Canada-Israel Committee hails MEC membership's wisdom

Nothing much happened at the MEC AGM last night. There was some anti-Israel pamphleteering outside by a few lonely senior citizens, but none of that was brought inside and no one tried to use the meeting to make political speeches. Since it was announced that the special resolutions put on the recent ballot were passed by the membership, no one could attempt to advance an anti-Israel resolution at the AGM. Nonetheless, despite the uneventfulness of the AGM, members should consider attending future AGMs to keep informed and engaged with our Co-op. And besides, the catering at the end of the night constituted a decent feast.

April 29, 2010

BUYcott Victory at Mountain Equipment Co-op

VANCOUVER, BC - Supporters of Mountain Equipment Co-op’s (MEC) ethical sourcing policy and friends of Israel were pleased with the results of the recent MEC elections, released Thursday night. Canada-Israel Committee, with the support of Canadian Jewish Congress – Pacific Region and Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, called on MEC members to vote “yes” on five special resolutions that safeguard the co-op’s constitution against abuse from single-issue political activists.

“Mountain Equipment Co-op members must be commended for passing these five resolutions. These measures will prevent groups that seek to misuse MEC’s organizational structure to make controversial and divisive political statements from doing so,” stated Dr. Michael Elterman, Chair of the Canada-Israel Committee Pacific Region.

Over the last 12 months, Canada’s pro-Israel community has mobilized in defense of MEC’s ethical sourcing policy. Combined with the support of MEC members, this resulted in the rejection of a boycott proposal at last year’s AGM. The boycott effort ended up backfiring on its proponents, with MEC sales of Israeli products actually increasing by some 2000% in a single day last November, following a demonstration of solidarity by the Jewish community and MEC members.

“Organizations like MEC should never be used as a platform for offensive political messages. We have every confidence that the MEC board will continue its record of support for the co-op’s existing ethical sourcing policy,” Elterman concluded. “These resolutions are a step in the right direction towards preserving MEC the way it should be – a cooperative that unites its members and puts politics aside.”

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For more information, contact:

Dan Schloss

Manager, Advocacy

Canada-Israel Committee - Pacific Region

778-628-8420, danschloss@cicweb.ca