Sometimes it is the small things that create the spark for the biggest changes.
As an example, a British tax on tea lead to the Boston Tea Party on Dec.16, 1773, which coalesced into the American War of Independence and the birth of democracy in the Americas.
So why couldn’t the existing tariff on pickles do the same thing? Why couldn’t it herald a new and greatly improved brand of democracy — one that starts in Canada and spreads around the world?
After all, Bick’s yum yum pickles are my favourite. I ate them as a kid and still enjoy them as the best sandwich or hamburger pickle there is. Even if I buy a hamburger at the drive-thru, I usually take it home and swap their pickles for a Bick’s.
Bick’s pickles were made by a Canadian company. In 2004, the company was sold to Smucker’s, and, in 2011, the Canadian factory was closed and production was moved to Wisconsin. I blame the Canadian government for this travesty of justice, culture and heritage. The pickles are still sold mainly in Canada and they use Canadian cucumbers and jar lids. The U.S. president put a tariff on Canadian aluminum, steel and softwood lumber. To retaliate, Mark Carney and his merry band of Liberals put a tariff on, among other things, Bick’s pickles. This means Canadians are paying a whole lot more for their pickles.
That’s why we need a movement to 'Save the Pickles.'
In simple terms, let’s say you have a budget for pickles and buy one jar a month, or twelve jars per year. The price goes up and you can only buy 10 jars, so you must start rationing your pickles. You buy two fewer jars, so the store sells two less and they, in turn, buy two less from the original vendor. However, the store must pay the tax, or tariff, on 10 jars to the government. So, you, the store and the manufacturer all lose two jars a year, but the government is happy because it makes money on 10 jars.
The Canadian government likes the chant 'Build, Build, Build.' So, they should build a brand-new, state-of-the-art PPP, which stands for Pickle Processing Plant. They should buy the American factory or the sole right to make Bick’s. In fact, the pickle factory should never have been sold or moved south of the border because the pickles were a Canadian treasure, a critical industry and supplier of home-grown foods. They make yum yum pickles, garlic baby pickles, hot pepper rings, relish, pickled beets and sauerkraut.
In 1773, tea started the democratic revolution in the USA, so pickles in 2025 can start the Canadian democratic revolution here. No tariffs on pickles unless the population gets to vote on it. Let the Pickle Revolution begin. Save our pickles. One of my favourite sandwiches when working in the bush was brown bread, real butter, cheese whiz, yum yum pickles and lettuce, if it was available. Easy to make, light and delicious. It could become a national gourmet dish.
Along with the pickles to eat, we should celebrate the game of pickleball. Did you know that from Aug. 19 to the 24, the Pickleball Canada National Championship is being held in Winnipeg? It could become a truly national sport. I’ve seen and heard people playing pickleball here in Yellowknife at the tennis court. I doubt we sent a team to the national championship, but we should have, and we should declare a national 'Bick’s Pickle Day' to coincide with it.
And as the saying goes…
I don’t want any tariffs,
I just want some honest sheriffs,
And I want to eat a good Canadian pickle,
While I ride my motorcycle.
