The province’s minister of industry, energy and technology says it is not time to push the panic button yet on potential tariffs that could be imposed on Canada by the incoming Donald Trump administration.

Andrew Parsons applauds the Premier’s decision to have a roundtable with various industry stakeholders earlier in the week ahead of a meeting with the Prime Minister.

Parsons says those discussions are needed, they are timely, and it is important to think about what the strategy is going to be regarding discussions with the United States.

Parsons says when he became minister, there were a lot of aspects of the energy sector that were “in a tough spot.”

He says he is a “firm believer” in not panicking, and getting too high or too low about a situation.

“Situations like this require conversation, diligence, and perseverance. Not to understate them, but if I had a dollar for every time something bad happened and someone gets on Open Line and says ‘she’s done b’ys, she done, it’s all over,’ I might be able to pay some of the deficit down.”