PROTECTING "Made in Canada" ™ REALLY made IN Canada ™ PROJECT
The REALLY made IN Canada ™ PROJECT is home to VERIFIED Canadian ™, the "Made in Canada" Directories, "Made in Canada" News, our proprietary Statements Of Disclosure, and a growing ensemble of other popular pro-Canadian online tools to protect "Made in Canada" - and ALL that involves! We've been at this project for years, and our work, combined with the work of other dedicated organizations like ours, is responsible for changes in laws, regulations and attitudes which are essential to the well-being of Canadians, the Canadian economy, our resources, and the environment.
ABOUT THIS WEBSITE: REALLY made IN Canada ™ provides information and resources related to promoting and developing Canadian-made localism through support of qualified "Made in Canada" goods and services. Please note that some third-party advertisements appearing on this website may address topics and issues beyond the core scope of this project.
The best way to protect "Made in Canada" is to BUY MADE IN CANADA! Despite what many Canadians may mistakenly believe, there are MANY GENUINE Canadian-made goods and services still available for those who understand the importance of supporting LOCAL Canadian economy!
Many Canadians agree and are very concerned that the government of Canada has done a very poor job of protecting "Made in Canada"! The only sure fire way of revitalizing our Canadian sources of products and services is to support them vigorously as individual Canadian consumers! This does not mean we have to consume more - instead, we must consume more intelligently!
Don't be afraid to ask tough questions about the origins of what you buy and how the environment and local employment are affected by these goods and services!
Find out who REALLY owns and controls the companies you choose to support financially! And, if you get the corporate shell game run-around, you might find it more comforting to support businesses which don't try to hide their owners as much!
Stay on top of "Made in Canada" related regulations so that you fully understand what a "Made in Canada" product label REALLY means. You may be surprised and disappointed with what you discover!
Don't rely on a simple sticker to make your "Made in Canada" purchase - ALWAYS consider the bigger picture. This may be difficult to do while you're whizzing around the isles of a shop, so try to find some time to do your "Made in Canada" homework before you hit the stores.
Buy made in Canada ACCESSORIES if you care about supporting the thousands of Canadian artisans and crafters who work from their homes and put individual care in each and every product they make. In our modern-day consumer society, accessories represent a huge segment of third-world imported products. Rather than focusing on quantity, you may find that choosing fewer, but higher quality Canadian-made accessories tips the scales back in favour of Canadian workers and creativity!
The REALLY made IN Canada ™ PROJECT is a unique grassroots undertaking involving a compilation of information, initiatives, and resources which have grown exponentially since its inception several years ago.
Our original inspiration and driving force was the troubling displacement of local Canadian businesses by large transnational corporations and importers of cheap "NOT Made in Canada" goods. Thanks to, what we consider, historic, glaring "loopholes" in the "Made in Canada" and "Product of Canada" government regulations and guidelines, big box importers have been systematically decimating local Mom and Pop shops across the country while dramatically reducing the number of and depreciating the quality of good jobs for hard working Canadians.
Our Goals
We felt something significant had to be done about this, so we started this project with the following goals in mind:
Get People Talking -- Raise public awareness about issues related to local economy, globalization, government track record, and of course "Made in Canada" and "Product of Canada" labelling problems.
Create a Support Network -- Use the power of the Internet to create a nationwide infrastructure available to serve truly local Canadian-owned and operated businesses offering Canadian-made (by common sense standards - not government semantics) goods and services.
Improve Business Directories -- Create a new generation of online consumer and B2B directories which offered all the conveniences of "traditional" directories but had the proprietary distinction of an open-ended multi-tiered reference offering much more than just contact information and business addresses.
Redefine "Made in Canada" Priorities -- Break away from the broken and chronically deficient "Made in Canada" / "Product of Canada" designations to lay the groundwork for an independently defined and managed set of standards to augment "traditional" business listings with rich overlays of supplementary details - of measurable interest to consumers.
