“Canada’s regulatory burden has grown 37 per cent since 2006, with more than 321,000 separate requirements now in force,” reported the Conference Board of Canada in September 2025. Here is the story of a local victim of this regulatory growth.

Years ago, a hobby gardener, Brian Gory (Mr. Tomato) decided to turn his love of gardening, especially growing tomatoes, into a business

He had a number of ingenious products, but perhaps none as successful and useful as his marketing of a natural, plant-based product — powdered seaweed, Ascophyllum nodosum. It could be mixed with water to enhance the micronutrient quality of a growing medium and boost plant health and production, especially for tomatoes.

Harvesting seaweed on the beach.

Using seaweed as a fertilizer was not new. British coastal gardeners had used it for thousands of years but, in 1947, it was marketed available as fertilizer and plant booster. Brian Gory read about this and his imagination took flight. He found a supplier in Nova Scotia and rebranded the powdered seaweed as Sea Magic, complete with a mermaid logo. Because it was so effective, especially for tomatoes making them firmer and sweeter, Sea Magic found a ready market. After a couple of decades, Mr. Tomato sold the product rights to HJS Wholesale Ltd. here in Winnipeg. They have been happily supplying Sea Magic to resellers at home and abroad ever since.

Because Brian retained his rights to his personal Mr. Tomato label, HJS repackaged it and created Bonadea Gardens as the producer, but it was still being harvested and powdered........

© Winnipeg Sun