B.C. Premier David Eby says he had a "frank discussion" with U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra about the cross-border softwood lumber dispute and tariffs.
Eby says he and Hoekstra didn't agree on everything at their meeting on Tuesday, but he says both expressed hopes for a "positive outcome to trade negotiations" between Canada and the United States.
Hoekstra was peppered with questions as he walked away from the B.C. legislature after the meeting, leaving unanswered queries about the lumber dispute and B.C.'s ban on American-made liquor.
He didn't respond to questions about remarks he made last summer, calling Canada "mean and nasty" amid U.S. liquor bans by some provinces and a slump in Canadian travel across the border.
Hoekstra says he and Eby were both "still smiling" after constructive discussions on a range of issues during their 45-minute meeting.
He says updates should come from either U.S. President Donald Trump or Prime Minister Mark Carney, who "may talk again this week" following discussions on Sunday.
Eby said in a statement that he told Hoekstra that B.C. "wholly condemns" an overnight incident in Toronto where shots were fired at the U.S. Consulate.
"The conversation included a frank discussion around what would be required to make progress on the softwood lumber dispute and tariffs," Eby said.
Various countervailing duties and tariffs on B.C.'s softwood lumber industry currently add up to 45 per cent.
Eby said other topics included trade talks, B.C.’s ban on U.S. liquor, and co-operation on transnational crime and money laundering.
"I also asked the ambassador to relay a message to the president and Congress, around allowing western states to join British Columbia in recognizing permanent daylight saving time so our commerce can be greater aligned," Eby said, after B.C.'s clocks moved forward for a final time on the weekend.
He said that no matter what happens between their governments, "Canadian and American people will always consider each other friends, neighbours and even family."
Interim B.C. Conservative leader Trevor Halford said before the meeting that he hoped it would result in more than just announcements.
Halford said Eby has been over-promising and under-delivering on the file.
"So, whatever he's doing, he should probably do the opposite."
Halford said the government's decision to remove all U.S.-made alcohol from its public stores was a "symbolic gesture."
Eby previously said of Hoekstra's "mean and nasty" comment that most Canadians would be "proud to be considered mean and nasty" and such a remark showed that Canadian measures in the trade conflict were working.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
