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L’automne est définitivement parmi nous.  Plusieurs d’entre vous êtes plus ou moins heureux de voir cette saison se montrer le bout du nez, et certains d’entre vous êtes plutôt comme moi et êtes presque jouissifs de vivre pleinement cette superbe saison et de profiter de ce que ces courtes semaines ont à nous offrir!

Le mois d’octobre est un mois rempli d’événements et d’activités à faire pour accueillir l’automne en beauté.  Un des plus importants événements selon moi est le fait qu’octobre soit le mois de la sensibilisation au cancer du sein.  Cette cause me tient fort à coeur car ma mère ainsi que ma grand-mère ont été atteintes.  Ma grand-mère a malheureusement dû se faire enlever un sein à cause de cette fâcheuse maladie, par contre ma mère heureusement s’en est bien sortie avec une chirurgie mineure et de la radiation. 

Aujourd’hui, 10 ans plus tard, je suis heureuse de savoir que ma mère a survécu et est maintenant complètement libre de cancer.  On peut tous aider à soutenir cette cause, et chaque geste, aussi petit soit-il, compte pour beaucoup.  Plusieurs marchands offrent des items que l’on peut acheter pour bénéficier la Fondation Canadienne du cancer du sein, comme par exemple Cashmere® qui fait la promotion du papier hygiénique rose. En plus, ce produit est fabriqué au Canada, donc une raison de plus de s’en procurer, car non seulement nous soutenons une bonne cause mais aussi l’économie Canadienne!

25¢ provenant de la vente d’articles de l’édition limitée de papier hygiénique Cashmere® rose seront remis à la Fondation canadienne du cancer du sein.

Cashmere® a également lancé un concours nommé Top création, Top cause Votez, qui est un concours où les internautes doivent voter pour leur design favori de la collection Blanc Cashmere 2010, qui est une collection de vêtements fabriqué entièrement à partir de papier hygiénique.  Non seulement Cashmere® contribuera $1.00 en votre nom à la Fondation Canadienne du cancer du sein, mais de plus, Cashmere contribuera 5 000$ à la Fondation au nom du designer qui aura reçu le plus grand nombre de vote.

Plusieurs autres marchands offrent des produits ‘roses’ faits au Canada tel que Bureau en Gros, et Foxy Originals.  Cette dernière est une compagnie qui fabrique des bijoux 100% canadiens, en plus d’offrir une collection de colliers fabriqués spécialement pour amasser des fonds pour aider à la sensibilisation au Cancer du sein.  Pour chaque collier de leur collection Pink Eco & Eden vendu, Foxy Originals fera un don de 5$ pour la sensibilisation à la cause. On peut dire que les canadiens sont non seulement fiers d’être canadien, mais aussi soucieux  de la société et des bonnes causes.

  
 
 
Donc, comme vous pouvez le constater, il est vraiment facile de contribuer à cette cause et de sensibiliser les gens.  Et ça ne s’arrête pas là, il n’y a pas que des marchands qui contribuent, mais nous pouvons tous le faire par plusieurs différents moyens.  Un de ces moyens est d’utiliser les médias sociaux, tel que Facebook. CIBC à pleinement exploiter ce dernier en lançant la page Facebook ‘Engagement communautaire CIBC’.  Cette page à pour but de sensibiliser les gens ainsi que de les encourager à soutenir différentes causes, dont celle de la Course à la vie CIBC au profit de la Fondation Canadienne du cancer du sein.  De plus, pour démontrer notre appui à la course à la vie, la page Facebook offre l’occasion de produire un cadre photo et y inscrire le nom de la personne pour qui vous courrez, télécharger sa photo puis la publier comme photo de profil.  Ce petit geste ne coûte rien, mais peut faire toute une différence dans la vie des personnes atteintes directement ou indirectement par le cancer du sein.

Pour ceux qui préfèrent contribuer directement à la cause, il est toujours possible de le faire en faisant un don à la Fondation Canadienne du cancer du sein.  Je vous encourage tous à donner à cette cause et d’offrir votre soutient car chaque don et chaque geste nous rapproche peu à peu à créer un avenir sans cancer du sein.

Et vous, que ferez-vous pour la cause?

Auteure: Annie Curran, Montreal

Last month, Ottawa launched it's very own Buy Local - Support Local campaign which will last an entire year. What a great initiative! I wondered what we could do at Buy Canadian First to help support that campaign. So, together with our friends at "A" Morning show in Ottawa, we put together a segment highlighting the great companies and products made in and around Ottawa.

As soon as we have the segment, we'll post it here so you can watch it.

