Biden's inflation bill is 'big win' for Canada after Canadian lobbying results in benefits for Canada — and PM Trudeau is celebrating



Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau celebrated President Joe Biden signing into law the Inflation Reduction Act on Tuesday.

The celebration, however, was more than a simple gesture of goodwill among close allies. In fact, Trudeau has good reason to celebrate: The bill benefits Canadian companies.

What did Trudeau say?

In a tweet celebrating the new law, Trudeau said the Inflation Reduction Act is "good news for Canadians" — and the country's "growing EV manufacturing sector."

"It’s official: @POTUS signed legislation that will include Canada in a new tax incentive for electric vehicles purchased in the US. This is good news for Canadians, for our green economy, and for our growing EV manufacturing sector," the Canadian premier said Tuesday afternoon.

\u201cIt\u2019s official: @POTUS signed legislation that will include Canada in a new tax incentive for electric vehicles purchased in the US. This is good news for Canadians, for our green economy, and for our growing EV manufacturing sector.\u201d
— Justin Trudeau (@Justin Trudeau) 1660684130

How does the law benefit Canada?

Specifically, the law will boost Canada's electric vehicle manufacturing industry because the tax credits it provides to Americans are not limited to American-made products.

In fact, the bill initially limited tax credits to American-made products, but "aggressive" Canadian lobbying resulted in a language change that benefits Canada.

The Financial Post, a Canadian news outlet, explained:

Initially, the language of the bill was framed in a way that would have favoured American automotive production over imports from Canada and other countries. For Canada, the main issue was the bill’s plan to attach generous tax credits to the purchase of American-made electric vehicles, which Canadian politicians said would violate the North American trade agreement.

Following months of aggressive lobbying from Canada, Democratic lawmakers brought in key changes, including a US$3,750 credit for vehicles whose batteries contain critical minerals extracted or processed in a country with which the U.S. has a free-trade agreement or were recycled from depleted batteries at a facility in North America.

Canadian economist Patricia Mohr described the language changes as a "big win" for Canada, the Financial Post reported.

Not only will the law benefit Canada's critical minerals industry in the long term, Eric Desaulniers, president and CEO of a Quebec-based mining company, told the Financial Post the law puts Canadian manufactures in a "privileged" position.

The benefits for Canada, though under-reported in the U.S., were not lost on every lawmaker.

"Using your taxes to boost the Canadian automobile manufacturing sector is not going to reduce inflation in the United States, but it is quite a gift to Canada, the same country that sued the US in the WTO to get us to remove country of origin labels from our beef and pork," Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said Tuesday.

Canadian civil rights org fires back at Justin Trudeau over decision to invoke Emergencies Act: 'Threatens our democracy'



The Canadian Civil Liberties Union published a defiant message condemning Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for using increasingly powerful methods to quell Freedom Convoy protests.

What is the background?

Trudeau announced Monday that Canada's federal government would, for the first time in its history, invoke the Emergencies Act to stop the protests and silence those advocating for freedom. Invoking the Emergencies Act gives Trudeau enormous power to end the politically inconvenient protests.

According to Politico, Trudeau emphasized his conviction that the protests are no longer "non-violent," although Trudeau did not explain how the peaceful protests had become violent. Trudeau also claimed he would not limit Canadians' freedoms of speech, protest, or peaceful assembly — despite invoking the Emergencies Act to do exactly that.

As part of Canada's expanded efforts to crack down on the protests, the Washington Post explained that Canada's "money-laundering and terrorism financing rules will also be widened to cover crowdfunding sites such as GoFundMe and GiveSendGo and payment service providers that have been used to funnel funds, including cryptocurrencies, to the protesters."

Additionally, Canadian authorities will crack down on businesses that own the trucks being used in the protests, which could include revoking insurance policies or freezing corporate bank accounts.

What did the CCLU say?

The CCLU — which is essentially the Canadian version of the American Civil Liberties Union and is, therefore, by no means conservative — warned that Trudeau is threatening Canadian democracy by using government power to stop Canadians from exercising freedom of speech.

"The federal government has not met the threshold necessary to invoke the Emergencies Act," the CCLU explained. "This law creates a high and clear standard for good reason: the Act allows government to bypass ordinary democratic processes. This standard has not been met."

The federal government has not met the threshold necessary to invoke the Emergencies Act. This law creates a high and clear standard for good reason: the Act allows government to bypass ordinary democratic processes. This standard has not been met. 1/3
— Canadian Civil Liberties Association (@Canadian Civil Liberties Association) 1644885365

The Emergencies Act, according to the CCLU, can only be invoked when no other legal redress allows Canada to protect its sovereignty.

"The Emergencies Act can only be invoked when a situation 'seriously threatens the ability of the Government of Canada to preserve the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada' & when the situation 'cannot be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada,'" the CCLU explained. "Governments regularly deal with difficult situations, and do so using powers granted to them by democratically elected representatives. Emergency legislation should not be normalized. It threatens our democracy and our civil liberties."

Canadians who are angry over draconian COVID restrictions, of course, are not a threat to Canadian sovereignty. They do, however, constitute a threat to the Canadian elite and those in government who have been exercising fierce control over the lives of Canadian citizens for the past two years.