Channelling fear and fury into the good fight

For one thing, if you're up here in the true north strong and free, buy Canadian.

Me. In my new bunnyhug, as we call hoodies in these parts. Hubs had it made for me and refused to use “AF” because that’s just not Canadian. Ha. It is, but he has nice sensibilities.

A more Canadian blog than usual here.

When I opened the Saturday Globe and Mail (Canada’s most national newspaper) on Monday (grrr, stupid storm), I soon saw this bright-red, full-page advertisement on Page A9:

Fascinating.

Looks like Heinz is doing a little damage control.

So Kraft Heinz Company was founded as H. J. Heinz Co. in Pittsburgh, Penn. in 1869. It has always been an American company, but it did have a plant making its famous ketchup (“there are no other kindz”) in Canada for years and years — more than a century, they say.

Then they pulled the processing out of Leamington, Ont., in 2015. But THEN they moved back into Canada, this time Montreal, five years later.

Strictly speaking, then, the ad is correct — although it does fail to mention its American ownership, which is maybe a little precious. But it does demonstrate, does it not, the close links (economic and otherwise) between the United States and Canada.

Another quick example: Calgary, Alta.-based Cenovus Energy owns oil refineries in Ohio and Wisconsin, which convert gobs of Canadian crude into gasoline. Indeed, 74% of the American Midwest is reliant on Canadian-feedstock gas.

Returning to ketchup, Kraft Heinz, you know, is unhappy with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for singling out its ketchup as an American brand (story in link) that consumers could choose to replace with something more Canadian.

Ergo, more than likely, the ad. What this suggests, however, is that Canadian consumers are indeed Very Important to the Company.

Which brings me, after the time-honoured approach of using specificity to lead into a wider topic, to the point.

You cannot reason with a psychopathic narcissist. (Look it up. Impossible.)

You cannot fill a vacuum. (Science!)

You cannot shame the shameless.

Donald Trump is so far beyond what most of us recognize as part of the sapien experience, a great many of us, I think, cannot even fathom what he is thinking.

For example, despite his much-self-vaunted but highly questionable success in business, his grasp of basic economics seems slippery.

In which universe could 25% tariffs, which he has promised to apply to most imports, benefit the American people? Simply, tariffs are paid by importers. Importers sell their goods to people. People will pay the additional costs initially borne by the importers. Inflation will follow. We already have inflation. So . . .

If I understand his point at all, I think he expects that everyone will buy everything from American manufacturers and providers of goods and services. There will be no need to import goods from other countries. He has said “we don’t need their lumber” and “we don’t need their oil; drill baby drill” and so on.

But this is not true, at least in the moment and in the immediate future. Witness the Cenovus refineries. Ultimately, perhaps, American oil may be able to feed them, but for now they are configured for Canadian crude. Gonna be a while before those refineries are retrofitted, and in the meantime, there will either be a dearth of gasoline or it will be a lot more expensive. Or both.

Still. Those tariffs will hit Canada (and Mexico, and everyone else) between the economic eyes like a bomb, because they will indeed have a significant effect. Already, the construction of a potentially $4-billion canola crushing-biodiesel facility in Saskatchewan has been cancelled due, in large part, to geopolitical uncertainty, to which Trump’s administration certainly is massively contributing.

Abhorrent policies already being unleashed by Trump are endless. My greatest personal concerns are on the human rights side, but not having the first clue how to influence this in the U.S. (I hear some people are figuring this out) apart from staying strong and vocal as an ally (for what it’s worth in my tiny, grain of sand on the beach way), I’ve decided to argue for ways to fight back, here in Canada. Stuff I get.

Because he also seems to think we’re supposed to become the 51st State. Not happening. Neither is this (below), nor do we want it to, but it’s awfully funny, especially the Canadian Bigly Wet Water Ocean.

If you’re Canadian, and maybe even if you’re not, you may have gathered that we have Bigly unified around this bizarre suggestion surrounding our SOVEREIGN NATION like rarely ever before.

So yes, channelling my fear and fury, I offer a couple of suggestions. You’ve seen some or perhaps all of this solidarity-economy-supporting stuff before, but I think it’s worth repeating.

What to Buy

Buy Canadian, or if that fails, Buy Mexican. We’re sort of in this together, more than with most other countries, because of the former North American Free Trade Agreement (now the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, renegotiated during Trump’s first term. ALSO: If you need an avocado, it’s probably from Mexico anyway.)

I will not list all the Canadian products you can choose, because that would take 14 days and 18 posts, so here’s one helpful website: MadeInCanada. It went up in 2018, also during Trump’s first term, so these folk were on it early.

The site has very helpful information. For example, it provides details on what is MADE in Canada and which companies are Canadian-OWNED.

Snack foods, for example. Made In Canada notes that Frito-Lay products (including Doritos and Lays) are owned by Pepsi-Co. If you just can’t do without your Frito-Lays, however, there are five plants producing them in Canada. If that works for you.

I would suggest going with Old Dutch, which was founded in Winnipeg and continues to operate a big facility there. I know this. One of my relatives works there.

For the nose and bum: Royale achoo tissues and backside wad are Canadian. Purex toilet paper is made by Kruger Inc., which was founded in Montreal in 1904, and also makes Scotties, Cashmere and Sponge paper towels, apparently.

I recently, with a touch of trepidation, told my husband that I would not be buying Jack Daniel’s anymore. Sorry. To be clear, he has maybe one bottle of the stuff every year or two. Yup. Sip or four at a time. There was no argument. He said, nope, no bourbon in this house for four years.

Interprovincial trade

In a recent interview with CBC News, Internal Trade Minister Anita Anand said removing existing trade barriers between the Canadian provinces "could lower prices by up to 15 per cent, boost productivity by up to seven per cent and add up to $200 billion to the domestic economy."

These barriers have been a problem in Canada since Confederation. They are very very complicated. There are different rules around transportation, language labelling, FIRST AID KIT CONTENTS FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE and two billion (I exaggerate . . . a bit) other little or large issues. Many are valid.

That said . . .

It is TIME to get SERIOUS and FIGURE THESE THINGS OUT. It would not hurt to let your politicians know where you stand if you support better internal trade.

What to read: Why is it hard to scrap these barriers?

Learn more about barrier intricacies here.

Canadians.

Gotta love em when the going gets tough.

Not to mention . . .

According to Global News, a new Ipsos poll found that 82 per cent of respondents agree with the statement that, should Trump tariff Canadian goods, Canada should retaliate by slapping tariffs on American imports into Canada.

It’s nice to know I’m not alone.

Meanwhile, leaders from around the world are expressing their dismay and anger over what’s happening in this administration, just a week (a week?) into its existence.

Colombia in fact has taken action by refusing to allow U.S. military flights containing deportees to land.

Irish senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin went into a well-said tirade on Trump’s political, ah, stripe.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron has told Europe to “wake up” and spend more on defence in the face of Trump’s presidency, and joined German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in calling for a “united Europe” to fight potential tariffs.

Meanwhile, if you can handle “some” (read, “a lot”) of profanity, and damn well need a laugh in light of all this, definitely . . . watch this. Thank you, Simon King.

I must end this by saying I have many, many American friends and quite a lot of American family. I love you. This tirade is in no way directed at you, and I hope we all come out of this together, unscathed and relatively solvent.