Ontario tables bill prioritizing spending on local goods, services

The Ford government is committing to buying Ontario-made products.

New legislation introduced Thursday would require all public-sector organizations to prioritize locally-made goods and services first, then Canadian suppliers.

However, the policy comes just one day after Ontario signed an agreement to break down trade barriers with provinces across the country.

“This law will ensure that projects are made with goods made right here in our great province,” said Stephen Crawford, Ontario’s Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement Minister.

Crawford said Thursday morning that the Ford government is committing to buying local.

The new legislation will require public sector organizations, including municipalities, to prioritize Ontario-made goods and services, and if not, then Canada-made.

“This is about protecting Ontario jobs and workers, while responding to the global economic challenges including U.S. tariffs on our goods and services,” said Crawford.

The province says organizations can look internationally if Ontario or Canadian products won’t be ready on time, or at a reasonable cost.

Many municipalities have already started purchasing locally — including Burlington, which passed a “Buy Canadian” policy earlier this year.

READ MORE: Doug Ford government to introduce ‘Buy Ontario’ legislation

Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward welcomes the new legislation, saying it allows municipalities to favour local companies when making larger purchases — something they couldn’t always do under previous legislation.

“We have a $100 million capital program next year — that’s a lot of dollars just in the City of Burlington,” said Ward. “That’s roads, that’s community centres, that’s parks, that’s new infrastructure and renewal of infrastructure. Our ability to procure all of that locally using local steel, local concrete, local companies, is going to be a game changer.”

Colin Mang, an Economics Professor at McMaster University, says it’s good to encourage local spending, he adds the timing is a bit “odd.”

“Yesterday, the government signed an agreement with the other provinces and territories to break down trade barriers in Canada, and here we are today introducing new trade barriers,” said Mang.

The deal, signed on Wednesday, drops interprovincial trade barriers on many goods, except food and alcohol, starting next month.

Mang adds that Ontario already has a trade surplus over other provinces, exporting around 30 per cent more than it imports across the country.

“So Ontario’s not in a bad trade position and there really isn’t a need to protect our own market from competition from other provinces,” said Mang. “So it’s a bit of an odd policy for the government to try to buy Ontario first, rather than looking broadly across Canada to get the best deal it can for Ontario taxpayers.”

The City of Hamilton

Tina Iacoe, the Director of Procurement with the City of Hamilton, said in a statement to CHCH News that the city welcomes the help from all levels of government to put local workers and Canadian businesses first.

“While Hamilton Council approved changes earlier this year to the City’s procurement policy, prioritizing the buying of goods, services and construction from Canadian businesses, with a focus on supporting local suppliers right here in Hamilton,” reads the statement, “City Staff will review the province’s proposed legislation and report back to Council in the near future with an assessment on its requirements, and how it may impact our procurement policies.”

WATCH MORE: Hamilton commits to ‘buy local’ in future contracts ahead of new U.S. tariffs