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Doug Ford puts beer access in Ontario over more pressing concerns

Samantha Bee's best running joke about Canada during her time on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart was about the Beer Store.

Doug Ford wants to fulfill a campaign promise to get beer and wine into local stores in Ontario. We are normally all in on campaign promises but by doing so early, there is a $225 million penalty of Ontario tax money that would go to the alcohol companies that run the Beer Store. The LCBO (wine) has a different structure in terms of penalties.

The $225 million penalty is bad enough but the list of related costs will likely total hundreds of millions more. If Ford waits until 2025, when the contract runs out, then there is no $225 million penalty. Ontario doesn't have to go to the polls until 2026. So why would Ford do this … now?

Is Doug Ford’s $225M booze plan worth it? (Front Burner)

British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick have to go to the polls in 2024. All of them are scheduled for October. We thought New Brunswick might roll the dice and go early. Saskatchewan isn't likely to flip and British Columbia is more unknown.

2024 is not likely a year where a government wants to go up for re-election. Food prices, housing troubles, and trouble finding a family doctor would be at the top of the list. Why would Doug Ford voluntarily go up against this tide?

The better question is why is Doug Ford obsessed with alcohol since his time in office since 2018?

Buck a beer, Ontario News Now: Doug Ford in motion

If you are a conservative, you likely looked at the provincial alcohol distribution method and thought, "when we get to power, we should destroy this." A whole lot less tax revenue but the elimination of bureaucracy. The taxpayer money to the big breweries is a payout from Ford and his cronies. Think of it as foam on top of a beer mug.

Ford portrays these moves as blue collar and for "the working man." They aren't but the opposition hasn't made an impact in saying otherwise.

Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie puts the price tag at $1 billion. Even if you throw out both estimates, the truth lies closer to the Liberals than the Progressive Conservatives.

NDP leader Marit Stiles, the official opposition leader, noted that these costs come as "emergency rooms are closing, millions of Ontarians are without a family doctor and our shelters are at capacity."

Green Party leader Mike Schreiner said, "people need the government to fast-track funding for housing affordability and health care instead of giving hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to The Beer Store to speed up a timeline they announced just five months ago."

Doug Ford and the PCs win a second term in Ontario

2022 Ontario election notebook: Why the election has been so meh

Our Doug Ford Ontario coverage since 2018

Unlike the other provinces that will have elections in 2024, Doug Ford isn't as worried about going back on not developing the Greenbelt or the damage done in the province through intentional and unintentional actions.

The government spends $ on ads going after their opponents, since they still have little name recognition. That recognition is code to journalists not to take them seriously. Other than Schreiner, Ford has run against women, even down to Christine Elliott for the PC leadership race. That may seem insignificant but I think that is a factor in some voters' eyes.

"The exact cost doesn’t matter. It's a bizarre use of money in any case, especially since the existing deal was expiring next year anyway. This isn't fiscally prudent, and it's not the best use of taxpayer money. There's no serious argument that it is or could be."

Journalist Matt Gurney at TVO weighed in on the beer deal in this column. The odd part is that Gurney is in favour of the deal, despite this quote. This might sum up the whole discussion.

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Your humble narrator was mystified at how well Ford is running for a second term as premier and how Canadian journalism treated the election like everything was a foregone conclusion and the necessary focus on issues was missing.

The beer decision may be popular but the loss of tax money is a great concern, long after Ford is no longer the premier.

If there is an early election, hoping for an Ontario constituency to ask needed questions in a democracy. Why was valuable taxpayer money wasted on getting beer into convenience stores a year early would be a start.

video and photo credit: CBC News

A history of why the Loblaws grocery store boycott was necessary

Grocery store prices are climbing through the roofs collectively around the globe. The concern feels worse in the United States and Canada because food prices have been relatively low. You have to go to the grocery store so what can you do about it?

In Canada, there has been an unofficial boycott of Loblaws through the month of May. As you might imagine, a boycott of Loblaws means way more than just the stores called Loblaws. The Canadian company owns other food outlets, such as Atlantic Superstore, Dominion, Loblaws, Maxi, No Frills, Provigo Le Marché, Valu-Mart, Real Canadian Superstore, Wholesale Club, Your Independent Grocer, and Zehrs. While Shoppers Drug Mart is mostly a drug store, they sell groceries.

