Public meet March 4 on fair trade

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.”