A few decades ago most stores sold items: meat, cheese and even nails and steeples by weight.
There was always a government approved scale on the counter beside the cash register.
Usually a paper bag was placed on the scales and hardware like nails were added to the bag until the desired weight was reached.
If it was a butcher shop, meat wrapping paper was placed on the scale and a handful of hamburger or a couple of pork chops were put onto the paper to be weighed. When weight was placed on the scales, it usually took a few seconds for the scales to balance before settling on the correct weight.
Some merchants would speed up the weighing process by putting a finger on the scale to slow down the fluctuation in weight.
The odd unscrupulous merchant would leave the weight of the finger on the scale to increase the weight but then give the buyer a bargain by reducing the total sale a little.
Some shoppers started calculating the weight of the finger as soon as the merchant weighed the product and used their head to figure out what the discount should be.
Today we have to be much more alert to watch to see who or what method is being used to “put a finger on the scales” to tip a trade deal or other benefit to humanity in favour of one side or the other.

Often figures that are not correct, intense lobbying and even intimidation are used to tip a decision in someone’s favour.
An old friend of mine once said “when a country tries to get access to computer software as a trade for pickles” he got very nervous. I have witnessed a multi-national drug company spending millions of dollars lobbying everyone from farmers to a federal task force to get a drug approved before all test results were in.
We have recently witnessed bread prices being raised because a couple of grocery giants decided to increase their profits on selling bread. Through lobbying and bargaining they avoided further investigation as to how much money that they gouged from consumers by giving out gift certificates if consumers applied for them.
If we think back a little we have seen our federal government sell off our railroads, airline, gas company, including gas exploration rights, national hotel chain and even our grain board that grain farmers voted to keep.
A few large corporations seem to have been quite profitable as a result but rail service has declined, gas prices seem to have increased, grain farmers who live beyond major transport routes have been much less profitable.
I often wonder who had their “finger on the scales” when those decisions were made?
I also wonder why Canada let the “auto pact” with the US expire? This is the one that Bud Drury initiated in 1965 and guaranteed that all autos made in Canada contain a percentage of Canadian parts. It also did the same for the U.S.
It’s time that both Canada’s politicians and citizens watch closely to see who’s “finger is on the scales.”

Chris Judd is a farmer in
Clarendon on land that has
been in his family for generations. gladcrest@gmail.com