LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Quebec must act to remove the sword of Damocles placed by Donald Trump.

Translation of the letter published in the Journal de Montréal on February 11.
Link to the original text in French here.

 

By postponing its tariffs by one month, then announcing a full-scale attack on Quebec’s aluminum and steel, Donald Trump is playing with the sword of Damocles that he placed over Quebec. Our hyper-dependence on the United States is a major economic risk and we have a responsibility to act now. Rather than delivering a well-crafted plan, François Legault suggests sending the unemployed to build new dams. Supporting Hydro-Québec is good, but how many projects can be launched in the very short term to help thousands of families who could lose their jobs overnight?

Quebec must immediately equip itself with a plan based on three pillars: (1) rapid and specific support for businesses and workers, (2) targeted investment in infrastructure to meet our real needs and (3) aggressive diversification of our export markets.

First, we must protect as many jobs as possible in the affected industries. We are talking here about saving our SMEs and our jobs, by facilitating their access to credit, optimizing their tax burden and reducing regulations and red tape. We must avoid, at all costs, the tragic closures of businesses that could have otherwise succeeded and adapted.

However, we cannot approach the current crisis like the one that was caused by the pandemic. Here, we know that there is a beginning, but we have no idea if there will be an end. Therefore, our approach must be precise and subsequently encourage companies to increase their productivity in the longer term. This involves increasing research and development, innovation, and having clear objectives for productivity gains, worker’s requalification, in bedding artificial intelligence in our daily processes and diversify our export markets.

Secondly, we should match our infrastructure investments to meet the top priorities of Quebecers. There is a serious shortage of housing, our children too often study in decrepit schools, our seniors grow old in poorly kept LTCHs and Quebec is falling behind in its development of public transit. What could be more unifying than asking our skilled workers to repair our children’s school? We are asking the government to draw up and publish a list of projects that can be done quickly.

Thirdly, it is now very clear that our primary economic partner has become unpredictable and could be for years to come, even if the threat on tariffs is lifted. Quebec must therefore reduce its long-term dependence by immediately launching a diversification of its export markets. We also need to break down the barriers between provinces to help our SMEs export across the country, while applying better and more harmonized regulations and increased recognition of qualifications. Being part of Canada is a good thing and has many advantages.

Until now, Quebec has been letting other provinces take the lead on this issue. But the time has come for us to demonstrate our own leadership within Canada so that our interests are properly considered and taken into account.

Also, Canada’s trade agreements with the G7, Europe and other countries in the Indo-Pacific region offer unique opportunities. Quebec must adapt all of its support tools to encourage businesses to include the development of these markets in their own strategies. To complete this transformation, our trade diplomacy needs to pivot towards a better support for our businesses in these markets.

Quebec deserves better than a government that improvises. This is why we are proposing concrete solutions to defend our workers, our businesses and our families. With real leadership, Quebec can come together and turn this crisis into an opportunity.