Loblaws controls 29% of the Canadian grocery industry.

The United States has some major grocery players, such as Kroger and Albertsons, who are trying to merge themselves. Canada has more of a monopoly in grocery store ownership. These are spots in Canada where a Loblaws boycott is a very difficult task.

Minnow and the Shark — episode 6 of Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent on Citytv — was about the death of an executive at a major grocery chain. Ripped from the actual Canadian news headlines, the reference is about an actual price-fixing scandal by Loblaws (and other chains) on the price of bread. Marie Antoinette, who never said "let them eat cake," would be envious over how they got away with their behavior. Also, why baguettes in Paris are cheaper than you might think they would be.

Food in Canada is more expensive than in the United States for a number of logistical reasons. A more spread-out population. Dairy and poultry supply management in Canada, which means much higher prices albeit for a better product. Difficulty in travel in places such as Atlantic Canada, including Newfoundland. Your humble narrator has spent a few trips at the Food Basics in Windsor, Ontario. Food Basics is owned by Metro and is a competitor to No Frills (Loblaws) as basic bones grocery stores. The prices at the basic bones grocery store would blow the minds of Americans.

The Daily Show years ago interviewed a Detroit woman about the Ambassador Bridge. Her impression of Canadians was that they buy American milk. While Canadian milk is legitimately better, the price difference even then is significant.

Canada has foreign invasion from American companies in quite a few categories, but not grocery stores. Target made a move in the Canadian market. Wal-Mart has a base in Canada but most of that is non-grocery. While there are a handful of Whole Foods in large Canadian cities, Trader Joe's is not in Canada.

Pirate Joe's was a cry for Trader Joe's to come to Canada, specifically to Vancouver. Trader Joe's was not happy and went after the company legally. Though Pirate Joe's won the case, they couldn't afford the follow-up suit.

If Trader Joe's won't come to Canada

Pirate Joe's had a good run in Vancouver (BalanceofFood.com)

The mainstream media usually covers these types of stories by factors such as "did Loblaws suffer a loss or make more money" as the only measurement of a successful boycott.

Consider the practical nature of the photo at the top of the story: "purchase loss leaders." A loss leader is a grocery store term for an item where the company would take a loss to draw people into the store to buy enough items to more than make up for the loss. Milk was often a loss leader before the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Avoid non-essentials." If you don't have to buy something until June, take that course of action.

The point isn't win/loss on a large company spreadsheet. The point is how people can feel better about an unfortunate reality in dealing with rising food prices and massive grocery store profits.

Could a grocer code of conduct have prevented the bread price-fixing scandal in Canada?

The proposed grocery code of conduct has sparked debate regarding its efficacy in stabilizing prices in Canada, and justifiably so. The public lacks detailed knowledge about this code, and… pic.twitter.com/yz8wmx75OM

— The Food Professor (@FoodProfessor) May 20, 2024

A grocer code of conduct is an idea floating in Canada these days. Grocers are waiting to see if other companies will step up and sign on before committing to the idea. You would think this would have been automatic once the bread price-fixing scandal came out.

You would think a large company would lay low during a boycott of your company yet word of that didn't travel to a Toronto (King and Peter) location of Shoppers Drug Mart. The Shoppers location advertised for a volunteer to help out in the store for zero compensation.

Loblaws had a 50% discount on food nearing expiration dates. The company announced a few months back that they would get rid of the policy. The outcry forced the company to reverse that move.

The discussion has even entered Canadian politics. The Trudeau Government also introduced a grocery rebate for taxpayers dealing with high grocery prices.

