MEC Spotting

There is a simple, joyous pasttime for a Canadian living abroad: MEC spotting. You can always tell a fellow Canadian by their distinctive Mountain Equipment Co-op gear. Yesterday I had the pleasure of spotting two fine specimens. Now you could argue that MEC wearers are not always Canadian. Perhaps some foreigners have snuck into the country and purchased MEC items. Even simpler still anyone from anywhere could order online at www.mec.ca. However, in my experience MEC wearers abroad usually also wear some other distinguishing item which makes their nationality obvious. For example, upon closer inspection yesterday, the two ladies wearing the MEC gear had Peller Estate Winery luggage tags! Dead give away. There is another MEC wearer who I often see in the Sheffield train station who in addition to her MEC bag is always wearing a fleece with 'Toronto' embroidered on it. Mountain Equipment Co-op is a little piece of Canada. I am beginning to think that Canadian foreign policy and environmental policy could be greatly improved if the Board of Directors at MEC were running the country. Oh Canada!