Here are the products that were showcased:

1) Organic herbal products made in Glengarry by Glengarry Gardens

2) Woodworking tools made in Ottawa by Lee Valley Tools

3) Rim roller made in Russel by Novel Solutions

4) Sponges made in North Lancaster by MySponge.com

5) Flax products made in Winchester by Natunola

Unfortunately, we ran out of time to feature the following products, which were also on display:

6) Health products made by Herbal 1

7) Wall art made in Ottawa by Out of Ruins

8) Powerstick made in Ottawa by Ecosol

If you know of a Buy Local initiative in your community, please let us know about it!

Congratulations to Randy Berg who has won the second of three autographed copies of Jeff's book. Read Part 2 of this series and his comment here. Dont forget to read Part 1 if you haven't. You too win a copy! All you have to do to be eligible is leave a comment on this post, sharing your thoughts about this issue: If you are concerned or encouraged, agree or disagree, etc. We will then randomly select a winner and send the copy. The deadline for Part 3 (this post) is next Sunday, August 30th). Hurry up though: This is the last one we are giving away!

Isabelle: It's a pretty amazing concept and it's something I hope our politicians have the guts to handle.

Jeff: Don't worry about the politicians. When oil is $ 7.00 a gallon at the pump, people will know exactly what to do. They will send the right message to the politicians. For example, I don't know why we're spending billions of dollars to pro-up the auto-industry that's due to obsolescence by triple-digit oil prices. We should be investing billions in public transit instead of putting more cars on roads.

Isabelle: If Europe can do it, we can do it, right?

Jeff: Exactly. But here's the difference. In Europe, they've already been paying those prices for the last 10 years. When we start paying those prices, we'll become European. It's all about price. When gas is $ 7.00 a gallon, people won't have to buy my book. They'll know exactly what to do.

Isabelle: Can you tell me more about the concept of Carbon tariff on imports?

Jeff: I'm just saying this: if we're going to close coal plants and pay 3 times as much for our electricity...Now I know in Montreal you're blessed with hydro-electric power but that's not the way it is for most people in North-America outside of Quebec and Manitoba who have hydro-electric. It's coal plant or gas. California doesn't allow coal plants, so their power prices are 3 times as much as Texas. But if we are going to, all of a sudden, shut coal plants around North-America and pay 3 times as much for our electricity and then find out that China is building 800 coal plants, that does not make a whole lot of sense. So what I'm saying is we can't stop China from building coal plants, but what we can do is say : "if your steel factory gets its power from coal, from dirty power, we're going to charge you a tariff so that you pay the same price for your carbon emissions as our steel producers pay for their carbon emissions. In other words, you don't gain any economic advantage by using dirty power.

Isabelle: And what are the chances that someone will stand up to China and say that?

Jeff: The chances are excellent once we start paying 3 times more for our own power to close a coal plant. Because there's no point us making economic sacrifices for the environment if they're just going to be building coal plants like mad. Again, we can't tell them what to do, but what we can do is make sure they gain no economic advantage when they trade with us by using dirty power.

Isabelle: That would certainly fix 2 problems at once: the environmental one and the unfair trade that's going on.

Jeff: Exactly. And I think that's coming. There are some big changes and some big challenges but you know, it's not all doom and gloom. At as I say at the end of the book, in many respects, the new small world around the corner may be a whole lot more livable than the big one we're about to leave behind.

Isabelle: As a parent, I must tell you that I hope you are right. And in the meantime, I'm getting myself a ZENN Car!

Jeff: Now that makes sense! That's why I say: the key is not about the Bank of Canada, the Minister of Finance, the Prime Minister of Canada or the Premier of Quebec. It's not about those guys. It's about you and me and the decisions we make everyday in our lives.

Isabelle: And I think that's the most uplifting message of your entire book. Thank you very much for writing it, and thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it

Jeff: Thank you and best of luck with your website!

Tell us what you think about Jeff's theory by next Sunday, August 30th. We will then randomly select a FINAL winner who will receive an autographed copy of  "Why your world is about to get a whole lot smaller."

Image source: China Digital Times

Congratulations to Kristy Smith who has won the first of three autographed copies of Jeff's book. Read Part 1 of this series and her comment here. You can win a copy too! All you have to do to be eligible is leave a comment on this post, sharing your thoughts about this issue: If you are concerned or encouraged, agree or disagree, etc. We will then randomly select a winner and send the copy. The deadline for Part 2 (this post) is next Sunday, August 23rd).

Isabelle: Do you think that such a rapid change will cause civil unrest?

