Bitter-Sweet CBC prize

[killatokes]

on the flip side:

i work for a company in kitchener supplying board room/high end office furniture. our main customers (50%+ of sales) are various branches of the US gov't. so maybe in some way all these trades balance? all i'm sayin' is i'm happy to have a job...

the weird quirk of our business with these agencies, is that they are all US military/intelligence departments. apparently down there, the rules of the general services administration (GSA), stipulate that all branches of the US gov't order from the USPS... that's the US Prison System. (one of the largest manufacturers of office furniture in the world) the only depts. excempt from this rule is the military. don't tell me slavery isn't alive and well in the world. but that's a whole other conversation...

[boiler]

don't tell me slavery isn't alive and well in the world. but that's a whole other conversation...

Well we might as well have that conversation. Prisoners should build shit, that's not slavery. They've committed crimes and got caught and sentenced. The difference is huge. I know a guy in prison, who relished the fact that he was being transfered from a regular, locked in your cell for 95% of your day, to a working prison. He'll learn a trade, get an education and become a productive person for society (something he wasn't before) both in prison and hopefully when he gets out. Besides, I'd rather have products made in Canadian prisons, than made in China for sure.

[phishtaper]

do these products say "Proudly made in a Canadian Prison"?

[boiler]

do these products say "Proudly made in a Canadian Prison"?

I doubt it, nor do products say "Proudly made by Chinese child labour"

[phishtaper]

do these products say "Proudly made in a Canadian Prison"?

I doubt it' date=' nor do products say "Proudly made by Chinese child labour"[/quote']

I'd buy something that said "Proudly made in a Chinese Child Prison" just for the shits and giggles on Christmas morning.

[Big Wooly Mammoth]

any large acquisitions made by the Federal Gov't must be open up for bid to Canada and the U.S. due to NAFTA requirements. I think the NAFTA limit is around $89,000. Not sure where the CBC fits in there.

that being said, I can't imagine that they spent that much on scarves.

[Kanada Kev]

Here's what the Pres says:

Hubert T. Lacroix: Standing up to criticism with a clear agenda

November 19, 2008 - I have been reading a lot of nasty, out-of-context stuff recently about our senior executives in the papers owned by our competitors, notably a series of articles in The Sun and Le Journal de Montréal.

This Corporation prides itself on its accountability and responsible use of its limited resources, particularly since 60 per cent of our budget comes from Canadian taxpayers. This is why it is particularly irritating that the information laid out in these articles is often misleading, emphasizing dollar amounts with little or no context or comparison. The papers are less interested in reason and analysis than in a sensational headline. And, of course, they also conveniently overlook practices, financial or otherwise, in their own organizations.

Take Sylvain Lafrance for example. They lumped Sylvain’s personal expenses in with corporate activities that he approved as the executive in charge of a business, and ascribed all expenses to him personally. If Sylvain approves the presence of CBC/Radio-Canada at a social event or approves the holding of a corporate event inside our organization to thank our employees for a job particularly well done, is it fair to say that these approved expenses are his own? C’mon. Let’s be fair.

And a few weeks back, Le Journal de Montréal publicly attacked him for his expenses for a leadership program that he attended at Harvard in 2005, noting that he spent about $3,400, in expenses including hotels and meals and dry cleaning… We sent him to live in a hotel for eight weeks for god’s sake. The same paper is likely to have another go at Sylvain for the cost of the program, which was about $52,000.

Consider what Sylvain does. He has been at CBC/Radio-Canada for 30 years and is entrusted with the task of managing 4,000 employees and about a half-billion dollar a year business. Sylvain’s challenge has been to take two historically self-reliant organizations (radio and television), merge them and then integrate our Web services within those two units. The Corporation decided this Harvard course would help him do just that. This was about helping Sylvain become a better executive, and exposing him to others of like kind. There is absolutely no question in my mind that both the Corporation and Canadians got great value for their money. And it’s worth adding that this isn’t something we do regularly. Sylvain had a huge and important task to do, and we equipped him for it.

I want you to know that we will not ignore this issue or sit idly by and watch these attacks happen. We understand that we are entrusted with a billion dollars of public funds. And, in the current economic climate, we are doubly mindful of our financial responsibility to taxpayers. We get that. I don’t need to ask that you continue to be reasonable and responsible in your own conduct. I know that you are. I truly believe that both employees and taxpayers can rest assured that we are both effective and responsible stewards of the public funds we get from government. We will stand up and say so.

I can’t speak for our competitors' principles in this context, but I will say this about ours

*

We are subject to the Access to Information Act (ATIA), and we will abide by the law.

*

We will safeguard CBC/Radio-Canada’s strategic business interests, especially in an environment that is as competitive as ours.

*

We will fervently defend our people – both their integrity and their privacy – at every turn.

Cheers.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

But what about the scarves, Hubert? What about the scarves?!?

[c-towns]

Do you get weiner schnitzel & Lowenbrau at company events?

confirmed.

[phishtaper]

We sent him to live in a hotel for eight weeks for god’s sake.

classic

this is a rather remarkable letter.

[Kanada Kev]

I was on my way out to the bank today and saw that they had some girlie Sens shirts that were MADE IN CHINA!!!

A couple of other tags in clothing showed Indonesia and Pakistan.

[Large Marge]

I got a response from Grant Lawrence himself!!! Check this:

Hi Margaret –

Our apologies about the Made In The USA tag on the scarf! It really surprised us too, and we usually take the tags off before we mail them… we are currently arranging to have future orders manufactured within Canada, so thanks for those links!

All the best –

Grant Lawrence

CBC Radio 3

[Kanada Kev]

Hey ... the kids and I just watched PeeWee's big adventure last night ... and who'd we see? LARGE MARGE! But she wasn't wearing her scarf

[Ms.Huxtable]

I got a response from Grant Lawrence himself!!! Check this:

Hi Margaret –

Our apologies about the Made In The USA tag on the scarf! It really surprised us too, and we usually take the tags off before we mail them… we are currently arranging to have future orders manufactured within Canada, so thanks for those links!

All the best –

Grant Lawrence

CBC Radio 3

Good for you for writing Marge. I think it's really funny that his initial response was to say they forgot to tag the tag off! I was shaking my head until he followed up with them arranging Canadian suppliers for future orders. Too funny.

Look everybody - One person CAN make a difference. Yay Large Marge!