31 | To Tariff or Not? (w/ Roslyn Kunin)

02/27/25 • 22 min

In this edition of Journal, “To Tariff or not to Tariff – that is the question.” With apologies to Hamlet, but it is what people are talking about.

Whatever you think of him, President Trump has certainly turned the status quo upside down. From his point of view, it works.

By simply threatening to apply tariffs to all Canadian goods if we didn’t take action on our border and fentanyl issues, our prime minister and premiers sprung into action. Helicopters to the border, more raids on mega drug labs! Drones in the air!

But how will we respond to actual tariffs?

Canadian politicians and economists have had various ideas: We’ll match your tariffs dollar for dollar – or we will target sectors that Americans care about the most.

Our NDP premier floated the idea that we would take liquor and wine off British Columbia’s shelves if they came from red Republican states. I guess that means Kentucky bourbon is out and California wines are in!

While one can’t give in to bullies, it is fair to ask some questions.

Will retaliatory tariffs work, stop a trade war and change President Trump’s mind? Or just up the ante?

And who pays the cost? Consumers on both sides of the border, I would say.

One economist has written an essay titled: “Tariff retaliation is a dead end.” Canada needs to retool its economy, not chase self-defeating tariffs. That economist’s name is Dr. Roslyn Kunin.

Roslyn is an award-winning labour economist and forecaster who has taught at both UBC and SFU. Amongst her many career accomplishments, she served 20 years as Regional Economist for the federal government.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this edition of Journal, “To Tariff or not to Tariff – that is the question.” With apologies to Hamlet, but it is what people are talking about.

Whatever you think of him, President Trump has certainly turned the status quo upside down. From his point of view, it works.

But how will we respond to actual tariffs?

Canadian politicians and economists have had various ideas: We’ll match your tariffs dollar for dollar – or we will target sectors that Americans care about the most.

While one can’t give in to bullies, it is fair to ask some questions.

Will retaliatory tariffs work, stop a trade war and change President Trump’s mind? Or just up the ante?

And who pays the cost? Consumers on both sides of the border, I would say.

One economist has written an essay titled: “Tariff retaliation is a dead end.” Canada needs to retool its economy, not chase self-defeating tariffs. That economist’s name is Dr. Roslyn Kunin.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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30 | So You Want to Be The Mayor (w/ Mike Hurley, mayor of Burnaby)

In this edition of Journal, we take a close look at the challenges that mayors face every minute of every day. There is no such thing as a time-out when you are in that job.

It always surprises me when I hear our governments described in this way – most important, the federal level, next the provincial, then the municipal.

When I served in Vancouver’s municipal government, I was often asked, “When are you going to run provincially, or federally?” – as if that must be the goal. It was never my aspiration, even though for other reasons, I did eventually serve provincially.

But municipal governments are closest to the people they serve. They know what the issues are. Constituents can visit you in your office. They can appear in person to state their concerns before council, whether it is about potholes, the symphony, or supportive housing.

And mayors are the pointy end of that stick. In our minds, they are the ones responsible for housing costs, crime in our streets, fentanyl deaths, not enough density, too much density, too few bike lanes, too many bike lanes.

In many ways, a thankless job. But when done well, the good mayors become our voice on the public stage.

Mayor Mike Hurley of Burnaby is certainly in the spotlight these days. Elected in 2018 as an independent, he was re-elected in 2022 by acclamation – a strong vote of confidence.

And, as if being in charge of this bustling, well-run, and growing municipality were not enough, Mayor Hurley has recently taken on the role of Chair of the Metro Vancouver Regional District at a tense time when the overdue and over-budget waste water plant fills the headlines. Brave.

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32 | Hell in the Streets (w/ Mayor Leonard Krog)

In this edition of Journal, we examine the “horrors that exist on our streets.” That phrase was used by Leonard Krog, the mayor of Nanaimo to describe what he sees every day in his city.

Others use the euphemism “the disorder in our streets.” But whatever you call it, it certainly denigrates the liveability of so many communities – and it started way before decriminalization.

All across North America, not just in British Columbia, there was a movement in the 1970s, away from institutionalized care for the mentally ill, in part as a result of the movie “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.”

That was a terrifying tale of abuse that no one would support.

However, rather than ask how we could improve the way we care for the severely mentally ill, it was broadly decided that almost no one should be in secured care. Thus, Riverview was closed. A huge mistake, in my opinion.

I realize that the percentage of those who are severely mentally ill and in need of help is small, but to think these individuals would be able to cope on their own, find housing, remember to take their meds, eat properly and be safe is absurd. Instead, so many have become the victims of drug dealers and pimps.

So now, this vulnerable population has to deal with a decriminalization experiment that has increased the public use and abuse of drugs. The drugs are stronger, overdoses are frequent, brain damage too often the consequence. And still there are those who hear of the violent stranger attacks or see individuals lying on the streets in a desperate state but continue to argue against secured care.

Mayor Leonard Krog isn’t one of them. He has been outspoken about the need for a new approach.

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