New Canadian Citizens Receive Maple Leaf Pins Made in China: Federal Records

New Canadian citizens take an oath at a ceremony hosted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada at Government House in Halifax on Nov. 20, 2017. Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press

Immigrants taking the Canadian citizenship oath at ceremonies are receiving maple leaf pins made in China, federal records show.

According to a House “Inquiry of Ministry” document obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter, the Department of Immigration ordered a quarter-million pins from a Chinese vendor last year.

The 250,000 pins were purchased “for distribution at citizenship ceremonies,” wrote the department, in response to Conservative MP John Brassard’s request for the records.

Records show the pins cost 18 cents wholesale. The department justified last year that it was cheaper to get the keepsakes made in Chinese factories.

“They provided a product that was cost effective and achieved the best value for money,” staff wrote at the time, when asked by Conservative MP Tony Baldinelli.

The reliance on Chinese suppliers does not stop at maple leaf pins for the department; it also has them supply tourism promotional goods such as sunglasses, fans, umbrellas, and tote bags, according to Blacklock’s findings.

Dave Graham, president of Bursan Pins Ltd, which specializes in manufacturing injected moulded Canadian flag lapel pins, questioned why the government would outsource the production of maple leaf pins to China.

“This is our national symbol,” he said in an earlier interview with Blacklock’s. “This is our country. Why would you welcome people to become citizens of your country with a maple leaf pin made in China?

‘Just Wrong’

Graham added that pins are typically subcontracted to offshore suppliers at a low wholesale cost of pennies apiece. But when it comes to items that hold significance to Canadian identity, he wouldn’t do that.

“I have subcontractors in China as well, but I choose not to use them for our Canadian flag pin,” said the president whose company has been a federal supplier since 1967.

“The government is always talking about creating jobs, but I see our political officials standing proudly wearing flag pins, and not one of them was made in this country. To me it is just wrong.”

Members of Parliament protested in 2005 when the federal Public Works Department contracted 6 million Chinese-made maple leaf pins as parliamentary handouts to visitors. The department, under then-Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin, subsequently announced it would ensure all pinbacks for MPs and senators were Canadian-made.

In 2012, some 300,000 Queen’s Diamond Jubilee pins were subcontracted to Chinese suppliers through a Canadian company.

In 2017, the federal government was reported to have spent about $1.5 million on Canada-themed but foreign-manufactured merchandise for the country’s 150th anniversary.

The pattern continued as an Inquiry of Ministry document obtained by Blacklock’s last year stated that the Department of Canadian Heritage spent $344,513 on Chinese-manufactured Canada flag pins in the preceding two years.

Peter Wilson contributed to this report.