Paradise lift station hit by Trump’s tariffs

By Mark Squibb

The Town of Paradise has been hit by a tariff of over $4,500 on pump station parts imported from the United States.
This past February, council approved the purchase of $49,450, HST included, worth of surge supports for the new St. Thomas Line pumphouse.
Upon entry into Canada, a tariff surcharge of $4,559, HST included, was imposed.
Councillor Tommy Maher said that tariffs on surge supports were expected but not confirmed at the time of the initial purchase. A previous credit on the project will cover the cost of the tariff surcharge.
Councillor Larry Vaters added that initial construction of the lift station was well underway before increased tariffs were introduced under President Donald Trump.
“There’s no way anybody could have anticipated a tariff charge on anything like this,” said Vaters.
During the same meeting, council approved a further change order related to the lift station that had been a matter of dispute between staff and the contractor. The work was completed under a dispute-resolution clause while both parties negotiated a reasonable cost.
The initial quote provided by the contractor for the work was $18,498, plus HST. Both parties have since agreed to a cost of $1,700 plus HST.
The change order included work not included in the contract as well as the deletion of some other tasks.