The president of the 91大黄鸭 Chamber of Commerce is publicly calling on the premiers of Alberta and B.C. to stop what it calls the 鈥渞hetoric鈥� on inter-provincial trade and instead find ways to enhance the economies of both provinces.
Tom Dyas said Wednesday the current situation with two B.C.鈥檚 John Horgan and Alberta鈥檚 Rachel Notley trading threats in the media, along with what appears to be very little involvement from the federal government, threatens to cause major damage to the local economy.
Dyas said it鈥檚 harming small businesses and impacting thousands of families who rely on inter-provincial trade to make ends meet.
鈥淣obody wins when there is a boycott and the political uncertainty it creates will threaten much needed investment in both provinces,鈥� said Dyas in a news release. 鈥淭he ban on B.C. wine imports needs to stop now and both provincial leaders need to cool off before things escalate to include other products or sectors.
On Tuesday Notley said the province of Alberta鈥檚 liquor distribution branch will stop importing B.C. wine in retaliation for Horgan trying to stop or delay the expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline from Northern Alberta to Vancouver that carries bitumen.
鈥淲e have enough to be concerned with in our ongoing trade issues with the U.S.鈥� said Dyas.鈥淲e don鈥檛 need to be fighting among ourselves as Canadians.鈥�
He said many small businesses in the Central Okanagan are now the 鈥渃ollateral damage鈥� in a political fight between two premiers.
鈥淲e need leadership that is more focused on solving problems rather than getting media sound bites that do nothing but appease their political supporters.鈥�
Boycotts between businesses in both provinces will not resolve an issue that is ultimately the federal government鈥檚 responsibility said the chamber president. And that is why the 91大黄鸭 chamber and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce are both calling on the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal Liberal government to step in and 鈥渟tand up for the regulatory process that is at the heart of this dispute.鈥�
It鈥檚 an echo of the public position local Conservative MP Dan Albas has taken on the trade dispute between Alberta and B.C.
In what appears to be a shot at Horgan, Dyas said Kinder Morgan鈥檚 Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project went through a rigorous federal review before it was approved, and 鈥渨hile dismissing the result of that process as if it didn鈥檛 happen may be good politics, it actually threatens to create global uncertainty about the faith investors can have in Canada鈥檚 regulatory processes.鈥�
He says leadership from the Trudeau, who has said publicly the pipeline project will go ahead, would go a long way in cooling this dispute.
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