Strategic Stockpile

I am a Canadian. I was born that way. I didn't have any choice in the matter, or at least no conscious choice. All things considered (and yes including our many national shames of recent times) I'm pretty happy being a Canadian.

So recently I read an article about a Canadian stockpile that was going to be released to the market. My first thought was gold? Or maybe gas or oil? You know, valuable things that countries stockpile in case of inflation, deflation, war, peace, or whatever comes down the line. Heck, it could even be vaccines these days. Release the stockpile. Save the world. 

But no. It turns out Canada has a stockpile of (wait for it...) maple syrup. Yes you read that right. Canada has a stockpile of half-cooked tree sap. Maple tree sap to be specific. My first thought was "only in Canada..." And apparently that thought was correct. We produce most of the world's maple syrup. 

I want to say something profound about this, or witty. But nothing comes to mind. It goes on pancakes. And waffles. Bacon cooked in it is really good. Beyond that, it's sweet, very sticky (try cleaning a toddler who just had pancakes), and has a distinctive flavour.

If anything, I am both impressed and slightly appalled because the reason we have a stockpile is to control the market and the price. We aren't quite a monopoly but we have enough gall (or should that be Gaul, since most of it is made in Quebec)... we have enough gall to do this, mainly to put the squeeze on the stuff that comes from Vermont and New Hampshire. How dare those Americans try to boil tree sap. That's our gig man!

And how should we react to this? We have a neutrino observatory buried under the Canadian Shield. We have a handful of Nobel winners. We have given the world things like insulin and the ski-doo, Alberta beef and B.C. bud. And importantly enough to stockpile - boiled tree sap.

Where am I going with this? Not sure. I have no philosophical spins for this one. No 'let's use maple syrup as a metaphor' twists. You got a stack of pancakes? Come at me bro. I have a stockpile.