Grocery rebate is a nice idea but only a short-term solution to rising food prices (BalanceofFood.com)

Sobeys boycott in June? pic.twitter.com/MN5kll2zoR

— Matt Dagley (@mattdagley) May 10, 2024

Here are some resources that go into more detail about the Loblaws boycott:

Fed-up consumers are boycotting Loblaws (The Current on CBC Radio)

How Loblaw inspires anger, boycott (Front Burner)

Short Cuts #989: Loblaw & Order (Canadaland)

Why some Canadians are boycotting Loblaw for the month of May (CBC News for kids)

Stock Buybacks: How Grocers Eat Themselves (Canadaland)

Monopoly #1 – Lost in the Supermarket (Commons)

Some independent grocers and farmers say they’re seeing an increase in business as well as interest in locally sourced produce and products while the boycott of Loblaw and their associated brands continues in the month of May. @DilshadBurman reports. https://t.co/2uv5xHM9Jx

— CityNews Toronto (@CityNewsTO) May 20, 2024

Independent grocers are easier to find in large Canadian cities, especially Toronto. I've seen fruit and vegetable stands scattered throughout downtown Toronto. St. Lawrence Market is a wonderful place of local establishments under one giant roof. The Granville Island Public Market is a wonderful way to spend some food shopping time in Vancouver.

There are 14 Whole Foods locations in all of Canada: 6 in the Toronto area, 6 in the Vancouver area, and single locations in Ottawa (ON) and Victoria, BC.

Montréal has well-known local markets: Marché Jean Talon, Marché Atwater, and Marché Maisonneuve. I've been to farmers markets in Victoria, Windsor, St. John's, and Halifax. 

Consider this new resource for alternative grocery stores as well as local farmers markets.

The theoretical beauty of a large grocery company is you might save pennies because of their buying power. So even if independent stores are in a community, they might not have the absolute best prices compared to a behemoth such as Loblaws. Boycotts are not easy, almost by definition. How much is a boycott worth to the average Canadian consumer of grocery stores?

photo credits: @foodprofessor (where I found the photo but not knowing the original source); Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent/Citytv
Twitter captures: @FoodProfessor; @mattdagley; @CityNewsTO

Canada finally takes the leap for a national school lunch program

Canada has had the distinction of being the only G-7 country without a national school lunch program. That distinction may change soon since the Trudeau Government announced that funding for a national school lunch program will be part of the budget release one week from today on April 16.

The Trudeau Government wants to spend $1 billion over 5 years on a national school food program. The government target is to provide meals to 400,000 more kids outside of those currently getting food from local school food programs.

The national school lunch program may essentially be funding to the provinces (and maybe territories) so they would run the actual programs. Still a bit to figure out.

Canada's food insecurity concern may be a reason why we are finally seeing school lunch legislation. Helps that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used to be a school teacher and knows the importance of kids having full bellies to improve their education potential.

Our sibling blog, BalanceofFood.com, has an in-depth look on what may lie ahead in a Canada school lunch program. There are also past research into the matter, dating back to 2017.

Canada (finally) introduces a national school lunch program (BalanceofFood.com)

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Whenever we first found out about Canada not having a national school lunch program, the first thought was "Maybe Canada doesn't need an actual federal school lunch program." Let's hope the Canada school lunch program is well above the standard set by the United States school lunch program.

photo credit and video credit: CBC News

The art of making Canadian burgers

Our friends at our sibling blog, BalanceofFood.com, are a little obsessed with medium-rare burgers and how they virtually don't exist in Canada. 

Mary Berg demonstrated on how to make a Canadian burger in her TV show: Mary Makes It Easy on CTV Life Channel in Canada and Food Network in the United States. Berg showed the TV audience how to make hamburgers "juicy" in Season 2, Episode 24: Back to the BBQ.

She made a fancy version of a panade, typically milk and bread. If you are thinking "this sounds more like meatballs or meatloaf," you are on the right track.

The law in Canada requires an outcome of 71°C (160°F), defined as well-done, with minor exceptions.

How to make Canadian burgers (BalanceofFood.com)

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They suggested a Canadian burger could go well with poutine, a combo of French fries, squeaky white cheese curds, and brown gravy over the top of both.

You can check out the column for yourself. Might pick up a few tips, even if that is for meatloaf or meatballs instead of hamburgers.

photo credit: CTV Life Channel/Food Network

Alex DeBrincat leaves the Ottawa Senators in part to search for a nearby Chipotle

Alex DeBrincat is an American hockey player. The Ottawa Senators had a chance to get DeBrincat from Chicago for 3 significant draft picks. Unfortunately, after a year in Ottawa, DeBrincat had to be traded to try and get some value instead of nothing if he left for free agency. The Senators traded DeBrincat to Detroit (he's from Michigan) for far less than they spent to get him. The Red Wings signed DeBrincat quickly to a 4-year extension.