Jeff: Whether is causes civil unrest or doesn't, we will have to change nevertheless. I'm quite confident that people will change. I believe that people will respond to prices. We're going to have to change our diets. We're not going to be able to eat avocadoes in February in Toronto because the cost of flying them in from Southern California or Mexico is going to make that avocado too expensive. But we'll end up eating more local produce and that means that we'll have to restore land back to farm land.

Isabelle: It also means that in Canada we're going to be eating a lot of potatoes!

Jeff: We'll eat potatoes, we'll eat corn. I'll tell you something, when I was a kid growing up in the sixties in Toronto, there were no fresh blueberries and raspberries in January, there were no avocadoes and I survived. I'm sure others will too. People will change their minds because at the end of the day, people will have no choice.

There are people who believe that we should go back to local because it cuts down on the carbon trail, and there are people who believe that we should go back to local because it will put us more in touch with our environment, and that's all fine. But I'm saying, even if you don't believe that, you're still going back to local because the whole model of a global economy doesn't work on triple-digit oil prices.

Isabelle: This is the best news I've heard in many, many months. Because what we do here at Buy Canadian First is help Canadians find goods made in Canada.

Jeff: Well, this is right up your alley because you're going to find more and more made in Canada. Of course, this is every bit as true in China as it is in Canada. Distance costs money for everybody. But in the Canadian economy that I see in the future, more and more things we consume will be made in this country.

Isabelle: That is certainly welcome news for a lot of our manufacturing members here who are struggling!

 Jeff: I think the big surprise will be that triple-digit oil prices are going to breathe new life into our rust belt. And it's going to lead to more farms, as well.

Isabelle: That's an interesting subject, because suburbia is replacing farmland almost overnight in many parts of the country. That's certainly the case here in Montreal.

Jeff: Those houses will be abandoned. And what we'll see is farm land re-claim those sub-divisions. And not in 20 years. In 4 to 5 years. In 4 to 5 years, you're going to see land starting to be reconverted back to agricultural use. And that will be as a result of soaring food prices and plunging suburban real-estate prices.

Stay tuned for more good news for Canadian manufacturers in Part 3!

In the meantime, tell us what you think about Jeff's theory by next Sunday, August 23rd. We will then randomly select a winner who will receive an autographed copy of  "Why your world is about to get a whole lot smaller."

Image source: Flickr Creative Commons: Dan Zen

I just left CTV's studios in Toronto after a live appearance on Canada AM. You wouldn't believe how many things are going on all at once on the set! Congrats to a great crew that makes it all look so seamless on screen! In case you missed it, here's the segment

The theme was back-to-school with Canadian-made items. The products and companies featured were:

For kids:  

1) Basic workbooks, from Hilroy in Ontario

2) Recycled pencil case, from Eco-HandBags in Quebec

3) Lunch bag, from Eco-HandBags in Quebec

4) Ice-packs for lunch bags, from Cryopak in Quebec

5) Family organizer/calendar, from More Time Moms in Quebec

6) Multi-vitamins for kids, from BodyBreak in B.C.

7) Plastic lunch containers, from Era Group in Quebec

8) Rain boots, from Rallye Footwear in Quebec

9) Eco-friendly journals and workbooks, from Ecojot in Ontario  

And for Moms who got the kids back-to-school in time!  

1) Yoga wear, from Terrafrog in Alberta

2) A Day at the Spa, from LUSH in B.C.

Happy Back-to-School everyone!  

P.S. Yes, the dress I'm wearing is made in Canada. It's from Tristan's Summer 2009 collection. 

Did you get a chance to read Jeff Rubin's book: "Why your world is about to get a whole lot smaller: oil and the end of globalization"? If not, you should run out and get it today. It's a great read. His book has been on Maclean's Best Seller non-fiction list for 11 weeks now!

Jeff was the Chief Economist at CIBC World Markets for almost 20 years. He was one of the first economists to accurately predict soaring oil prices back in 2000 and is now one of the world's most sought-after energy experts. He's a true Canadian with amazing vision!

I had the pleasure of spending some time on the phone with Jeff a little while back to discuss his book. I will share our conversation in a series of 3 blog posts, starting with this one.

We are also giving away 3 autographed books, one for each part of the series. All you have to do to be eligible is leave a comment, sharing your thoughts about this issue: If you are concerned or encouraged, agree or disagree, etc. We will randomly select a winner and send you your copy. The deadline for part 1 (this post) is next Sunday, August 16th). 

Isabelle: Your book is about how rising oil prices are about to transform our way of life, into something completely different. Something closer to what our grandparents probably lived...

