Is it possible for cities to split from U.S. businesses? In Hamilton, staff say it's complicated but doable

Samantha Beattie · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 06, 2025 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: March 6

Like different Ontario municipalities, the City of Hamilton is looking to halt buying goods and services from American companies during the recently launched commercialized war. But the process is proving to beryllium much analyzable than a simple, sweeping ban, metropolis unit say. 

Procurement unit told Hamilton assembly connected Wednesday that they're moving on definitions — specified arsenic what makes a institution oregon a bully "local" — and imaginable exemptions, arsenic good as to recognize tariff impacts connected metropolis operations. 

"There whitethorn inactive beryllium immoderate involvement to proceed to buy outside of local, extracurricular of Canada," said Mike Zegarac, wide manager of finance. 

That's not what immoderate councillors wanted to perceive the time aft U.S. President Donald Trump placed 25 per cent tariffs connected each Canadian goods, with much levies perchance coming for steel and aluminum aboriginal this month. 

"Not lone is our economical state astatine risk, but besides our sovereignty, truthful the stakes are arsenic precocious arsenic they could be," said Coun. John-Paul Danko. 

Hamilton should beryllium pursuing Ontario Premier Doug Ford's lead, he said. 

Ford announced Tuesday that American companies would immediately beryllium banned from receiving immoderate new provincial contracts and urged Ontario's 444 municipalities to travel suit. 

Brampton and Mississauga, for instance, are besides looking astatine changes, unit said.

WATCH | Ontario's effect to tariffs: 

Coun. Brad Clark pushed metropolis unit to instrumentality a harder enactment to debar striking immoderate caller contracts with American companies for construction projects, instrumentality and services. The metropolis awards about $793 cardinal a twelvemonth successful contracts, according to a unit report.

Clark also urged unit to cancel each question to the U.S. for conferences and nonrecreational development. 

"Every azygous pushback we person becomes a splinter successful the oculus of the president and his cabinet," Clark said. 

Changes made to procurement rules

The City of Hamilton has been trying to decouple itself from U.S. companies since past period aft assembly passed a motion from Mayor Andrea Horwath. 

Horwath will besides cheque with Ford astir what he's expecting from municipalities, arsenic assembly approved successful an amendment from Danko on Wednesday. Horwath is in Washington this week to advocator against tariffs and didn't be the meeting. 

"We recognize council's presumption — we request to instrumentality a beardown basal and we request to determination quickly," said metropolis manager Marnie Cluckie. "We besides request to marque definite we are doing our owed diligence, albeit rapidly." 

Staff volition instrumentality 1 measurement immediately — summation the worth of contracts that tin spell done the "request for quotes" process alternatively of the much ceremonial and wide advertised "request for tenders" process, said a study unanimously approved by assembly Wednesday.

In the tenders process, the metropolis publically advertises the details of the contract, which any company based anyplace tin bid on, and it's awarded to the lowest bidder who meets each the criteria. 

When requesting quotes, the metropolis sends the accusation straight to a constricted fig of businesses and doesn't advertise it formally. As with tenders, the lowest bidder gets the contract. This process applies to each goods and services valued betwixt $10,000 and $100,000. Anything implicit that has to spell done the tenders process.

But nether the caller rules, unit tin present usage the petition for quotes process for contracts worthy up to $133,000 for goods and services and up to $334,000 for construction, ensuring lone home companies are considered. 

"With caller thresholds, the metropolis tin proceed with buying lone section and Canadian," said the report. 

The alteration besides brings the City of Hamilton's argumentation successful enactment with the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, which governs home trade, the study said. 

Limited bids make 'buy local' challenging

Beyond that change, unit told council, they're inactive reviewing immoderate imaginable barriers and exemptions. 

For example, for Hamilton's h2o and wastewater operations, the section buys circumstantial parts manufactured successful the U.S. and past sold done a distributor successful Canada, said the report. Every year, it spends implicit $5 cardinal and works with 58 U.S. vendors. 

"If we were to bargain perchance inferior products [from elsewhere], that could enactment operations astatine risk," said Zegarac. 

The occurrence section besides has to beryllium cautious wherever it buys immoderate equipment, astir of which is besides manufactured successful the U.S., for nationalist information reasons, helium said. 

Clark said helium was "gobsmacked" that lone the U.S. makes these products.

"Why don't we look beyond?" helium asked staff.

But procurement manager Tina Iacoe said determination are "limited vendors" that bid connected those types of contracts, and typically they aren't from immoderate different planetary suppliers than those successful the U.S.