This is sadly a struggle for Canadian NHL teams to lure talent north of the border. We've heard stories about taxes, difficulties in reuniting families, different school systems, the French language in Ottawa and Montréal. The Alex DeBrincat story includes an odd twist we hadn't anticipated.

The Senators play in Kanata, a suburb well west of downtown. The team would love to build a new arena in LeBreton Flats in the downtown core.

Turns out one of the issues DeBrincat had in playing in Ottawa was the lack of a Chipotle in the west end of Ottawa. There is a Chipotle in downtown Ottawa in the CF Rideau Centre on the map above at 50 Rideau Street. That would be decently close to the new potential arena in LeBreton Flats.

Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion joked about getting another Chipotle location when DeBrincat was not happy knowing there were no nearby locations where the team played and practiced.

DeBrincat, 24 and 25 in all of this saga, might have wondered about this strange land, meaning Canada, where one could not easily score Chipotle food.

DeBrincat will be in the Detroit area, which has a few randomly scattered Chipotle locations. There are no locations within a close range of Little Caesars Arena, where the Red Wings play. Perhaps DeBrincat will live in a Detroit suburb near a Chipotle. Maybe Detroit management will convince Chipotle to have a location near the downtown Detroit arena.

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We are poking a bit of fun at DeBrincat but Canada is a different country than the United States. There are a few Whole Foods and no Trader Joe's. Toronto and Vancouver can offer more "American" options than Winnipeg or Edmonton. You could find more interesting Mexican food in Ottawa than a Chipotle but that would seem foreign in a lot of ways to a young American hockey player.

Your humble narrator lives a mile from a Chipotle. Don't give that too much thought since I mostly cook at home. If I lived in Canada, I would find new places to enjoy certain foods if I were trying to make a new place feel like home. Then again, I am not an American hockey player searching for well-known Mexican food.

Friends of mine have a son who just played American football in southern France. He did very well on the gridiron. There must have been a cultural shock to being in a different country. Maybe he was hungry for Chipotle or some other American food. He was there to get a chance to play the game he loves and have a new cultural experience. Playing football in southern France; Playing in the NHL in Ottawa. Not the same but a new experience for those who can appreciate something different.

photo credit: Google maps

Mourning the loss of The Main in Montreal

Ouch. Surprised at how much this hurts. An end to decades of The. Best. Smoked. Meat. In. Montreal. https://t.co/BQsZWjSNEt

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 9, 2023

I remember eating at The Main in Montréal in my travels. Excellent smoked meat. The best? I don't want to disagree with the prime minister of Canada. I liked the smoked meat at The Main and Schwartz's, across from each other on St. Laurent Boulevard in Montréal.

The fun in Montréal is the competition. The Main and Schwartz's for smoked meat. St-Viateur and Fairmount for bagels. While I don't have a smoked meat preference, I do have a bagel preference: St-Viateur.

Our sibling blog, BalanceofFood.com, took a look at the closure of The Main as part of a bigger restaurant when you lose one of your favourite restaurants.

Mourning the loss of your favorite restaurant (BalanceofFood.com)

The smoked meat battle was also about style. Schwartz's had more flash and style while The Main quietly went about its business. If the line at Schwartz's was too long, you could go across the street.

End of an era with closure of The Main, an iconic Montréal deli (The Current CBC Radio)

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I hope to get back to Montréal this summer. A city I adore and have not been there in too long. I have a list of favourites in Montréal and plan to try some places where I have never eaten.

Twitter capture: @JustinTrudeau
photo credit: CFCF Montréal/CTV News
video credit: YouTube/Educate@DIYdocufilms

Grocery rebate is helpful for Canadians while Americans struggle without help

We weren't planning on writing about the grocery rebate found in the new Canadian federal budget. BalanceofFood.com, our sibling blog, found the grocery rebate idea as a fascinating topic worth exploring.

