NEWS: Patriotic Canadian Maple Leaf Flag Pins Are Made In China

The Liberal government of Canada found itself under attack from it rivals today. It seems that the Maple Leaf flag pins that politicians are wearing to show thier patriotism were made in China. To make things worse, a Canadian factory that had been making them for the last 35 years was bypassed in favor of a new Chinese supplier.



Its kind of interesting and I find myself wondering if the lapel flags that Bush and Kerry and the rest of the politicos are wearing are also made elsewhere. At some point you do need to protect core industries or you may rapidly find yourself at the mercy of another country

Hey! What's wrong with selling hubcaps and velvet Elvis paintings? I understand the sentiment here, but we do live in a global economy and a lot of things are done better overseas. Many jurisdictions have laws that jobs must go to the lowest bidder. We have this issue come up in New Mexico a lot. I think those ugly balloon license plates were designed by an out of state company. Some got pretty hot about that.

I know, but at some level you have to stop and say!!!! I mean I would hate to see us get to the point where American flags are being made by slave labor somewhere.

"I understand the sentiment here, but we do live in a global economy and a lot of things are done better overseas."

i hate to ask this question, but how hard is it to make a pin? do they really save that much from having them made in China? pretty damn pathetic if you ask me. i wont be buying one, not because i dislike China, but because it is a symbol of patriotism that is being made in another country. In fact it really pisses me off that the government would bypass a company that had been making them for 35 years. Also the reason they are cheaper is because they are "inferior" to the ones made here. Even if the Chinese made them better what difference does it make?

Tahlen

[edit on 4-2-2005 by Tahlen]

My Green rubber bracelet. Supporting the American USO, purchased in
a 7-11..Made in China...sheesh

Originally posted by spacedoubt
My Green rubber bracelet. Supporting the American USO, purchased in
a 7-11..Made in China...sheesh

Yeah, I checked it out after my family and I went on our boycott China whenever practicle and so I checked before I bought one

The worst thing about this is that Prime minister Paul Martin has been talking about standing up to China regarding Human rights.

I'm not saying Canada can boycott China. No one in the world can.
Canadian National symbols have to be made in Canada.

These pins are worn with pride. To find out that they are not being made in Canada and are actually being made in another country for cheap labor is plain disgusting.

Originally posted by Tahlen
Also the reason they are cheaper is because they are "inferior" to the ones made here.

Actually CHina has invested alot of money on quality controll and the like and some of thier operations are cutting edge in that term. however they have rock bottom labor costs and don't have to worry about those perky environmental laws and worker welfare etc. You cannot compete with that.

Its a pin what can be so inferior about it? Like FredT stated, it is their labor costs that save so much because shipping is nothing but nickels and dimes to them. Everyone is saving millions, I would even say billions by switcing to China for producton. I wonder how long this can last though, I mean how do they do it? A population of 2 billion working for very little and the currency is always pegged at the same value. They probably get free health care, education and such.

Originally posted by FredT
I know, but at some level you have to stop and say!!!! I mean I would hate to see us get to the point where American flags are being made by slave labor somewhere.

already happening big time Fred. Most major retailers do not carry US made flags. Check Walmart Target Walgreens Ace they are made in china although I am sure there may be some exceptions in some stores. That is why I buy mine from the US Senate not only are they excellent flags, they are Nylon with sewn on stripes and Embrodered Stars with HD Gromets. Cost is only 23.50 (last years price) for a 5x8. (plus shipping).I ordered 3 last time I ordered and the total was something like 73.00. Buy orering several you save on shipping I might add.

In Flag stores a US made flag costs around 90 to 100 for the same size, but the quality is not there and some of those selling for the higher prices do not last half the length that flags from the senate do.

I work for the Canadian government, and any contract that is put out has to go to tender...whoever tenders the lowest bid to do the job and can do so in a competent manner gets the contract.

There was a similar stink here in Ottawa a while back when the city of Ottawa selected a bid from Microsoft for some software package, even though one other bidder was Corel, which is based right here in Ottawa.

They are following the government rules...failure to comply and we'd have another adscam scandal.

Damned if you do, damned if you dont.

Without knowing how much the Canadian company quoted the job for, I can't comment on this one way or another. They may have been competitive, or they may not. My government is wasteful enough without awarding contracts based on politics (which they do anyways).

If the tender was to high, they lose the job. This is how it works in my industry, and it is how I expect my government to operate, as well.

Well, it appears that the original report didn't have all the information.

"A competitive contract for the lapel pins was actually awarded to a Canadian company, which then sourced the pins to a Chinese manufacturer," he told MPs.

"As a government, we respect our trade agreements but we do have a parliamentary exemption which we can apply within those trade agreements to purchases for members of parliament and senators. As such, I have directed that Canadian pins made for the use of senators and members of parliament will be manufactured in Canada from this point forward."

cbc

There will be no more made in China flag pins purchased.