Sask NDP Leader Carla Beck is urging Premier Scott Moe to publicly support ending tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles — a move she says would immediately lift retaliatory Chinese tariffs on Saskatchewan canola products and deliver relief to struggling farmers.“The Premier has dragged his heels and talked out of both sides of his mouth on this critical issue for more than a year while Saskatchewan farmers have suffered,” Beck said in Saskatoon. “That’s not leadership. I am demanding a clear and unequivocal statement today from Scott Moe that the tariffs on Chinese EVs must end.”.OLDCORN: Barber and Lich speak publicly about house arrest and new world of political dissent.Beck said Saskatchewan producers, who “feed the world,” are being punished by a trade standoff that has choked off access to one of their biggest markets. “They need access to the Chinese trade market right now — this is about the future of our agriculture sector, our economy and the livelihoods of so, so many Saskatchewan families,” said Beck.The call follows comments last week from China’s ambassador, who said Beijing would lift its tariffs on Canadian canola seed, oil, and meal if Canada ended its EV tariffs..Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew immediately called on Ottawa to do so. Moe, however, told reporters the issue is “not as simple as that.”The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities said last week that “since the imposition of tariffs stemming from Ottawa’s dispute with China over electric vehicles, not a single shipment of Saskatchewan canola seed, oil or meal has entered the Chinese market.”.OLDCORN: Ottawa shouldn’t ask the Supreme Court to rewrite the notwithstanding clause.“There is no room for nuance, no room for Scott Moe to keep sitting on the sidelines, not with so much at stake,” said Beck. “Frankly, people are tired of this. After 18 years of the Sask Party, we see a stagnant economy and a cost-of-living crisis that is hammering household budgets. Since Moe became Premier, we’ve had the third-worst job creation in all of Canada.”Beck said the NDP would offer “a plan that’s focused on building a bright future for everyone that calls our incredible province home.”
