Maple-Washing

      Buy Canadian - It's Not So Easy
   The term "maple-washing" appeared in a headline and it is our subject for today. It was new to me. Apparently "it has been coined in popular discourse to describe the lengths that retailers and producers have gone to make their products appear as Canadian as possible."  
   Misleading marketing is not new, but the surge in food patriotism is and that has led to some questionable labelling indicating that a product is "Canadian". To reduce the angst among those who are agitated about all of this, I will reproduce the relevant paragraph from the maple-washing article, which says the rules relating to food are clear about what constitutes "Canadian." I hope they are clear to you, but I remain confused. For example, although coffee is not grown in Canada, I know there are some Canadian coffee companies, as defined by the rules listed below, but I don't think it would be correct to say that Tim Hortons is a Canadian company.

 "According to the Food and Drugs Act, all food labels must be truthful and not misleading or likely to create a false impression. The rules are clear. 
  "Product of Canada" requires that at least 98 per cent of the ingredients and processing be Canadian. "Made in Canada" means the last substantial transformation took place here, and "Prepared in Canada" refers to food that was processed, packaged or handled domestically, regardless of where the ingredients originated." "Retailers Must Guard Against Maple-Washing," Sylvain Charlebois, London Free Press, July 29, 2025.

   To demonstrate the complexity of all of this, here is a bit from the Consumers Council of Canada, which also supplied me with the definition of maple-washing as quoted above.

   "In one typical social media feed, Canadians can see promotion that Cadbury’s Creme Eggs and Mini Eggs are “proudly made for Canada, in Canada from domestic and imported ingredients”, Breyer’s ice cream is “made in Canada with high quality ingredients and Canadian dairy”. Black Diamond cheese will also promote its Canadian origins and production, and sometimes cheekily notes it is made with 0% American cheese.
   Some consumers will appreciate this presentation and favour those products. 
   Of course, Cadbury is a British company, owned by Mondelez international. Breyers has a production facility in Simcoe, Ontario, but it’s owned by Unilever. Black Diamond has origins and production in Belleville, Ontario, but is owned by Lactalis Canada which is part of the Lactalis Group, headquartered in France."

  I suppose that the subject of whether your grocery item is "Canadian" is moot if you purchased it at either Walmart or Costco. 

Buy Ontarian

  Once again, my post is more confusing than it should have been. So, I will conclude by suggesting that you only buy things made in Ontario and supply the source where you can shop: Ontario Made: Great Things are Made Right Here.  You will even find a Canadian coffee company - Club Coffee Craft Roasters, in Etobicoke. 

Post Script:
   The recent concern about buying Canadian is largely a result of the numerous tariffs which have been levied, unlevied and which are about to be levied again. Ontario began the "Support Ontario" program back when the pandemic was the issue that made people think about reshoring and producing things locally. 
See, for example: "Labatt Promotes Ontario Made Label," Jennifer Bieman, LFP, Oct. 30, 2020:
  "Labatt Breweries of Canada signed on to a provincewide push to promote Ontario businesses forging ahead in the pandemic-battered economy. Ninety-six brands, including London-made Bud Light, Budweiser and Labatt Blue, will display an Ontario Made designation, a marketing initiative to promote local products....The province threw its support behind the program in early July, contributing $500,000. The campaign comes after many Ontario businesses retooled during the first wave of the pandemic to manufacture in-demand products, including masks and other personal protective equipment. Premier Doug Ford announced a second phase of the program Thursday, a consumer directory of participating manufacturers at Supportontariomade.ca."

Bonus Links:
  Send your kid to a Canadian Maple League University.
  Travel Locally- Grassroutes.    

   Whether a non-food item is "Canadian" can be complex as well, and that is why we have law firms. And when such firms are involved, suits follow. Take the case of a company named Moose Knuckles, which surely appears to be Canadian, even if their product was not.
   "In recent years, there has only been one enforcement action brought by the Bureau regarding a “Made in Canada” claim. In 2016, the Bureau filed an application with the Competition Tribunal (Tribunal) alleging that Moose Knuckles had marketed their winter parkas as “Made in Canada,” when they were actually imported from Asia in nearly finished form, only to be finalized with zippers, snaps, fur trims and labels in Canada. Moose Knuckles settled the action by, among other things, agreeing to donate C$750,000 over five years to charity and to clarify that some of its parkas are made with Canadian and imported components."
From: "Maple-Washing: Regulatory and Civil Liability Risks of Calling a Product Canadian," By Laura Weinrib, Jonathan Bitran, Simon Seida, Emily Hazlett and Joshua Hutchinson, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, March 13, 2025.

