The Simcoe County District School Board is jumping on the patriotic train in the push to stop buying American as much as possible.
During the board’s business and facilities standing committee meeting on March 5, Collingwood/Wasaga Beach trustee Mike Foley put forward a motion to have the board prioritize buying Canadian whenever possible moving forward due to the ongoing trade war between Canada and the U.S.
The motion calls on the board to transition away from purchasing American products whenever possible until a time that fair and equitable trade policies are re-instated and agreed upon by the federal and provincial governments. Trustees passed the motion at the meeting.
“With all the carnage that’s going on across both borders right now, I think it’s only logical for us to look at how we as Canadians can do our duty and do what’s best for our countries and communities by buying Canadian,” said Foley. “Our country has been taken advantage of.”
“There’s going to be a lot of pain in the community and we should do what we can to support our local businesses,” said Foley.
Orillia/Severn/Ramara trustee Jodi Lloyd said there are some aspects of procurement for the board that are linked to the U.S. in a way that would be difficult to find an alternative for, including the use of certain software and contractual obligations. She said school boards are governed by broader public sector procurement guidelines in Ontario.
“There are significant implications to this,” said Lloyd. “There are a lot of things that need to be taken into consideration for this motion.”
“I think the current situation will affect us in a variety of ways,” she said.
The board’s superintendent of building and facility services Corry Van Nispen said that in addition to following the guidelines, there was an initiative brought in by the provincial government in 2022 called the Building Ontario Business Initiative (BOBI), which seeks to reduce barriers and provide companies in Ontario with greater access to public procurement opportunities as a response to COVID-19.
“The guidance behind that... is that buying Ontario is your priority,” said Van Nispen. “We are under a mandate to look to Ontario first when procuring.”
Beyond that, Van Nispen said U.S. software specifically is tied into the board’s infrastructure so it would be difficult to move away from that.
He pointed to new school construction and what would happen should the board procure Canadian companies only for that work.
“We’re probably going to see some price increases there as there are particular mechanical components that do come from the U.S.,” he said. “At the same time, many materials we use when building new schools (are Canadian), for example the cabinetry...is coming from Quebec.”
“We’re already naturally purchasing a lot from Canada...I don’t think this will be a difficult motion for us to support,” said Van Nispen.
While work is already underway, one trustee said passing the motion would make a statement. The motion also will see the board sending a letter to the ministry of education requesting that similar procurement measures be considered and implemented province-wide.
“I think making a statement on the current times is a very important thing to do,” said Adjala-Tosorontio/Clearview/CFB Borden/Essa trustee Brandy Rafeek.