Trudeau once said that “There’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.”
But apparently, there is a a place for the state in the stomachs of the nation:
Canadian Press reports that the sale of the KFC Double Down sandwich may be reviewed by the Ontario government:
Ontario Health Promotion Minister Margarett Best was asked about the Double Down today, and said it was something the province could investigate.
Best said it wasn’t something that the government had discussed, but added “it’s certainly is something we may look at and review.”
To be fair, Best didn’t actually raise the issue – and most likely, not knowing what she was talking about, decided not to close any doors. And once that door is not closed, then media are free to say that Ontario may do a review – after all, the Minister didn’t say no so it *may* happen.
Sigh.
First, this will not happen.
Second, if it was actually going to be even remotely considered (which it won’t be), why stop there?
Why not review Breakfast Buffets? All-you-can-Ribs? Eggplants?
One can argue that they are way more damaging to your health than a breadless sandwich.
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UPDATE – Oct 19 @ 17:02
Well, that didn’t take long:
Ontario government backs off idea to eyeball KFC’s Double Down sandwich
Just what a province could do about a food product that’s considered perfectly legal _ even if indisputably unhealthy _ was unclear. But Liberals wern’t saying why Health Promotion Minister Margarett Best had two positions on the Double Down in as many hours.
Best was responding to recommendations the province ban smoking in apartment buildings _ an idea she rejected _ when she was asked about the Double Down, and said it was something the government could investigate.
However, her office later issued a statement in which Best claimed to “reiterate” that there were no plans to review the availability of any food products in Ontario.
“Consumers have the right to choose the food they wish to purchase,” said the updated statement from Best’s office.
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UPDATE – Oct 19 @ 22:02
Conservative Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq was also asked to comment on KFC’s Double Down while being interviewed on the CBC’s Power and Politcs. The interview was supposed to be on cadmium, but P&P host Evan Solomon couldn’t resist pulling out a Double Down from under his desk to grill (or shall I say deep fry?) the Minister about the new culinary revolution.
Solomon asked about imposng a ”Fat Tax”, but Aglukkaq refused to take the bait before refusing to take a bite.
The segment starts at 6:12. The Double Down stays on the screen for basically the entire interview!
It is not clear what happened to the sandwich after the show. It appeared it stayed by Solomon’s laptop for the remainder of the show, all the way to the end. Rosemary Barton cleary stated she was not eating it, but Solomon didn’t commit one way or the other – before grabbing the Double Down as the show was ending…