No Big Business Bucks -- Develop and grow the project with minimal dependence on large corporate funding to try and avoid the classic pitfalls of endeavours beholden to big business investors.
REALLY made IN Canada ™ Overview
Resource Libraries -- There is no shortage of topics related to Canadian issues, so crafting an open-ended online directory of resources was probably one of the easiest aspects of starting the project.
VERIFIED Canadian ™ -- We quickly discovered that the phrase "REALLY made IN Canada" was quite a mouthful to say out loud when qualifying OUR idea of "Made in Canada" businesses and products, so we added the VERIFIED Canadian ™ brand to our arsenal of sorting tools. This designation is a very important and distinguishing aspect of our business directory.
Canadian Business Directories -- We believed that with over one million listings of businesses operating in Canada sorted and stashed away in our regional directories we stood a decent chance of being noticed in communities all over the country. Each of our community directories offers FREE support and promotional services to truly Canadian businesses with sections of each business category reserved for qualifying VERIFIED Canadian ™ businesses.
Our INCLUSIVE Policy -- Rather than exclude businesses which do not meet our proprietary VERIFIED Canadian ™ / REALLY made IN Canada ™ standards, or have not yet submitted any supplementary information (there is NO FEE for this), we opted to INCLUDE ALL BUSINESSES, but to sort them according to their participation (visa vis voluntary disclosures) in our project and offer clear explanations of various the listing types.
Sample pages from our directories featuring
REALLY made IN Canada ™ goods and services:
Voluntary Disclosures -- All business in our scope of Canadian communities are invited to submit our proprietary Statement of Disclosure which affords them the opportunity discuss in great detail (at NO COST) aspects of their business including: ownership, hiring practices, breakdowns of any product component origins, environmental practices, company track record, and promotional details about their offerings.
Customer Reviews -- For each of our communities across the country, we provide locals and visitors a forum to talk about their experiences with local businesses. Aside from not publishing reviews with profanities or overtly hateful comments, we do not edit or censor comments, whether they are negative or positive in nature. The Internet has demonstrated that web surfers pack a couple bags of salt when they muse over the ramblings of others.
Suggestion Box -- The most valuable component of our project is the feedback from our visitors. There is a feedback form or a clear link to our feedback page on most of our pages. If someone wants to tell us something, we have made it easy to do so (even though, sometimes we may regret having done so).
For the most part, we feel that the project has gone very well so far. There is no questioning the incredible prominence our various offerings enjoy on the web. This is clearly evidenced by an increase in the number of: businesses submitting their Statements of Disclosure, customer reviews, feedback from across the country, and the temperature of our poor little server during prime time hours!
Our Fan Club is Growing!
We always knew that there was a large segment of the Canadian population which would immediately grasp the nature and importance of our project, and be willing to work with us through our growing pains and evolutions:
Mom & Pop Shops -- We confess that we have a soft spot for local Canadian "Mom & Pop" shops. From soap makers to furniture builders, small Canadian business owners seem to appreciate the tools and services we offer them, at NO COST, to ensure they are recognized for their Canadian qualifications.
Canadian Inventors -- We love to promote Canadian inventors as much as they seem to enjoy the respect they get from us.
Service Providers -- We're not stuck on limiting our search for great "Made in Canada" makers. There are plenty of service provider who hire Canadians locally, and they deserve equal credit too.
White Collar -- Accountants, inspectors, and lawyers are some of professionals we have had the pleasure of helping make their "Made in Canada" status known to others.
Blue Collar -- Construction contractors, and hard working Canadians get the white glove treatment from us as well.
Big Business -- Our efforts thus far have extended even to large Canadian corporations which happen to do the kinds of things in the kinds of ways that other Canadians appreciate.
