Four citizens from the Elora area are hoping that the community is interested in helping to promote fair trade.
To that end, Toni Ellis, Joyce Roth, Rick Goodfellow, and John Markvart are holding a public meeting at Veterans Hall at the municipal office in Elora on March 4 at 7pm to see if there is interest in the township becoming a fair trade community.
Markvart said in an interview the fair trade movement began in England and its goal is a more just economic system. That would mean fair prices to consumers, as well as a fair price to producers and middlemen. He said the international group works with Africa, Asia, and South and Central America.
The most common products discussed for fair trade are coffee, tea, and chocolate, but Markvart added that such things as bananas, wine, and butter are others that are turning up labelled as fair trade products.
Markvart said that in 2007, two Canadian communities, one in Nova Scotia, and another in Quebec became designated as fair trade communities. He is hoping there is enough interest on March 4 so the group can proceed to Centre Wellington council and have the township designated with La Peche and Wolfeville as fair trade communities.
The meeting is open to anyone interested in fair trade and making Centre Wellington “a just, healthy, ecologically responsible community.”
