Ontario municipalities could risk losing provincial funding if they don’t comply with the province’s “Buy Ontario” policy amid Canada’s escalating trade conflict with the United States, the municipal affairs minister says.
Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack has sent a letter to Ontario’s 444 municipalities reminding them that provincial procurement rules require them to prioritize Ontario and Canadian goods and services.
Ontario municipalities spend more than $22 billion annually on goods and services, and the province wants those purchases to favour Ontario and Canadian products, Flack said in the letter posted to his social media accounts.
“Failure to comply with Buy Ontario requirements will force us to reconsider provincial funding made available to municipalities, in addition to other consequences under the Buy Ontario Act,” he wrote. “In the face of these unprecedented economic attacks against our province and country, we all have a responsibility to do everything within our control to protect our workers and communities.”…