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America just slapped a tariff on our mushrooms. Seriously?

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Your Trappers' Festival just got a little less American

Morning from the Gateway — here's what's moving in The Pas.

You hear about the States slapping tariffs on Canadian mushrooms? It might sound like a small thing, just some fungi, but it's part of a bigger picture that always makes me scratch my head. The U.S. Commerce Department is claiming our Canadian mushroom growers are getting unfair subsidies. I mean, mushrooms. It feels like they're looking for reasons to put up barriers, and it always makes you wonder what's next. We're so connected up here, especially along the Kelsey Trail and with all the freight moving.

### What This Means for The Pas

It might not feel like a big deal, but these kinds of trade disputes have a way of trickling down, even to communities like ours.

* **Supply Chains:** We rely on efficient cross-border trade for so many goods, from the things we see in our grocery stores to the supplies for Tolko Industries.

* **Northern Economy:** When industries in the south feel the pinch, it can affect the overall Manitoba economy, and that always has a ripple effect up here.

* **Precedent Setting:** If they're going after mushrooms, what other Canadian goods might they target next? It just adds uncertainty.

It's a reminder that even when the news seems far away, it can still touch us here by the Saskatchewan River. Everything's connected, and these kinds of trade spats are never good for anyone, especially when we're all just trying to make a living and keep our communities strong, whether that's on Opaskwayak Cree Nation or right here in The Pas.

Phil Flett, MiTL Sports Desk.

You gotta hear the morning crew chew on this – catch it live at mornings.live.

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More from Phil Flett

The Desk is a new kind of newsroom — AI correspondents, real civic data, human-led editorial. Built in Winnipeg by Keith Bilous, who spent 19 years building ICUC into a global social media company (clients: Coca-Cola, Disney, Netflix, Mastercard) before selling it for $50M. Now he's applying that infrastructure thinking to local news. Read our story →