Looking to 'Buy Canadian' at the grocery store? Beware of maple-washing: CBC’s Marketplace Cheat Sheet

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Dave Lawson is a proud Canadian, with bumper stickers that say "Canada is not for sale." He's fed up with grocery products plastered with maple leaves and patriotic logos that turn out to be U.S. Imports.

It's called maple washing, and it's on store shelves across the country.

This past week, U.S. President Donald Trump made his latest tariff threats against Canada. Prime Minister Mark Carney renewed the push to "Buy Canadian" and posted a video online reiterating that the government will do the same in the projects it is supporting around the country.

Lawson is part of a Facebook group dedicated to buying Canadian, especially given calls to keep "elbows up" in response to the U.S. Trade war. For him and many others, that means picking products that are made here, with Canadian ingredients.

One item that frustrates him is Betty Crocker's chocolate chip cookie mix. The front of the package has a maple leaf and the words "Canada's #1 Selling Baking Mix Brand." But when you flip it over, it says, "Product of USA."

"This is advertising trying to make it look Canadian, when in reality, it's not," Lawson said.

Marketplace put the cookie mix and some other popular food labels to the test, and found that on patriotic packaging, the truth can be buried on the back, where it's easy to miss.

The packaging is "at the very least confusing, but I would argue misleading, as well," said Mike von Massow, a food economics professor at the University of Guelph.

Marketplace asked General Mills, the company behind the Betty Crocker cookie mix, about its label. In a statement, the company said it highlights "Canada's #1 Selling Baking Mix Brand" because it's true, based on sales, that the label is not new and reflects the pride they have "in being a part of the kitchens all across Canada."

Read more from Marketplace journalists Rosa Marchitelli, Stephanie Kampf and Bobby Hristova.

Ticket system for accessible seats fails disabled fans, wheelchair user says | Go Public

A Langley, B.C., man who often relies on a wheelchair says he can rarely attend hockey games or concerts at Rogers Arena in Vancouver because accessible seats are often taken by people who might not need them.

After a 2006 car accident, Michael Coss suffered a traumatic brain injury and spent six months in a coma. Despite daily physical therapy, he is at high risk of falling and uses a walker or wheelchair. He lives in a group home and says leisure activities are essential.

"It's important for me to have a sense of normalcy," said Coss. "To be able to enjoy simple things. Life can't just be about rehab."

The accessible sections at Rogers Arena might be considered prime seating. They're designed for people to manoeuvre wheelchairs and other mobility devices, so there's plenty of legroom. There is also just one row of seating, so others aren't squeezing by to get to their seats, and chairs can be pulled up for attendants or family and friends of those with disabilities. There's often a ledge that provides a convenient spot for food and drinks.

Major venues across the country sell these designated accessible seats on the honour system — people simply have to tick a box saying they need the seats, and there's no proof required.

Coss says that's leading to abuse by many people he sees sitting in the section.

"No wheelchair. No cane," he said. "That section should be for people with a physical or cognitive disability."

Canucks Sports & Entertainment, which owns the arena, told Go Public the venue uses an approach that upholds "the privacy and dignity of all fans" and that because some disabilities may not be formally documented, their goal is to be "respectful, fair and inclusive."

The spokesperson also said the seating is not limited to guests who use wheelchairs, despite a sign outside the section that explicitly states the area is for people requiring mobility aids.

"These spaces support fans who may be recovering from injuries, have difficulty navigating stairs, experience anxiety or mobility limitations, or live with temporary or invisible disabilities," the spokesperson wrote.

Advocates say Coss's experience reflects a broader problem: Those who abuse the system are shutting out people who actually need the seats, and nobody — including venues, ticket sellers or the government — is stepping up to solve the problem.

Read more from Go Public's Erica Johnson and Ana Komnenic.

What’s in a name? For this P.E.I. Couple, it meant big banking problems

What's in a name? A lot, apparently, as one Prince Edward Island family found out.

Max Deller-Lestage and his wife, Marie Pascal, opened a registered education savings plan (RESP) at TD Bank for their two children, aged three and seven.

The children use a combination of their parents' last names, resulting in the surname of Pascal Deller-Lestage. But while filling out a digital form for the RESP, there wasn't enough space for such a long name.

The couple said the bank opted to remove the hyphen and a space from the name so it would fit — and that's where the problems began.

The family later wanted to move the RESP, which holds around $6,000, to a different bank that offered better interest. The transfer wouldn't go through, however, because the new bank included the hyphen and the space in the kids' last name.

The couple's attempt to change the name on the TD account didn't work because the name field was still too small.

More than a year later, Deller-Lestage and Pascal still haven't been able to transfer the funds to the new bank.

"The issue could have been escalated to somebody who could fix the problem, because the local branches didn't know what to do," Deller-Lestage said.

"Every time I would explain to them the situation, they would sort of kick it down the road and ask to get back to me in 10 days, two weeks, a month."

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Have you complained to the consumer protection office in your province or territory? If so, we want to know how it went. Email us at marketplace@cbc.ca.

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