Their research took them to Andrew Chang explaining the grocery rebate for the CBC News Explore audience. Chang left The National to do online journalism for CBC News Explore. His explanation of the grocery rebate on the whiteboard was journalism that was simple and informative. A good sign for Canadian journalism if the new service is doing that kind of work.

The money on the table for low and middle-income Canadians is a decent amount ($233 or $467 with seniors getting $225) but won't go too far given the current rising food prices. As our sibling blog noted, the American government with the GOP-led House won't even consider help for Americans unless the Democratic Party wins back the House in 2024.

Grocery rebate is a nice idea but only a short-term solution to rising food prices (BalanceofFood.com)

Food prices are generally higher in Canada than in the United States due to a number of circumstances. Even higher if you consider the cost of groceries in the North, such as in Iqlauit in Nunavut. The Balanceoffood.com story includes links to podcasts that delve into the high food prices in Canada. 

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You can find out more about how to watch CBC News Explore. Americans can watch CBC News Explore live via the Tubi streaming app.

photo and video credit: CBC News Explore

Appreciating the darkest maple syrup

Canadians should have an easier time finding what used to be the old Grade B maple syrup, ideally from Quebec. Americans could find the Grade B maple syrup, especially from Quebec, before the change. Since the classification brought everything to Grade A but with new descriptors, finding the good stuff has been rather difficult.

Our sibling blog, BalanceofFood.com explores the difficult search in the United States to score what is now known as Very Dark Strong Taste.

The difficulty in finding the old Grade B maple syrup (BalanceofFood.com)

Maple syrup is an identifiable Canadian food that is enjoyed in the United States. Difficult to appreciate how good Canadian maple syrup if consumers have to struggle to find the truly dark stuff.

Daily Show treats Quebec maple syrup heist as a drug war

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Back in 2013, Jason Jones (Canadian) had a bit too much fun exploring the maple syrup heist story for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The Le Gros Jambon portion at the Montréal diner is worth the watch.

How the climate crisis is affecting maple syrup (Ici/Radio-Canada)

Why we should appreciate maple syrup, especially good quality maple syrup.

photo credit: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart; me

Canadian film review: Percy

Based on a true story. What an amazing, actually true story. Not just the saga of Percy Schmeiser, a Saskatchewan farmer on the wrong side of Monsanto, but the thousands of farmers forced to settle with the large conglomerate.

The story is a true David-Goliath saga (Percy is also known as Percy vs. Goliath). Monsanto would be an exaggerated villain if the company didn't exist.

The problem with the Percy film is that the dialogue is so terrible. Yea, yea, you've said that about other films. The New Romantic dialogue was terrible but not on this level.

Christopher Walken can clearly act though the script making good acting rather difficult. Walken feels like a really poor choice for this character but that feels low on the list of complaints.

Fellow American actors Christina Ricci and Zach Braff feel out of place as well. They, along with Walken, do their best. The scene where Ricci's character orders in a diner is best found in Stereotypes 101. Braff's character has a cane, not known if that is based on the actual lawyer character or an offbeat add to the film.

Roberta Maxwell plays Louise Schmeiser, Percy's wife. Maxwell, one of the few Canadians in the cast, has the most awkward, terrible dialogue in the whole film, which is saying something.

Garfield Lindsay Miller and Hilary Pyror wrote the film. We don't know why the dialogue is this terrible, cringeworthy even.

The relatively good part about Percy? The film doesn't waste time in the beginning with an elaborate open. We pretty much are there at the beginning with the start of the story. The film is a blow-by-blow essence of the actual story. We apparently aren't here for character development, except for when Percy buys a large tractor in the beginning of the film.

Clark Johnson, a fine Canadian actor, has directed a few feature films and a lot of television, directed this film. The direction is okay. Not much you can do with the script. Not sure Charles Officer, who directed Johnson in Nurse.Fighter.Boy, could save this film.

If you can get past the dialogue and if you don't know the story, please watch this film. That may seem contradictory but the story is that important. Glyphosate, the primary ingredient in Roundup, is a disaster to the American and Canadian farming industry. You may know the phrase GMO; you will learn a lot more about it in the film.

Canadian actors Luke Kirby and Adam Beach have brief appearances. They have been in much better projects on both sides of the border.