Caught in The Middle Manufacturers -- One of the most notable advantages to our approach to "Made in Canada" is that we make it possible for Canadian manufacturers to explain their product and component sourcing choices. Many Canadians already understand that some parts are just not available in Canada, and unlike most recent "Made in Canada" and "Product of Canada" rules which disqualify some struggling Canadian manufacturers, we let ALL businesses explain what they do and why they do it so Canadians can decide from a position of being informed rather than the government defintion of "Made in Canada" of the day.
Even Goat Herders -- There are Candians living far out in mountain country who have expressed their appreciation for our efforts to get them out of the shadows of industrial farm conglomerates.
We certainly have our work cut out for us, but we are VERY inspired by the notes of support we receive along with the ever increasing number of voluntary disclosures from small and large businesses across the country. We believe we are on the right track and there could not be a better time to do what we are doing, so we will!
Refine Claims/Disclaims -- Whenever we receive feedback which suggests there may be a pattern of miscommunication, we go back to the drawing board and try to identify and fix such problems.
Add More Businesses -- The key to the success of our concept is to populate our directories with as many VERIFIED Canadian ™ busineses as we can - as QUICKLY as we can. We're on the right track and the applications are streaming in. We thank all the Canadians and businesses who support us and have faith in the soundness of our project!
Recruit Community Reps -- By training community members to spread the word to local businesses and organizations about the services we offer and to collect information locally, we can speed up the growth of our compilations.
Stay Positive -- Our success so far does speak to our (relatively) limitless optimism, and so long as we stay clar of the nay-sayers and be sure to get enough hugs from our fans, the REALLY made IN Canada ™ PROJECT WILL reach its goals!
Do you want to "shop Canadian" but you're finding it difficult to get ALL the information you want to know about a company and its products without having to click your way around the web universe several times? Our comprehensive "Made in Canada" online business directories are designed to serve the needs of today's Canadian consumer! Our regional business directories let you start right in YOUR community! Our topical business directories help you browse an entire province or territory by category! This massive, well organized, compilation of local Canadian businesses is updated daily and provides you with all the information you need to make the best local choices!
Shop "Made in Canada" in YOUR province or territory:
Even the latest versions of "Product of Canada" and "Made in Canada" government regulations don't come close to telling you ALL you need to know about "Canadian" businesses, goods, and services. If you're going to "shop Canadian", be sure to do it right and watch for the VERIFIED Canadian ™ brand. If you're looking for 100% Canadian owned, 100% Canadian labour, 100% "Made in Canada" products, 100% "Product of Canada" produce, 100% Canadian services, 100% organic, squeaky clean corporate histories, and progressive environmentally friendly practices, VERIFIED Canadian ™ is YOUR ultimate consumer tool! Support your fellow Canadian workers and LOCAL business owners from coast to coast to coast - DEMAND VERIFIED Canadian ™ !
Canadian business owners, get your company, products, and services VERIFIED Canadian ™ NOW - it's FREE!
REALLY Made In Canada ™ 100% CANADIAN SERVICES -- REALLY Made In Canada ™ is DEVOTED to supporting local Canadian economy and the very same diverse expertise we apply to our own national initiative is available to you as well!
REALLY Made In Canada ™ OPINION EDITORIALS -- Read and share ideas and opinions about contemporary issues faced by the people of Canada and other nations around the world!
REALLY Made In Canada ™ STATEMENT OF DISCLOSURE -- Our proprietary Statement Of Disclosure goes farther than the deceptive "Made In Canada" label and offers you in-depth information about Canadian companies, Canadian products, Canadian services, imported components, corporate criminals, fair trade, organic certification, product safety, corporate social responsiblity, Canadian labour practices, environmental practices!
REALLY Made In Canada ™ RESOURCES & LINKS -- Get plugged into an exciting world of kindred spirits across Canada and the rest of the world - all interested in working towards a sustainable and sensible path!
REALLY Made In Canada ™ NEWS -- Stay on top of the latest domestic and international news as it applies to issues related to Canadian-made goods and services.
RE: Fair Dealing / Fair Use: This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair dealing' / 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Canadian, US, and International Copyright Law.
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