WASHINGTON — Canada and Mexico may get a special exemption from the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial steel and aluminum tariffs, a White House spokeswoman suggested Wednesday.

“There are potential carve-outs for Canada and Mexico based on national security — and possibly other countries as well, based on that process,” Sarah Sanders said during her daily media briefing.

“That would be a case-by-case and country-by-country basis.”

There’s a last-minute scramble on to have Canada spared from the U.S. tariff plan, which could be announced as early as Thursday.

Intense debates have been going on within the Trump administration about whether to offer any exemptions: some argue that Canada and Mexico should get relief at least as long as NAFTA is being negotiated.

The White House’s latest comment suggest that might indeed happen. The administration has hinted that the tariffs could eventually wallop the neighbours in the event that NAFTA talks fail, and Wednesday’s remarks from Sanders suggest any tariffs will not be imminent.

In New York, Washington and Texas, a number of Canadian officials have been reaching out to American peers — some of whom have been pleading the Canadian case.

Like ‘The Apprentice’?

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland has just spoken with congressional leader Paul Ryan and Canadian Ambassador David MacNaughton was to dine tonight with U.S. national security adviser H.R. McMaster.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has chatted with Pentagon counterpart James Mattis, UN ambassador Marc-Andre Blanchard has spoken with U.S. counterpart Nikki Haley and Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr is raising the issue with Energy Secretary Rick Perry at a conference in Texas.

A source familiar with the international 11th-hour scramble to stop the tariffs likened it to a high-stakes reality-show content, with a drama-courting U.S. president at the centre of the production: “(It’s a) last-episode-of-‘The-Apprentice’ kind of thing.”

About 20 years ago, I decided to explore working as a full-time writer within a corporation, and connected with a search firm. I had a decade of solid writing experience gained in Canada and the United Kingdom, and felt marketableand curious. Five minutes into my first conversation with a search consultant, he made the assumption that because of my age, I was a “dinosaur” and told me that I would probably not be considered employable in a corporation due to lack of technical expertise. This was long before the terms “fintech” or “artificial intelligence” were common, but the technological wave was gaining momentum. Following this experience, I chose to build my own business consultancy.

You may have put in many good years at work and earned the respect of both senior management and new hires. Perhaps your boss was recently replaced by a manager who is 10 years your junior. You note that there are fewer people your age than last year in your workplace, and you may feel outnumbered by the growing teams of tech-savvy colleagues who seem to be just out of college or university. Company parties now include more employees who are your children’s age, and the conversation around the water cooler doesn’t flow as it once did — or is non-existent.

My role as a consultant mirrors that of an employee who is a fellow Baby Boomer and works largely with Millennials and a shrinking number of Boomers. A top priority for me is to build strong relationships with clients regardless of their age. Instead of obsessing about an age gap, I make a point of listening as well as talking. This helps me stay current with technology through self-learning, while staying in close touch with my younger clients. For Boomers working in larger businesses or companies, it can be challenging to build those relationships in an environment where job descriptions and management teams are always evolving.

When sensing that it’s time to move on and decide on your future, here are five tips to consider – and the sooner the better.

Identify your perfect role as defined by your skill set

Ask yourself if you have explored alternative roles within your organization that will better use your skills. If you have a good relationship with your boss and other senior management, and you like working there, be creative and design a new job description.

For example, you might focus on helping new, less-experienced professionals navigate the work culture you know so well. If there is no longer a place for you there, be sure to take advantage of any assistance your employer can offer to help you start the next phase of your career. It can be easy to simply “write off” the relationship with your company when you feel rejected or unwanted. A frank conversation with senior management may quickly reveal they are sorry to see you go, that it is really “all about the head count” and that they may be pleased to offer career counselling or referrals.

Define your next career move

If you decide that your time at the company is ending owing to restructurings or the growth of a new corporate culture of which you don’t feel a part, ask yourself whether you: want to remain in the industry; want to start your own business; join an existing business in a consulting role.

