The world watched a shakedown of Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday afternoon by a pair of bullies who were looking to Ukraine for repayment of aid in fighting that country’s war for democracy and freedom against an aggressor Russia. It made for dramatic television across the world and signalled to all countries who are allies of the United States, that the U.S.A. could no longer be trusted. It was a sad day for the world and NATO allies and for countries like Taiwan, South Korea, the Philippines and even Australia.
It initiated a new creation of European Nations and Canada grouping to protect themselves against Russia and the United States.
Monday, shortly after lunch, the announcement came that both Mexico and Canada would face 25 percent tariffs on all products exported to the United States. Even though the United States, Mexico and Canada had signed a free-trade agreement in 2020, the bully seemed to rip it up and create a new financial war against its two closest allies. The bully had struck again. The U.S. has created an economic war against both Mexico and Canada.
I thought of how I might retaliate. The easiest choice was to cancel travel to the United States. I will pay more for gasoline by buying in Fort Frances, but it is a minor issue. Trips to Menards have already been cancelled. Eating out at US restaurants has already been terminated do to the low Canadian dollar exchange.
Then I thought, “How can we protect ourselves?”
I then turned inward. Our local grocery stores are either locally owned or are Canadian operations. I can be more selective in the products that I purchase. I can choose Canadian produced items with the Maple Leaf logo or produced in Canada. It may take a little bit longer for shopping, but I know that I will be supporting Canadian manufacturers. Safeway clearly marked in their flyer products from Canada with the maple leaf and clearly defined where fruits originated. One can also go to madeinca.ca/grocery-store-guide/. It will tell you what products found in grocery stores are made in Canada and what products are made for businesses and are manufactured in Canada.
I gave some thought to boycotting fast food operations in Fort Frances because the majority are part of International or American conglomerates. But I realized that the franchise operators are members of my community, and their employees are also members of our community. Boycotting those franchises would be hurting families in our community.
We can make decisions on how we spend our dollars. We can make decisions to choose Canadian products over U.S. products and decisions to choose fruits and vegetables grown in Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru and other southern countries over fruits and vegetables grown in the U.S. These small actions by all Canadians can have a huge negative impact on the economy of the U.S.
