You have not noticed, of course, but we have not mentioned President Donald Trump in an editorial for a year or so.
After his election, we were aghast that such an unworthy and unstable person could become leader of the world's most powerful country, and we took verbal shots whenever we possibly could.
However, that came to an end because, as a community newspaper, The Hub should be talking about local issues, not national and international concerns. So as much as we hated to do it, we stopped criticizing The Donald.
However, we will ignore that self-imposed restriction for just this one editorial.
We believe an exception is in order because Donald Trump has now become a 'local issue' for every community in Canada.
His constant attacks on Canada as a trading partner and his petulant insults of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are going to affect us directly. It's going to cost us in concrete terms as a trade war develops between Canada and the United States, especially with Trump's apparent ultimate goal to scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Trump himself has said his spat with Trudeau following the recent G7 summit in Quebec will cost Canadians "a lot of money." That means you and me.
Trump flew off the handle when Trudeau dared to say that Canada would still fight back against American tariffs on steel and aluminum, and would not be pushed around. It apparently made no difference that Trudeau had said the same thing a week earlier on American television.
Those Canadian counter-tariffs will make some American goods more expensive in Canada.
And if Trump proceeds with his threat to impose high tariffs on automobiles entering the United States that will shake one of the foundations of Canada's economy. Of course, we say 'if' he does it, but we fully expect he will.
Like we said in an editorial in November of 2016 just after he was elected, Trump is a bully, a petty man and often behaves like a child. His time in office has only confirmed that to be true.
We would like to offer some suggestions on how Canada can deal with Trump to lessen the brewing trade war, but we don't think there is anything we can do. Trump is going to do whatever he wants.
And so – to follow the argument that Trump is now a 'local issue' everywhere in Canada – what can we do?
Well, there is a nascent movement among Canadians to personally fight back against Trump's attacks with things like boycotting American goods and vacationing in Canada.
That seems like a reasonable response. It is no doubt symbolic, but can be more than that if enough people join the fight.
We plan to do our part. The writer of this editorial is soon leaving for a vacation in Eastern Canada, and had been considering driving through the northern U.S. to get there. That idea has been abandoned for the Northern Ontario route.
That means money for gas, food and hotels in Canada. Our money is not going to Trump's America.