Figuring out your comfort level with each option will help you define your next steps and the direction your career will take.

Refresh your current business relationships

Refresh relationships with people who constitute your Centres of Influence (COI’s.) Your COI’s consists of people you respect for their integrity and quality of contacts within and beyond their respective professions. You will have ideally nurtured your COI relationships over the years, but it’s not too late to begin. You may seek their advice on your next steps, their sense of your marketability, and how they are handling their own transition process, which is constant for everyone.

Give your self-esteem a boost

When you feel you don’t quite “cut it” any longer, and question your place in the business arena, take stock of your accomplishments professionally and within your community and personal circles. Your self-esteem and personal insights gained from work experience far outweigh your ability to quickly get comfortable with new technology in ensuring your future happiness.

Figure out if you are ready to retire

Ask yourself whether you have the financial resources to retire and pursue other interests you’ve never had the chance to explore. If that is the case, give your employer plenty of notice to safeguard your reputation, avoid legal issues and increase the chances of beneficial terms. Get a razor-sharp focus on your finances (including any tax surprises down the road) before you resign without having confirmed another income source.

The average age in the workplace is rapidly shifting to a younger cohort, but that doesn’t mean you need to feel you havetoleave the business world. It just means you might need to take a different approach — and do it on your own terms.

OTTAWA — Federal Liberals are sharing details about a $100,000 pilot project undertaken for their caucus research bureau by the Canadian data scientist who triggered an international uproar over his allegations that Facebook users’ data was inappropriately harvested for political gain.

Christopher Wylie came forward in recent days with accusations that a voter-profiling company improperly collected private information from some 50 million Facebook users in order to help seal 2016 victories for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in the U.S. and in the U.K.’s Brexit referendum.

Wylie has said in media interviews that he not only played a key role in developing the data-mining technique, he also helped establish the Cambridge Analytica firm he alleges was behind it.

His allegations have forced policy-makers on both sides of the Atlantic to wrestle with growing public concerns that data collected by Facebook and other social-media companies are being misused as a way to influence elections.

After The Canadian Press revealed Wylie was contracted by the Liberals in early 2016, the party released more information Wednesday about the short-lived agreement — and they insist that after seeing a sample of his services, they decided not to move forward.

The issue emerged as a dominant theme during question period in the House of Commons, where political rivals repeatedly questioned the government on the contract and the issue of protecting Canadians’ online privacy.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer led off by demanding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau explain Wylie’s exact role with the Liberal government.

“Protecting the personal and privacy information of Canadians should be a top priority for government,” said Scheer, who noted how Wylie had also worked for previous Liberal leaders about a decade ago.

“Yet the prime minister has failed to be honest with Canadians about the Liberal Party’s relationship with an individual who has exploited the private information of millions of people around the world.”

Scott Brison, acting minister of democratic institutions, insisted all lawmakers in the House have a responsibility to protect the personal information of Canadians.

“All major political parties engage in data-driven activities,” said Brison, who later added he has contacted the federal privacy commissioner and Facebook in an effort to determine whether Canadians’ personal data had been compromised.

Shortly before question period, the Liberals issued a statement saying Wylie’s company, Eunoia Technologies, conducted preliminary work for the caucus research bureau at a cost of $100,000 in a contract done in accordance with House of Commons procurement rules.

They insisted that at no point did Wylie’s firm have access to any data from the research bureau.

Brison read from the statement in the House: “After seeing what was offered, Liberal caucus research bureau decided not to move forward.”

The statement by the bureau’s managing director, Melissa Cotton, also said Wylie’s firm was contracted for several purposes, such as setting up social-media monitoring tools and the creation of samples of Canadians to help the party better understand the public’s opinions on government policies and other issues of national importance.

The work also included recruiting constituents as a way to identify a range of local or regional issues not covered by national polls and assisting the bureau in monitoring the performance of Liberal MPs’ communications with their constituents.

Earlier this week, The Canadian Press spoke with an acquaintance of Wylie’s who described having drinks with the data expert in Ottawa in November 2015, a few weeks after the federal election.

