions of Canada more of a “voice,” according to the caucus.
“With Canada’s trade relationship with the United States touching regional economies in different ways, Senate Conservatives point to the Senate’s unique role as the institution that gives Canada’s regions and territories a voice in Parliament,” said the statement from the office of the Senate Opposition Leader.
In particular, Housakos emphasized that a special Senate committee could help ensure a better Canadian response to U.S. tariffs that takes into account all regions.
“The Senate exists to bring Canada’s regions into the room,” he said. “That is a national strength we should be using to build a stronger Canadian trade response that harnesses the full power of the experience, expertise and economic strength found in every corner of our great nation.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has also asked for Carney to recall Parliament amid the escalating tariff war.
Carney has said his government is allocating $7.5 billion in relief package to aid workers and businesses affected by the tariffs.
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