CANADA
The board of Alberta Textile Care Association (ATCA) has issued a statement in response to trade press coverage of the change of name of the Ontario Fabricare Association (OFA) to Canadian Fabricare Association (CFA). The ATCA says that it is very concerned that “this change and other references mentioned creates the false impression that the CFA represents all of the Canadian Textile Care Industry, which is not the case.”
In a statement issued in May, ATCA said that it appreciates that there are no longer associations in some provinces, notably Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
“If the OFA wishes to provide support to the industries in those areas, then so be it but they should not give a false impression of national coverage. If the textile care industry in those provinces decide to get together then maybe an association entitled Eastern Canadian Fabricare might well be appropriate.”
The association goes on to point out that it is always prepared to work in collaboration with other provinces particularly on national initiatives. “ATCA is more than willing to have cleaners from other provinces join us where the travelling distances make more sense and we already have some members in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, but we do not claim to represent the entire industry in those provinces, particularly as they have their own associations.
“We would respectfully ask the OFA to reconsider the name change, which is only likely to lead to confusion, and make it absolutely clear which provinces they represent and how they do this.”