Jeff: That's pretty accurate. We are going to see even higher oil prices, and at the end of the day there's not a whole lot we can do to prevent that. However, there is a lot we can do to make sure that when we see these higher oil prices, they don't have the same kind of devastating impact that they've had on our economy and our lives in the past. And that's about making changes in the way we live, and changes in the way we organize our economy so that we end up using less energy and in particular less oil.

And the single most important thing that we're going to do is go back to the idea of a local economy as opposed to a global economy. A global economy is where we produce something at one end of the world and sell it at another end of the world. But no matter what mode of transport we use (air, boat, train, truck) we're all burning oil. And as oil gets more expensive, distance starts to cost money. It doesn't matter if the wage rate is a lot cheaper in China, because in everything from steel to food the cost of moving things is going to be more important than the difference in the wage rate.

So a lot of things we thought were gone forever, like farms and steel mills, are soon going to be coming back because it's not going to be economic to buy our food or buy our steel from China. At the same time, everything that we now will make for ourselves will cost us a lot more money than we're used to. So we'll get back a lot of high-paying manufacturing jobs, but we'll be able to buy less with our wages because things will cost more.

We will tend to live more in the cities then in the suburbs because we won't be able to afford to commute 40 miles back and forth to work. And as people leave the suburbs, and food prices continue to rise, then ultimately many of those sub-divisions will be returned to the farm lands that they were 30 or 40 years ago.

Isabelle: What is the timeline on that?

Jeff: I think we will see triple digit oil prices again within 12 months. And when we do, I think we're going to start seeing some of these things happen very, very quickly. Because these things are not going to happen because people necessarily chose to live their lives this way, these things are going to happen because the economic reality of triple-digit oil prices are going to leave people with no choice but to change their way of living.

Stay tuned for Part 2...

In the meantime, tell us what you think about Jeff's theory by next Sunday, August 16th. We will then randomly select a winner who will receive an autographed copy of  "Why your world is about to get a whole lot smaller."

We’ll, I’m back from my mini-media tour!

I had the pleasure of appearing on 2 breakfast television shows last week, in time for Canada Day. It was my live TV debut and I must admit it was nerve wracking!

My first appearance was on “A” Morning in Ottawa, on Monday June 29th. Up at 5:30 AM (not that I slept much…) in order to appear at 6:50 AM. Angie Poirier, the host who handled the segment, was so sweet and seemed genuinely amazed at the website and the samples I had brought along. I have yet to find a Canadian who is not impressed with the great products we showcase on Buy Canadian First, yet it’s still nice to see that kind of enthusiasm. Thanks Angie for making me feel so welcomed!

If you missed the segment, you can watch it here

Here’s a recap of the Made-in-Canada products (and their makers) featured that morning:

1) Cryopak ice packs, made in Montreal (Qc) and Delta (BC)

2) Lois Jeans, made in St-Georges (Qc)

3) Ecosol Powerstick, made in Ottawa (On)

4) Park Pals stuffed animals, made in Mississauga (On)

5) Combat Sports baseball bat, made in Ottawa (On)

6) Kisko’s Mr. Freeze, made in Woodbridge (On)

7) Salus Marine personal floating devices, made in Kitchener (On) 

8) Sure Gro garden products, made in Brandford (On)

9) A.H.F. bedding products, made in Montreal (On)

10) Tuscan Farm Gardens natural skincare products, made in Langley (BC)

From there, on to Toronto for my second appearance!

Now I have to share something with you: when we launched Buy Canadian First last summer, I told my team that one day I would be on Canada AM talking with Seamus O’Reagan about our website. Don’t ask me how I knew it, I just felt it. So this really was a dream-come-true for me. He was so kind, approachable and natural, he made my entire year! If you doubt it, see how happy I was!

You can watch the segment here.

Here’s a recap of the Made-in-Canada products (and their makers) featured that morning:

1) Tristan apparel, made in Cookshire (Qc) 

2) Lois Jeans, made in  Saint-Georges (Qc)

3) Park Pals stuffed animals, made in Mississauga (On) 

4) DOM Sports hockey net & sticks, made in Toronto (On)

5) Salus Marine personal floating devices, made in Kitchener (On)

6) Combat Sports baseball bat, made in Ottawa (On) 

7) Ecosol Powerstick, made in Ottawa (On)

8) Kisko’s Mr. Freeze, made in Woodbridge (On) 

The poll question on Canada AM that day was “Do you make a special effort to buy Canadian?” Over 1,000 people answered the question and the results were phenomenal: 70% said YES! I encourage you to read the viewer comments here.

So overall, an excellent trip and many moments I will never forget. Thanks everyone who helped make it happen!

