Winnipeg Free Press

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COMMITTED TO OUR COMMUNITY TOP NEWS A3 SATURDAY JANUARY 25, 2025 ● ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM Three provinces appear to backpedal on Team Canada approach to Trump’s tactics Alberta accused of undermining tariff battle O TTAWA — Ottawa’s former chief trade negotiator Steve Verheul says Alberta is undermining Can- ada’s attempts to prevent the U.S. from levying damaging tariffs — a measure U.S. President Donald Trump has said could drive Canada into “failed state” status. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has rallied most of the premiers to agree that all sectors of the Canadian econ- omy could be deployed to fight back against Trump’s plan to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all imports from Canada. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith dis- agrees. She has said that Canada should not threaten the U.S. with retaliatory tariffs or cutting off energy exports, and should focus instead on finding common ground. Earlier this week, Verheul attribut- ed Canada’s successful renegotiation of NAFTA during Trump’s first presi- dency — which culminated in the Can- ada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) — in part to the coherent message coming from the provinces, industry and Ottawa. “When they all briefed up, the mes- sages were the same and it was much easier to do it that way,” he told the To- ronto-based Empire Club on Tuesday. “There is a very strong sense of unity among all of the premiers at this point — with the one exception of Alberta.” Verheul said that Canada’s leaders must try to get Alberta’s government “on board too. Because the fact that Alberta has gone in a different direc- tion through these last few weeks has significantly undermined Canada’s pos- ition.” For now, Canada is in “damage con- trol” mode, he said. Smith’s office has not responded to a request for comment. Since Verheul made his remarks Tuesday, other premiers have pushed back on the federal position on tariffs. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said Wednesday he had “an issue with” putting tariffs on energy exports. That same day, Quebec Premier François Legault suggested such meas- ures should be deployed only with the provinces’ consent. On Friday, Trump again said that Canada should become an American state, adding “it’s sort of crazy” to sug- gest the U.S. needs Canadian imports. Trump said he told Trudeau earli- er that the U.S. is subsidizing Canada to the tune of billions of dollars, and claimed Trudeau said that if those subsidies stopped, Canada would be “a failed nation.” The president insisted Canada would have “better health coverage” and “wouldn’t have to worry about mil- itary” as an American state, adding that Canada has been “very nasty to us on trade.” Experts have said that Canada’s trade imbalance with the U.S. largely stems from Canada’s energy exports. They also say it’s wrong to think of this as a subsidy — particularly as Trump offers wildly diverging estimates of its size. Asked about Trump’s remarks, De- fence Minister Bill Blair said his “un- fortunate rhetoric” is “offensive to us” and “Canada will never be a failed state.” Liberal leadership contestant Chrys- tia Freeland, who helped steer the NAFTA renegotiations, said Canada would “absolutely not” become a failed state if Trump’s threatened tariffs take effect. — The Canadian Press DYLAN ROBERTSON TODD KOROL / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is hurting Canada’s chances of meeting the tariff threat as a unified force, a former trade negotiator says. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS GET YOUR FILL Reyn Buhler from Anvil Tree checks the tail lights on warming hut Wrong Turn, designed by a team from Oklahoma City and built by the local company, at The Forks Friday. This year’s competitors are getting finishing touches before being towed out on the Nestaweya River Trail and around the winter park today. Manitoba Mounties getting their men, and women, to address staff shortages THE head of the Manitoba RCMP reassured communities Friday that backup is on the way in the face of a staffing shortage that has forced the re- duction or cancellation of enforcement programs, including in Steinbach, the province’s third-largest city. “We are always looking at keeping community and public safety first and foremost,” said Scott McMurchy, assist- ant commissioner of D Division, one day after it was reported Manitoba des- perately needs 100 additional Mounties because the force is stretched so thin. The shortage of officers in Manitoba is so acute that Mounties in other prov- inces have been asked to volunteer to work here for two weeks to bolster the ranks. Saskatchewan and the North are also understaffed. The officers, whose commanders have to approve the move, have been asked to work her either in February or April to cover general duty shortages. Current staff will also be reassigned in the short term to better fill gaps. “Internally, we have already estab- lished, within our existing resources, a rotating relief schedule to ensure the locations which are in the greatest need have sufficient resources,” McMurchy said. That’s welcome news to Steinbach’s deputy mayor, who said traffic enforce- ment has taken a back seat to crime investigations at the local detachment. “We are funding 18 positions, but we don’t always have those 18 positions. We have three, four or five vacancies. It is definitely a point of frustration when we’re not getting the number of officers we want,” said Coun. Michael Zwaagstra. “We’ve noticed it is very hard to have all the positions filled at any given time.” For example, he said, the community has made traffic enforcement a prior- ity due to street racing and is willing to pay for one position just for that. “But when you’re down officers, things which are important are not ur- gent, so the urgent ones are dealt with, the others aren’t. It’s a point of concern.” Steinbach is one of 21 municipalities in Manitoba that have a contract with RCMP for policing. Each pays 90 per cent of the cost for the officers it needs. As well, under a federal-provincial agreement, Manitoba pays 70 per cent of the cost of having the RCMP as the province’s policing agency while the federal government pays the rest. McMurchy said the request for offi- cers in other provinces to do two-week stints here will give staff a rest or focus solely on complicated investigations. He said all of the temporary officers will be deployed to northern Manitoba. The force has ditched a policy, enact- ed during the pandemic, to allow re- cruits to determine where they’d work. “That was a benefit for the force as a whole, to get our recruitment numbers up, but I think it is recognized now that (it has) been a little bit of a detriment to a smaller or medium-sized division such as Manitoba,” said McMurchy. As well, RCMP will deploy many of the graduating cadets to Manitoba. “They are working to prioritize the Manitoba applicants and those who have expressed interest in coming to Manitoba.” McMurchy said he expects the prov- ince to have an additional 100 officers within the next six to nine months. “I could always use a little bit more — 100 certainly will help,” he said. “We’ve got to get fully staffed … we also have plans in the works, with the province of Manitoba, to expand other areas of policing, that we need to shore up. Things such as cyber crime … or- ganized crime and so forth, so I need resources. I need the cadets to come in and fill those front-line positions, get trained up and become experienced, so I can take more experienced police officers to put them into the specialized units.” Premier Wab Kinew said people who live in communities policed by the RCMP are fully aware of the shortage. “Anyone who lives in rural Manitoba can tell you that there have been con- cerns around staffing with the RCMP for quite some time now for many years,” said Kinew. “I encourage young people to con- sider a career in law enforcement, to consider this as an opportunity which leads to not only having a great career, but also to answer a calling and to give back to our communities here.” — with files from Carol Sanders kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca KEVIN ROLLASON ;