The president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Federation of Quebec Chambers of Commerce (FCCQ) is calling for the federal government to temporarily designate a person who could represent the interests of Canadians before Donald Trump while waiting for members of the Liberal Party of Canada to vote for a new leader.
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“It takes a Captain Canada, absolutely,” mentions Véronique Proulx in an interview on the show The 8:30 p.m..
“It doesn’t take three, four, five people responsible. It takes one who will be responsible during this very important period (in order) to make this issue a priority, because it is an economic priority for Canada, for Quebec, she continues. I want to tell you, in the event that there are tariffs of 25% which affect several products for a long period, it will have an impact on our businesses and it will also explode the costs for consumers.
And Mme Proulx believes that this role could be assumed by someone already present within the government.
“It must be someone who will not run in the leadership race,” she specifies. There are several ministers who would be able to take on this responsibility, should they also not leave the boat.”
But the CEO of the FCCQ insists: this appointment must be made quickly since, according to her, it is “one minute to midnight”.
“There is a lot of concern. In fact, it’s a bit surreal what’s happening right now. And business leaders, managers are very worried, she explains. They don’t know how to prepare for the current situation. And what’s more, it’s happening in a context where we don’t have a captain in the boat in Ottawa to represent businesses and support them.”
Watch the full interview with Véronique Proulx in the video above.