The acquaintance said Wylie talked about his plans to shop his Facebook data-mining techniques in the national capital, including with the Liberals, and also in Washington with the Republican party.

Wylie described using a Facebook survey as an entry point to collect user data, and the pair discussed the ethical concerns surrounding the method, according to the acquaintance.

Privacy watchdog launches investigation

By 2009, during Wylie’s stint working for the Liberal leader’s office, he had already begun to develop strategies on how politicians could capitalize on information collected through social media, another former Liberal insider said earlier this week.

At that time, Wylie was pushing a fledgling form of the data-harvesting technique, but the idea was considered too invasive and raised concerns with the Liberals, who decided they didn’t want anything to do with it and chose not to renew his contract, said the insider, who discussed the matter on condition of anonymity.

Wylie has not responded to interview requests by The Canadian Press.

The federal privacy commissioner has formally launched an investigation to determine whether any personal information of Canadians was affected by the alleged unauthorized access to Facebook user profiles.

Facebook Canada released a statement Wednesday saying it was “strongly committed to protecting people’s information” and would answer any questions from the privacy commissioner.

Cambridge Analytica denies allegations

Meanwhile, the Trudeau government is asking the Communications Security Establishment and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service to take a closer look at the situation to better ensure the privacy rights of Canadians are protected.

Brison has said he’d be open to strengthening federal privacy laws even further to better protect those who share their information online.

Facebook has denied the data collection involving Cambridge Analytica was a breach because people gave their consent when they chose to sign up for a personality test via an app on the platform.

The social-media giant, however, has faced widespread criticism over revelations about the leak and the fact the company has known about it since 2015, but didn’t disclose it publicly. The issue wasn’t made public until recently.

Zuckerberg: Facebook ‘made mistakes’

On Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted in a post on the platform that his company had “made mistakes.”

“We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can’t then we don’t deserve to serve you,” Zuckerberg said.

“I’ve been working to understand exactly what happened and how to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Cambridge Analytica has “strongly denied” the allegations that it had improperly obtained Facebook data.

The company has also insisted Wylie was a contractor, not a founder, as he has claimed. Wylie, a 28-year-old from British Columbia, left the firm in 2014.

Trump’s campaign has denied using the Cambridge Analytica’s data, saying it relied on the Republican National Committee for its information.

This has already been a pricey season for Canada’s motorists, but it’s about to get worse, especially in British Columbia and Quebec.

Prices in Quebec are expected to spike by 10 cents this week, to an average of 135.9 cents per litre, gas price monitoring site GasBuddy predicted on Monday.

Still, that’s peanuts compared to British Columbia, where prices are expected to jump two cents to an all-time record of 155.9 cents per litre.

Price pressures will be soft in the early part of the week, “followed by dramatic increases in market valuations by the end of the week,” said Dan McTeague, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.

Watch: Top 5 travel destinations for Canadians in 2018

McTeague put part of the blame on “the limping Canadian dollar … which has lost 8 per cent in value compared to the U.S. greenback since February 1.” That has made oil prices more expensive in Canadian dollar terms.

He also noted that a large number of Canadian refineries are going into or extending their spring-time maintenance shutdowns, putting upward pressure on gas prices.

GasBuddy sees prices rising in most parts of Canada over the week, with three-cent rises in Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg. Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, London, Sudbury and most of southern Ontario will see a relatively mild jump of about one cent, while the Maritimes and Newfoundland will see a two-cent increase.

GasBuddy forecast earlier that 2018 will be a tougher year for drivers than the past few, with an average gas price of $1.19 per litre nationwide over the year— the highest since 2014.

McTeague said the “primary factor” behind the higher prices was OPEC’s 2016 decision to cut oil production, in an effort to shore up slumping oil prices.

OPEC’s effort has had some success, with oil prices rising a good 50 per cent since their lows in 2016. West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark North American crude oil, was trading at around US$62 on Monday morning, not far off its highest levels in two-and-a-half years.

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