You feel like Monsanto came in and rewrote the script so people won't know this story. Given what Monsanto did and has done, that sounds rather plausible.

Canadian film case study: The New Romantic

The sugar daddy concept making its way into Canadian films

Canadian film review: Nurse Fighter Boy

Your humble narrator would argue that the story of Percy Schmeiser would make an excellent documentary. Explaining the whole Monsanto nightmare requires that level of concentration. Some people who need to know the story might prefer the storytelling motive of a feature film.  

Having large names such as Christopher Walken, Christina Ricci, and Zach Braff draws more attention than a documentary. Some of that potential audience might not care that the dialogue is as terrible as it is. Percy is made for this subsection of a subsection. You will learn. Entertained? Not as likely.

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Percy is available on Crave in Canada and on demand in the United States.

video credit: YouTube/Mongrel Media
photo credit: Percy

Canadian film review: The Pizza City You've Never Heard Of

I've been to Windsor more times than I can count. I've heard a few people from Windsor tell me over the years they have great pizza in Windsor. No one really explained what was so special about Windsor pizza.

The Pizza City You've Never Heard Of is Windsor, just south of Detroit tucked away in a pocket in southwestern Ontario.

George Kalivas has a career in the world of music in Toronto but misses Windsor pizza. So along with director Tristan Laughton and Kalivas as writer, narrator, and host, the film sets out to tell us what makes Windsor pizza so distinct.

The intriguing comparison is New Haven, CT in the United States, a city that has an established pizza identity in a smaller town. Kalivas conveys that Windsor has unique pizza traditions.

• flour crust with cornmeal on the bottom
• sweet sauce using sweeter tomatoes such as San Marzano or tomatoes from California
• Galati cheese company making high fat mozzarella that is stringy when you pull out a slice
• shredded pepperoni
• canned mushrooms

As someone who makes a lot of homemade pizza, your humble narrator sauteed mushrooms before putting them on the pizza. Kalivas and his experts point out that canned mushrooms are used because they never burn, unlike raw mushrooms.

The shredded pepperoni approach is that you get pepperoni in every bite. 

Kalivas starts out at his favourite Windsor Pizzeria. As he takes us to several other places, such as Arcata Pizzeria and Capri Pizzeria (across the street from each other), and Antonino's Pizza, they point out that while the pizzas are similar, people have their favourites from generations back in time.

The documentary traces the story of Windsor pizza back to Volcano in 1957 and how every pizzeria can tie their pizza back to the pizza at Volcano.

One other element of Windsor pizza is the rather large number of toppings. The large super has a lot of toppings though Kalinas does not explain as to what ingredients should go on a large super or whether different pizzerias have unique versions of large super.

For example, Capri defines a super pizza as having "mozzarella, shredded pepperoni, bacon, mushrooms, and green peppers."   

The documentary bounces to different part of the cities but does spend quite a bit of time on East Erie Street, which is the Little Italy section in Windsor.

Cheap pizza is now a thing in Canada

Your humble narrator has an intolerance of mozzarella cheese so pizza isn't high on the call list of potential dinner options. Some New Haven places have a tomato pie type option with Parmesan instead of mozzarella. Indulging in mozzarella produces headaches, so I could try this out for myself.

The super pizza, even with the shredded pepperoni, sounds good. Watching the documentary does make you want to try the pizza.

Kalivas takes us to a lot of pizza choices in a relatively small town. He even interviews Peter Vitti, co-owner of Spago (not that Spago), even though they don't do Windsor style pizza. The film is about Windsor pizza and also about Windsor and food obsession.

Having a pizza obsession in Canada is a bit intriguing because pizza is expensive in Canada. Americans think of pizza as being cheap. This is an expensive obsession in Canada, mostly because of the Canadian cheese being more expensive than cheaper cheese from the United States.

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The pace of the film is strong. The presentation is very straight forward. They resist the temptation to bash other types of pizza; the film exists to tell you how good the pizza is in Windsor and why the pizza is unique.

The Pizza City You've Never Heard Of runs 51 minutes. The film ran on the Absolutely Canadian series that airs on CBC television.

video credit: YouTube/Lrg Super
photo credit: The Pizza City You've Never Heard Of