   It is also noted in the article above that "maple-washing" is sometimes called, "maple glazing".
   For another bonus, search for the meaning of "moose knuckles".  

Along the Enchanted Way

 

An Enchanting Read
   During a deep clean of the study I uncovered this book, stopped cleaning and starting reading it again. I liked it the first time and it remains good and I highly recommend it. I'll try to convince you that you will like it and, if you live close by, come and borrow it.
   If you would like to save time and get on with reading the book, note that it is described above as "captivating" by Partrick Leigh Fermor. That alone should be enough to convince you.
   The book is, however, about a very remote and rural part of Romania, so more convincing may be required. Here is a brief description typical of many that will be found and which relates to the northern region of Maramures in Transylvania: 
   On a green sward, on hills high above the valleys and the villages, I stayed the next night in a sheepfold. The shepherd spread out a blanket on the ground in an open-fronted hut made of hazel wands. What little heat there was , was provided by a fire which burned just inside the opening. Into my hands he placed a warm cup of ewe's milk. As I drank he went out and sat on a rock. Then he picked up a long metal horn, raised it to his lips and blew. The blast echoed round the hills about us. It was the first time I had ever seen a true shepherd's horn being used by a shepherd. I watched him as he sat absorbed in blowing out the plangent notes. When they were be themselves, he told me, up on the hills by the forest it was good to blow on the horn and the hear from far away another shepherd replying and not to feel alone. In front of us the mountains stretched into the distance and across the horizon. (pp.28-9).

   Blacker ends up staying for a very long period and for much of it lives in a small village in a very small house with Mihai who is pictured. 
   I realize that the passage and picture provided will not be enough for some of my readers who prefer more action. If you look more closely at the photo you will notice that Mihai is holding a tumbler of horincă, a type of brandy. 


   Things become more lively when it is consumed and gypsies are encountered and Natalia usually carries a knife.
  Marishka is her sister and Blacker has a relationship with both and a child with the latter. Things are much livelier in the household of the Hungarian patriarch, Atilla, than they are in the hut with Mihai. There is a lot of gypsy music and dancing in the dark forests for those of you who need more than descriptions of cows coming down from the mountains and peasants scything in the meadows.
   Along the Enchanted Way is a slow ramble in Romania that takes place after the Wall falls and the Ceaușescus are executed. Blacker enters a country that was "frozen in time" and wanders without a destination in mind. It is a lyrical idyll in a place that no longer exists as it was and I am sure you will enjoy it.

The Bonus: 
   Patrick Leigh Fermor walked across Europe in the 1930s when he was eighteen. If you enjoy great travel literature you will appreciate the two books about the trip he wrote years later: A Time of Gifts and Between the Woods and the Water. I have both if you want to have a look. There is an active website devoted to him and if you visit it you can read the review he wrote of Blacker's book, which appeared originally in the Sunday Telegraph. Here is the link to the review from patrickleighfermor.org. 
   The title, Along the Enchanted Way is from a poem by Patrick Kavanagh:

On Raglan Road on an autumn day I met her first and knew
That her dark hair would weave a snare that I might one day rue;
I saw the danger, yet I walked along the enchanted way,
And I said, let grief be a fallen leaf at the dawning of the day.

  If you would prefer an account by a woman, written about the same time see, Transylvania and Beyond by Dervla Murphy. I also have a copy of that book and wrote about it in a piece titled, oddly enough, On Barfing. She died in 2022 and details are provided in this post: Dervla is Dead.

STRAVA Art

 Drawing While Exercising
   Strava is an app that combines the internet and satellites to track your routes while exercising. Although I had forgotten when I started using it, Strata just sent me an email congratulating me for being with them since July 2021. I am using the free version and it provides me with all the data I need and more. I am just an ordinary octogenarian who starts up Strata when I go for a bike ride and find it interesting that I have gone X miles averaging X mph and have done so X times. Others subscribe for even more features and share and socialize with Strava users around the world. Occasionally, I get an email from them reminding me to connect with one of my sons in Vancouver if I want to compete or boast about my activities. 
  Recently I read about a woman out in that area who creates art while riding. Apparently others have been as well and you likely have seen examples, so I will keep this short for the few other people who didn't know about it.
   

  That is an example of one of my recent simple routes. The next one is slightly more complicated. If you are creative, you likely recognize that you could choose a route that might result in a picture. I can't draw, so this could be an option for me if I wasn't so tired from exercising -- and if I was more creative. 

Ms Janine Strong, out on Vancouver Island, is more creative and here is one example.

