Leamington, Ontario, is the tomato capital of Canada. Many of the former and soon to be former workers of the Heinz tomato factory located there may now disagree.
But then enters the Canadian Agricultural Products Act, which requires that tomato juice in Canada must come from whole tomatoes and not from paste. So the plant may stay open, at some capacity level, to ensure that the juice made for the Canadian market comes from whole tomatoes and does not come from the US, were paste is the norm in making the juice.
This may be one of the rare instances where a government can say with conviction that laws enacted by the government (even if the law was put in place previously) helped to create or sustain jobs. It is rare that any government can say that with any certainty or credibility.
But how long before a Free Trade complaint is made and the law is struck down under NAFTA? Time will tell.
Paul H. Voorn
Andriessen & Associates, Professional Corporation