TORONTO - Ontario will try to make sure clothing for the 2015 Pan Am Games will be made in Canada after some provincial politicians were criticized for wearing Vancouver Olympic mittens manufactured in China.
Liberal backbencher Jean Marc Lalonde organized a photo opportunity with members from all three parties wearing the Olympic mitts and brought them into the legislature in a show of support for Canadian athletes.
But the NDP complained the mitts, issued by the Vancouver Olympic organizing committee, should have been made in Canada.
Lalonde says he was disappointed to find there were no Canadian-made mitts, adding he searched for other options but could only find the ones at Hudson's Bay Co., which holds the contract for Olympic clothing.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says it's yet another example of why the province needs a Buy Ontario policy, and says she hopes the government will have a procurement policy in place for 2015.
The Vancouver Olympic organizing committee has said all of the clothing worn by athletes will be made in Canada, but 75 per cent of the retail versions will be manufactured overseas.