Hier fût une journée trépidante dans nos bureaux! Jessica Brown, journaliste à Radio-Canada (anglophone) nous a rendu visite pour une interview.

La fin Novembre est traditionnellement une période de magasinage très occupée, spécialement chez nos voisins du Sud avec le phénomène du Black Friday (le vendredi suivant l'Action de Grâce, ou les aubaines abondent). Les canadiens habitants près de la frontière américaine la traversent souvent en cette période de l'année pour leur magasinage des Fêtes. Mais cette année, dans le climat d'incertitude économique que l'on connaît, nous aimerions beaucoup voir les consommateurs canadiens demeurer au pays et faire leurs achats localement afin d'appuyer leur économie locale. C'est logique, non? C'est ce que j'ai exprimé à la journaliste de Radio-Canada. Visionner l'entrevue ici.

Je suis vraiment emballée que les médias s'intéressent à ce mouvement grandissant qui favorise l'achat de produits fabriqués au Canada. L'attention médiatique confirme cette tendance et met en évidence la nécessité d'appuyer les manufacturiers canadiens de toute taille.

Que pensez-vous du vendredi noir?  Rechercherez-vous des cadeaux faits au Canada durant la période des Fêtes? Faites-nous part de vos commentaires!

Oui, c'est à vous que je m'adresse! Je sais que vous recherchez activement des produits fabriqués au Canada. La tendance est claire et c'est fantastique! Alors, est-ce que vous faites votre part? Avez-vous demandé aux détaillants de votre localité de remplir davantage leurs tablettes de produits fabriqués au Canada? Êtes-vous conscient du pouvoir que vous détenez en tant que consommateur pour influencer le type de produits qui se retrouveront dans les magasins au détail?

Cette tendance est un authentique mouvement communautaire, et doit faire son chemin à partir DE LA BASE jusqu'au sommet de la chaîne d'approvisionnement. La bonne nouvelle c'est que les consommateurs comme vous et moi détenons le vrai pouvoir face aux produits qui nous sont proposés; c'est donc à nous de l'utiliser! Avez-vous déjà demandé à votre épicier du coin de se procurer une de vos marques favorites et d'être surpris de la retrouver sur les tablettes à votre prochaine visite? Ne soyez pas surpris: les choses fonctionnent ainsi!

C'est donc à nous de demander aux commerçants d'offrir le type de produits que nous désirons voir sur les tablettes. Et s'ils vous répondent qu'ils ne savent pas où se procurer de tels produits, n'hésitez pas à les référer à achetonscanadiendabord.ca : nous avons plusieurs fabricants et artisans à leur présenter!

Dans le contexte de ralentissement économique actuel, nous devons porter une attention particulière à la façon dont nous dépensons notre argent. Ainsi, assurons-nous de soutenir notre propre économie afin de conserver nos emplois pour pouvoir continuer à acheter des produits fabriqués au Canada. C'est à nous de faire entendre nos voix! Laissez-nous savoir comment se déroule votre campagne personnelle!

Image courtoisie de Creative Commons, Flickr

 Blog post written by: Joseph Wilburn

Si vous êtes un entrepreneur canadien, fabricant ou vendeur de produits faits au Canada, c’est à vous que je m’adresse.

Saviez-vous que vos concitoyens canadiens désirent vraiment faire affaire avec vous? Ils ont seulement besoin d’un petit coup de pouce pour trouver vos produits. C’est là qu’intervient Achetons canadien d'abord. Nous sommes un site Internet dont l’objectif principal est de bâtir une communauté qui lie les consommateurs canadiens aux fournisseurs canadiens (je parle de vous bien sûr!) afin de créer un petit paradis de magasinage «Fait au Canada»!

Nous pouvons présenter votre marchandise sur notre site Web et en discuter sur notre blogue The Good Shopper. Nos entreprises ont toutes besoin de se faire connaître un peu plus et de recevoir des commentaires de leurs clients n’est-ce pas? L’objectif de mettre un site en ligne tel qu’Achetonscanadiendabord.ca est d’augmenter la visibilité de produits de qualité faits au Canada dans un marché inondé par la publicité.

Venez donc jeter un coup d’œil à notre site! Si vous désirez obtenir un devis estimatif ou si vous avez des questions, n’hésitez pas à laisser un commentaire ici ou envoyez un courriel à Isabelle Remy, fondatrice {courriel: isabelleremy (arobas) buycanadianfirst (point) ca}.

Devenez un fournisseurs d’Achetons canadien d'abord et obtenez votre part du gâteau!

Photo: orange42, Flickr.com (creative commons)