At a council meeting in July, Malcolm Allen, a St. Catharines and District Labour councillor and a member of CAW local 199, asked the city to adopt a policy that would see all goods, services and contracts the city purchases be Canadian.

The purpose for the policy, said Allen, is to prevent the loss of manufacturing jobs in Niagara and, ultimately, Ontario and Canada.

He used the closure of several paper mills in Thorold as an example of how the manufacturing industry is suffering.

"You used to be able to walk down the road and put your application in and work in any one of those mills," said Allen.

He said Niagara has lost 6,300 manufacturing jobs since 2002. According to the CAW, the number of job losses stretches to 350,000 nationally or, simply put, 190 each day.

"They have been left out. It's their money that we collect," said Allen who is also a councillor in the Town of Pelham.

"(We) spend immense amounts of taxpayers money ... What we want to do is spend it even more wisely. We ought to spend it locally if possible and step it out like the 100-mile diet."

Allen proposed that Thorold should buy services and products that are Niagara-based, or made in Ontario. If that isn't possible, buy Canadian, he said.

Allen also proposed several conditions including: have a minimum of 50 per cent Canadian content and domestic assembly in the purchase of public transit vehicles; purchase goods and services with the best possible level of Canadian content; require vendors to identify where their goods and services come from including the overall Canadian content; complete annual reports on the level of Canadian content in municipal purchases; look for ways to enhance the amount of Canadian content in future purchases.

He told council that the province and federal government have neglected how they spend money when it comes to buying domestic products.

"When you get an exemption and have a chance to do things differently, why wouldn't you?" he asked.

Allen said the "buy Canadian policy is a steal from America," adding that many municipalities and states across the border have adopted a Buy American policy and have not violated the rules set out by NAFTA or Wolrd Trade Organizations.

Coun. Shawn Wilson supported the presentation.

"We constantly ask our residents to shop local. This is the same thing. Its time for this council to be a leader in this area."

Wilson said he will come to the next council meeting with a motion to push for the policy.