Canada’s Christmas tree producers are not happy with an advertisement being run by Canadian Tire. Eastern Townships tree producers Jimmy and Larry Downey, presidents of the of the Association des producteurs d’arbres de Noël du Québec (APANQ), Quebec’s association of Christmas tree producers, and the Canadian Christmas Tree Growers’ Association (CCTGA), respectively, and say that “Canada’s Christmas store” is making an unfair and untrue statement about natural Christmas trees through the 30 second video.
“I first saw it about three days ago on Facebook,” said Jimmy, explaining that the video shows a father and daughter walking through the woods with a saw to cut down a Christmas tree. The pair approaches a tree, but the daughter points out a squirrel among the branches and they move on. At the next tree the young girl points out a small bird, and instead pulls her father off the screen, at which point the image cuts to the two decorating an artificial tree in their home.
“A natural tree is a much better option than one made from petroleum products,” the provincial association president said pointing to research by the David Suzuki foundation, among others, that shows natural trees are a more environmentally-friendly option than artificial ones because of the way that they biodegrade and contribute to the natural environment as they grow. He also underlined the fact that it is common practice to plant two trees for every one cut down.
