Christmas is coming! Do you know where your gifts came from?
We’ve had our first taste of winter, the first snowfall and the first freezing rain. Yes, winter is definitely on the way and, with it, the most magical of family holidays, Christmas. I’ve made a start on my Christmas shopping but I find myself becoming increasingly frustrated at the scarcity of Canadian products. I always prefer to buy Canadian, and with the current economic woes, this is more important than ever. However, the search for Canadian made goods sometimes seems like a hopeless quest. Every time I check a tag or label, I see “Made in China” or “Made in Indonesia” or “Made in Taiwan” or “Made in Mexico”, anything but “Made in Canada”! Heck, I can’t even find anything “Made in USA”! The other day, I bought no-name gherkins and as I was putting them in the fridge, I noticed on the label “Product of India”! India? Why are we importing pickles from India? Can’t we grow cucumbers here? Has the Holland Marsh been paved over? What’s going on? When I posted about my dilemma on Facebook, a friend in the UK commented that, on a trip to Canada six years ago, she tried to find genuine Inuit gifts to take home but had to make do with facsimiles made in China! Outrageous! I think there’s a real opportunity here for someone to create an online store selling only Canadian made items, or at least an online guide to stores stocking Canadian products. Here in Peterborough, we are lucky to have a lovely garden and gift store, The Avant-Garden Shop (on Sherbrooke Street just west of George) which stocks many wonderful Canadian items. Thank you Brenda! And so, my search goes on. Next year, I’m going to make all my gifts! Assuming of course, that I don’t procrastinate too long and run out of time! Bah! Humbug!
Copyright 2011 Anne Corke
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