Question: I am a business owner in the retail sector. The situation with tariffs has been confusing and concerning for myself and friends who are also business owners. Some of us are dealing with rising costs as a result of this trade war. Is there help available for us or steps we should take to make it through this? 

We asked Charmaine Goddeeris, BDO Canada’s director of customs and international trade, to tackle this one:

When I’m speaking to clients, the first thing I say is, I know this all feels overwhelming and out of your control. Let’s take a deep breath and focus on the things that are within your control; things like the structure of your supply chain and any available remissions, exemptions or government assistance. Those are levers, and if they’re adjusted properly, they can reduce costs and minimize disruption to your business.

In Canada there are some powerful duty relief tools that are often overlooked, such as duty deferral or duty drawback for companies importing goods into the country. There are remission orders – special programs where the government cancels or refunds duty in response to exceptional situations. These can apply during situations such as supply chain disruption or unanticipated cost spikes. Some remissions are pre-established, but in some cases, businesses must apply to the federal government.

There are also supply chain strategies. If you are sourcing goods from countries that are being hit with tariffs like the U.S., now might be the time to start exploring some alternative suppliers in countries where Canada has a free trade agreement. Canada is party to free trade agreements with more than 50 countries. Sometimes even just a small adjustment to sourcing can eliminate exposure to the duty.

There are other resources out there to help businesses adapt: the Trade Commissioner Service, Export Development Canada. Each city usually has some type of economic development agency. There are customs consultants like me that you can reach out to and have conversations or get assistance.

A lot of Canadian importers and exporters are in paralysis. They don’t know what to do. This is a new environment and there is uncertainty: Is this going to last? Is this going to change? What is Donald Trump going to do next? It’s overwhelming. But you can’t just stay in that paralysis because there are other companies that are taking advantage of the situation. They are expanding their supply chain. They are taking advantage of the remissions. And they will be the ones that will come out the winners at the end.

I want to leave you with one of my favourite quotes from Brene Brown: ‘Staying still is rarely the right move.’ In trade, as in life, doing nothing can be the most expensive choice. Even small, smart steps can lead to meaningful cost savings, better compliance and a greater sense of control.

The waitressing job that showed Marilyn Denis her favourite thing to serve is conversation

Congratulations are in order for Marilyn Denis, who just added Order of Ontario to her long and impressive resumé, which includes – but probably doesn’t feature – one of her first gigs: waiting tables and serving big ol’ breakfasts. Badly. In this week’s “How I Spent My Summer,” the Alberta-born television and radio host explains why working a job you hate and suck at is a very good thing.

How six celebrated Canadians are planning to unwind this summer

Whether it’s feeling the sand between our toes at the beach, hiking through lush forests or simply basking in the beauty of a colourful sunset, summer is when we hope to trade in our hectic schedules for a few lazy afternoons, daydreaming beneath the shade of a tree.

The Globe and Mail asked six celebrated Canadians how they plan to unwind and recharge this summer. We found that most are perfectly content to stay put and celebrate the simple pleasures of living here, in one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

I feel like I’m missing the boat on AI. How can I use it to gain a competitive advantage?

“If you’re even thinking about this and contemplating how to use AI in your work, it means you’re already ahead of the game,” says Sarah Stockdale, founder and CEO, Growclass.

“If you are new to AI, there is a tool called LMArena. It allows you to put in a prompt and it will have two different large language models give you results. You choose which result you like the best, then it reveals what tools you were using, so maybe ChatGPT versus Claude. It’s a fun way to try them and get a sense of what outputs you like and what aligns best with how you think and write.”