Jagmeet Singh lays out priorities ahead of President Biden’s visit

Singh says President Biden’s visit is a good opportunity to discuss how we can work together to create good-paying union jobs in Canada and in the United States.

OTTAWA— On Thursday, Canada’s NDP leader outlined what he believes Justin Trudeau should focus on during the president’s two-day visit. Singh is calling on the prime minister to stand up for Canadian workers by putting pressure on the Biden Administration to move to a Buy North America approach instead of Buy America, fixing softwood lumber tariffs, and by finding ways to work with President Biden on tackling the climate crisis and create good-paying union jobs.

“Canada should be the best place to live, work and raise a family. One good job should be enough for Canadians to afford a place to live that meets their needs, and still have some savings left over when the bills are paid,” said Singh. “While President Biden made it a priority to create good-paying union jobs and bring costs down by going after big corporations, Justin Trudeau is acting like everything is fine here. Justin Trudeau’s lack of leadership led to Canada having to play catch up with the U.S. and this is bad for workers and our economy.”

Compared to President Biden’s actions and investments to tackle inflation and the climate crisis, Justin Trudeau and his team have nothing to brag about. With the Inflation Reduction Act, the American president has invested significantly in a clean energy economy to create good-paying union jobs while tackling the climate crisis; Canadian workers could pay the price if similar action isn’t taken in our country. The American president also had no problem recognizing that greed is playing a role in the skyrocketing inflation numbers and he took appropriate actions to tackle this problem – something we haven’t yet seen in Canada.

“Justin Trudeau must show President Biden that with all the challenges we are facing— from inflation to the war in Ukraine to the disruption of the world supply chain and to income inequalities— it is more important than ever that we work together to address them and that we ensure Canadian and American workers get the respect they deserve,” said Singh. “The war in Ukraine and the impact of climate change also raise the need for the U.S. and Canada to work together on the arctic sovereignty and security while protection the rights of Indigenous Peoples.”