Chris Wattie/Canwest News ServiceCanadian Auto Workers President Ken Lewenza speaks during a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Feb. 10, 2009.

Union leaders were on Parliament Hill Tuesday pushing for the federal government to adopt a “Buy Canadian” policy before it rolls out its $40-billion economic stimulus package.

“We’re here today to insist that Canada needs comprehensive rules to ensure governments buy Canadian-made products and services, rules that will support Canadian manufacturing jobs, generate payroll and local spending and ultimately generate tax dollars that come back to the public purse,” Ken Lewenza, Canadian Auto Workers president, said at a news conference.

He said a ‘Buy Canadian’ policy would not violate NAFTA or other trade agreements, nor would it provoke a trade war.

“These arguments are completely false, raised as a smokescreen by those clinging to the rapidly failing ideology of endless free trade and de-regulation — the very ideas that got us in the mess today,” he said.

The CAW’s campaign comes amidst the ongoing controversy associated with the American government’s stimulus package that contained a “Buy American” provision. The plan stipulated that steel used in infrastructure projects must be made in the United States, which raised concerns about U.S. protectionism and trade agreement violations. The clause was later watered down to offset the controversy.

But Mr. Lewenza, joined at Tuesday’s new conference by the United Steelworkers national director Ken Neumann, said the unions are advocating for similar rules, which they say are not protectionist.

“At a time when our governments are poised to spend billions on much needed infrastructure we are calling on all levels of government to immediately enact comprehensive ‘Buy Canadian’ policies, to keep our tax dollars at home. At this time, we simply can’t afford not to,” said Mr. Lewenza.

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