Many Canadian eyes on America’s top court

When oral arguments were presented Wednesday morning to the Supreme Court of the United States, Canada was just one of many interested parties listening intently to what was said.

The issue at hand before America’s highest court was tariffs — specifically, the legality of the manner in which U.S. President Donald Trump has unilaterally imposed them on virtually every one of his nation’s global trading partners.

In order to bypass the congressional approvals that are routinely required on matters of taxation and revenue, Trump has invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The 1977 law allows the president to regulate economic transactions during national emergencies; in order to invoke the law as the rationale for his wide-ranging and whim-motivated penalties, Trump has stretched the definitions of “national emergency” and “national security” to encompass pretty much anything or anyone in the global marketplace he doesn’t like at a particular moment in time.

Trump’s tariff strategy has been challenged by numerous small business groups, as well as at least a dozen states, and lower courts have consistently ruled against the punitive policy. The Supreme Court case — which will require lengthy deliberation and likely won’t produce a decision for several months — will be a defining moment for Trump.