Buy American, softwood lumber tariffs, Country of Origin Labelling–these are all methods by which American companies are trying to stop Canadians from selling into the U.S.

So what does Canada do to protect our trade? First, Prime Minister Harper, Cabinet Ministers and backbench MPs like me, regularly and aggressively meet with American politicians to press them on these issues. We remind them that protectionist policies hurt American consumers. We also ally ourselves with American businesses that support Canada.

Secondly, we expand our trade with other countries in order to diversify the Canadian economy. If the Americans want to discriminate against oil from the oil sands, fine. We can sell that oil to Asia. We are signing trade deals with Norway, Switzerland and Colombia, while bringing in investment from Asia.

These are smart ways to grow Canadian trade.

I’m Brad Trost your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt. You can call my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133 or drop by our two offices to visit: Saskatoon Monday-Friday or Humboldt Tuesday and Wednesday. I always appreciate your feedback.