 She has also "cycled out giant bananas and long-haired women in New York, Santas in Victoria, penguins in Campbell River, strawberries in San Francisco..."  More examples can be found on her website under "GPS ART."
  Since you probably were aware of this new artistic development I will supply a few sources which may yield something you didn't know. For example, it didn't take long for people to realize that naughty pictures could also be created if one could figure out an anatomical route.

Sources:
   For the article about Ms. Strong, whose website is recommended, see: "Road is a Canvas for two-wheeled artist; Vancouver Island Athlete Merges Creative Flair with Fitness, Drawing Large Scale Images with GPS," J.J. Adams, Vancouver Province, June 17, 2025.
   For the naughty bits, if you must: ‘The Giant Penis Took Shape Easily, as I Passed Through a Village called 'Three Cocks’: Meet the Artist Athletes Drawing with GPS: From the phallus on a Welsh hillside, to a huge portrait of Chappell Roan, these Strava runners, riders and skaters have been busy …" Chris Broughton, The Guardian, May 25, 2025.
  For an early piece: "Runners and Cyclists Use GPS Mapping to Make Art: Fitness apps and the power of live satellite tracking have allowed runners, cyclists and others to draw hearts, animals, birthday wishes — and even homages to Vermeer — across their local landscapes," Claire Fahy, NYT, Sept. 24, 2022.
  Strava appears to be doing okay, if you want to sign up: "Popular Fitness App Strava Clinches Valuation of More Than $2 Billion:  Strava, whose valuation includes debt, says it acquired cycling app Breakaway," Ben Glickman, Wall Street Journal, May 22, 2025.

Lornado

    As you may have noticed, it has been too nice to blog and I am still not ready to do so since I can't think of an easy topic. But, I did run across a sentence in the New York Times on the weekend which began with these words: " I went down to Lornado..." Perhaps I can turn it into a post. 
   Lornado is a good word, I think, and I was unfamiliar with it and had no idea where it was. It sounds rather exotic and one is reminded of the Larry McMurtry novel, The Streets of Laredo.  It is in Ottawa, however, and if W.J. Fields had died there, he still might have said, "I'd Rather Be in Philadelphia." 
   Lornado is the official residence of the U.S. Ambassador to Canada who, this week, is Pete Hoekstra from close-by Michigan. The Time's reporter was on his way there because there is always a big party at Lornado on July 4th. He was curious about how big it would be and very cautious about suggesting that it was not as big as it usually is. You will know that things are not good between our two countries and consorting with the enemy generally frowned upon. It appears that the affair was rather subdued, and the Canadians attending were well behaved. No Bronx cheers were delivered during the Ambassador's remarks.

Lornado the House
   Like the structure on 24 Sussex Drive and many other mansions in Canada, Lornado was built by someone from the United States and the United States purchased the 32 room building and ten acres in 1935. It has been the site of many events and you may have recognized the name from other news stories out of Ottawa.

Lornado the Word
   Apparently the original owner of Lornado, Mr. Soper, was a fan of the novel by R.D. Blackmore. The 19th century work is Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor, and from that you will be able to figure out the derivation of the word, "Lornado."

Lorna Doone the Biscuit
   I was familiar with the words "Lorna Doone", but as a cookie or shortbread, and I am not sure why Nabisco chose the name. It does appear, however, that Nabisco is no longer an American company so it is okay to buy some Lorna Doone shortbreads if you wish. 

 

Source:

   We have learned a lot from this post and credit should be given to, Ian Austen, author of, "Celebrating the U.S. in Canada During Turmoil in the Two Countries' Relations," NYT, July 5, 2025. 
   "The annual Fourth of July party hosted by the U.S. ambassador to Canada on the park-size grounds of his official residence has long been one of Ottawa’s biggest social events.
   But after months of President Trump belittling Canada’s viability as a nation and threatening to use economic chaos to force its annexation as the 51st state, the idea of gathering to celebrate the United States in Canada’s capital was, well, a bit awkward this year....
   The turnout was decidedly smaller than in past years, and the seating and food stations were somewhat scaled down. Many guests who have attended in past years told me they estimated the crowd was about half the usual size, though there were nevertheless a substantial number of people." 
   An attempt at humour by the Ambassador, did not go over well and is not that funny, but it is telling: 

   "The ambassador told his guests that he had been going around saying that Mark Carney, the prime minister, was wrong.

“He keeps saying that Canada’s going to be the fastest-growing economy in the G7,” Mr. Hoekstra said, referring to the Group of 7. “That’s not how this works. America and our president do not like being number two, so we will be the fastest-growing economy. We just passed a Big Beautiful Bill yesterday, which is going to energize our economy.”

   He did add his hope that Canada would become the second-fastest-growing economy within the group of industrialized nations."