Feds OK To Buy Foreign Flag
The Department of Public Works is buying thousands of new Canadian flags without any stipulation they be made in Canada. Officials did not reply to repeated requests for an explanation of procurement policies that omit reference to buy Canadian. “We’re working on it,” a spokesperson said.
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“This should be a Canadian product, made in Canada,” said Dennis Brown, president and CEO of Flags Unlimited Corp., a Barrie, Ont., manufacturer. “This should be Canadian.”
Public Works Canada served notice it will purchase thousands of new outdoor flags for display at federal buildings, up to 673 new flags a year from 2015 to 2018. However the contract is open to foreign-sourced bidders, and the department declined comment on whether the national flag should be Canadian-made.
Under the 1985 National Flag Of Canada Manufacturing Standards Act, flags for official use may be “manufactured in Canada or imported into Canada” so long as they meet specifications on colour tone, stitching, textile strength, size of grommets and other standards.
“We are the largest flag manufacturer in Canada,” said Brown. “If you see a flag flying on the street it’s probably one of ours.”
Brown noted that while nylon and polyester used in flag production are typically purchased from U.S. or offshore suppliers, “the finishing, the sewing, the cutting – this should be Canadian”. “We don’t make nylon in Canada,” he said; “We contract our polyester from U.S. and German suppliers that make a very high-quality textile”.
Flag specifications are set by the Canadian General Standards Board, a public works agency. Another manufacturer, Flag Connection Inc. of Lion’s Head, Ont., sued the government in 2013 after alleging Public Works Canada had purchased inexpensive, substandard flags for use on the Peace Tower, federal courthouses and soldiers’ caskets in violation of the 1985 law.
“It breaks my heart to see these non-compliant flags,” Randy Sloane, CEO of Flag Connection, said in an earlier interview. “This is sad. This is slowly dismantling our flag standards.”
“We manufactured the flag for Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s casket when he was lying in state,” Sloane said. “Each step in the manufacturing of these flags must be correct.”
A maple leaf flag manufactured for outdoor use must typically be replaced every three months, manufacturers said.
By Paul Delahanty
http://www.blacklocks.ca/feds-ok-to-buy-foreign-flag/
Public Works Canada served notice it will purchase thousands of new outdoor flags for display at federal buildings, up to 673 new flags a year from 2015 to 2018. However the contract is open to foreign-sourced bidders, and the department declined comment on whether the national flag should be Canadian-made.
Under the 1985 National Flag Of Canada Manufacturing Standards Act, flags for official use may be “manufactured in Canada or imported into Canada” so long as they meet specifications on colour tone, stitching, textile strength, size of grommets and other standards.
“We are the largest flag manufacturer in Canada,” said Brown. “If you see a flag flying on the street it’s probably one of ours.”
Brown noted that while nylon and polyester used in flag production are typically purchased from U.S. or offshore suppliers, “the finishing, the sewing, the cutting – this should be Canadian”. “We don’t make nylon in Canada,” he said; “We contract our polyester from U.S. and German suppliers that make a very high-quality textile”.
Flag specifications are set by the Canadian General Standards Board, a public works agency. Another manufacturer, Flag Connection Inc. of Lion’s Head, Ont., sued the government in 2013 after alleging Public Works Canada had purchased inexpensive, substandard flags for use on the Peace Tower, federal courthouses and soldiers’ caskets in violation of the 1985 law.
“It breaks my heart to see these non-compliant flags,” Randy Sloane, CEO of Flag Connection, said in an earlier interview. “This is sad. This is slowly dismantling our flag standards.”
“We manufactured the flag for Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s casket when he was lying in state,” Sloane said. “Each step in the manufacturing of these flags must be correct.”
A maple leaf flag manufactured for outdoor use must typically be replaced every three months, manufacturers said.
By Paul Delahanty
http://www.blacklocks.ca/feds-ok-to-buy-foreign-flag/
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