The federal government says this year’s Canada Day celebrations will feature Canadian-made paper flags after years of criticism over departments purchasing patriotic items from overseas suppliers.Blacklock's Reporter says the Department of Canadian Heritage confirmed it is seeking up to 1.5 million hand-held paper flags manufactured in Canada as part of the federal Buy Canadian policy.In a procurement notice to contractors, the department stated that only Canadian services would qualify under the tender.“The requirement is limited to Canadian services,” the department wrote. “Offerors must complete the Canadian content certification.”The notice explained that a service will qualify as Canadian if at least 80% of the total offer price comes from individuals based in Canada.“‘Canadian service’ means a service provided by an individual based in Canada,” the document said. “If a requirement consists of only one service provided by two or more individuals, Canada will consider the service to be a Canadian service if a minimum 80% of the total offer price for the service is provided by individuals based in Canada.”Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the Buy Canadian policy on Sept. 5, saying federal procurement should prioritize domestic suppliers.“Canada is on a mission to build Canada strong,” Carney said at the time, adding Canadian companies would be prioritized in all federal spending..For years federal departments defended the purchase of foreign-made patriotic merchandise by citing lower costs.In 2023, the Department of Immigration confirmed it had purchased 250,000 maple leaf lapel pins from a Chinese supplier to distribute to new Canadians during citizenship ceremonies.The department said the pins, which cost 18¢ each wholesale, offered the best value for taxpayers.Chinese manufacturers “provided a product that was cost effective and achieved the best value for money,” the department wrote in a response to an Inquiry of Ministry tabled in the House of Commons.Earlier controversies also emerged over souvenirs tied to major national celebrations.In 2012, about 300,000 Queen’s Diamond Jubilee pins were subcontracted to Chinese suppliers through a Canadian firm. Federal records also showed Ottawa did not purchase a single Canadian-made souvenir during Canada’s 150th anniversary celebrations.Items used for Canada 150 included ball caps manufactured in Bangladesh, banners from Vietnam, postcards from Japan, sports towels from Pakistan and hockey pucks made in the United States.“Nothing is Canadian, nothing,” Conservative MP Michael Cooper (St. Albert–Sturgeon River, Alta.) said at the time. “Everybody got a piece of the action except Canadian manufacturers.”.Veterans groups also raised concerns in 2017 when the Department of Veterans Affairs allowed Chinese suppliers to produce “Canada Remembers” pins.“It’s unbelievable, really,” Jim Bishop, then-president of the Korea Veterans Association of Canada Unit 27 in Victoria, said in an interview at the time.Bishop, who fought in the 1951 Battle of Kapyong against Chinese and North Korean forces, said the issue of wearing foreign-made commemorative pins had rarely been discussed among veterans.“It’s a different time,” he said. “This question of my feelings about wearing a foreign-made pin is not something I’ve ever heard discussed.”
