The Daily Show turned its attention to last year’s great Canadian maple syrup heist Thursday night, expressing what was probably genuine surprise at learning that, yes, Canada has a maple syrup cartel.
Correspondent Jason Jones began the segment with an interview with Canadian Business reporter Tim Shufelt, who was seated silhouetted in a darkened room as if he were an anonymous source.
“Globally, the industry is worth about $400 million and the cartel accounts for about three-quarters of that production,” Shufelt told a seemingly alarmed Jones.
At this point, Jones learned Shufelt was talking about maple syrup.
“Can we put the f**king lights on?” Jones asked an off-screen producer.
A barrel of maple syrup, Shufelt told Jones, has a market value that is almost 20 times the value of a barrel of crude oil.
At that point, Jones asked the lights to be turned back down.
Up next was Simon Trepanier, acting general manager of the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers, whom Jones referred to as “the Pablo Escobar of maple syrup.”
Jones had doubts as to whether Canada’s strategic maple syrup reserve is really necessary.
“Do you feel the world would collapse if the maple syrup stopped flowing?” Jones asked.
“Yes,” Trepanier responded, tongue planted firmly in cheek.
The segment ends with a GoodFellas-inspired drug rampage, complete with a helicopter shadowing Jones as he indulges in his maple syrup “addiction,” snorting lines of the gooey stuff of glass tables, and even sucking on a maple tree tap.
Well, at least it didn’t make Canada look boring.
