One of the great things about car trips is that you get to listen to radio shows you wouldn’t otherwise listen to. Today, I very much enjoyed listening to official Canada having a full blown northern snit-fit on Canadian radio over the fact that prices of common consumer goods are higher in Canada than they are in the United States.

In totally unrelated news, Canada is considering some new tariffs . . .

(No! Hush! That is heresy!)

But Canadians also are looking to eliminate some tariffs, such as the tariffs on imported bicycles.

(Perhaps there is some relationship between tariffs and prices? No! That way madness lies!)

Arguments on this picayune scale reliably produce hilarious prose, and the ’Nucks do not disappoint:

“To be clear, it is the view of the [Canadian International Trade Tribunal] that there is no longer significant bicycle manufacturing in Canada to warrant trade protections,” [Bill Yetman, executive director of the Canadian Independent Bicycle Retailers Association] wrote. “…in the absence of a robust manufacturing base that might be protected, the continuance of these tariffs amounts to no more than a regressive tax on Canadian cycling consumers and the independent businesses who serve them.

Because, obviously, regressive taxes on consumers are just tremendous when they serve the interests of an entrenched business lobby. I guess that’s the new rule of Canadian corporatism: No crony, no foul.