Most often, the world of human interaction provides a lot of entertaining topics for commentators such as me to rant about. Usually these topics are important, timely, and relevant. Occasionally they are less important but at least interesting or entertaining enough to spend time talking about.
And at the oddest of times, the concerns of Joe Public are downright ridiculous.
I cannot be alone in thinking that if we’re making national news—nay, international—about the snack choices of our federal government, perhaps we have nothing to complain about and are truly blessed. Either that or we’re really bored and just looking for a fight.
Let’s try to look at this for what it really is: about two weeks ago, our prime minister stopped by a Winnipeg doughnut shop to buy some local snacks.
For those of you who think no money should ever be spent by government, I have nothing to say. But stick me in a room with a bunch of politicians for a day of discussion and you better have some doughnuts for me. Most people won’t argue with this, except the libertarians who don’t think we need government at all.
For those of you who think Mr. Trudeau spent too much money on the doughnuts, give your bloody head a shake. Not only is this not the low-hanging fruit on the tree of government waste, I would suggest it isn’t even a bud. We’re talking about barely one-thousandth of a penny per taxpayer. Perhaps you think we need to analyze their breakfast choices, too, and make sure they only had the oatmeal and didn’t splurge for the two-egg platter.
And now the most ridiculous of concerns—our prime minister’s failure to shop at the “local” Tim Hortons franchise. Please, as you’re reading, take a pause now and ask yourself something: in what world is a multinational chain based out the United States a local choice?
I get that Tim Hortons has a local backstory. We love our historic hockey icons. But our Timmy’s has been in the hands of Americans for many years, with most of the profits sucked out of the franchisees’ pockets and into the hands of shareholders south of the border. Timmy’s has been struggling to reclaim its Canadian identity for a while now… less due to a sense of national pride, unfortunately, and more due to shareholder pressures in the face of declining sales.
Winnipeg-based Oh Doughnuts is truly local—owned by local entrepreneurs who support local supply chains wherever possible. The money put into their tills goes directly back into our local marketplace for supplies, employee wages, and owner investments.
Would it have made the news if Justin had stopped at the local Timmy’s for a few dozen Honey Cruellers and Boston Cremes? Maybe a quick blurb on the back pages of the paper. The Winnipeg Sun would likely have critiqued his choice of flavours, but even they wouldn’t have put it on the front page.
And it’s unlikely there would have been any increase in sales at that Tim Hortons location. Time will tell, but I would be very surprised if Oh Doughnuts doesn’t see a spike in sales. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised to be driving down Broadway and see tourists taking a picture of themselves with a cool dozen in front of the sign, much like people snap selfies in front of Trump Tower in New York.
We might even catch the likes of Daily Show host Trevor Noah coming up north for a quick bite!
This exposure has immense value that will funnel into our local market, including all the extra taxation that goes along with it. This will make a difference to a local, independent entrepreneur. To put it mildly, it would be of little consequence to the multinational chain.
Again, if this is truly anyone’s biggest concern in today’s world, we really have lost the ability to think critically and reasonably. As archaic as it may be, it may be time to pick up a newspaper and talk about some of the real challenges we face.
