December 14 2016

Page 1

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Serving the Hub of the North since 1960

A kettle to keep the season warm

Volume 56 • Issue 50

Chamber of Commerce briefed on upcoming fur tables BY KACPER ANTOSZEWSKI KACPER@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

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CITY HOSTS PRE-BUDGET CONSULTATION NEWS - PAGE 12

Salvation Army volunteer Beverly Lane collects donations for the Salvation Army in front of Wal-Mart during the annual Christmas Kettle drive. Salvation Army Kettles are out throughout the community to collect donations for the Salvation Army food bank, which largely depends on holiday donations to sustain itself throughout the year.

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Manitoba Trappers Association president Lane Boles was in front of the Thompson Chamber of Commerce to provide an update in the lead-up to Thompson’s annual fur tables, which bring trappers and fur buyers from across Manitoba together to meet, network, stock up on supplies and sell furs to the highest bidder. The fur tables will be hosted Dec. 16-17 at St. Joseph’s Hall, with doors opening as early as 5 a.m.; along with furs and other goods, Boles notes that the event will feature educational opportunities for youth, such as trap-setting and skinning demonstrations. Thompson MLA Kelly Bindle and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Sheila North Wilson have also been invited to speak at the tables. Boles expects this year’s market to be a challenging one, much like it has been the last few seasons: retrieving furs has once again been difficult. Despite the temperature having now plummeted for the season, Boles notes that the freeze south of Thompson will be a late one. “I can get maybe 10 kilometres out on my snow machine,” he estimated. Nonetheless, he noted that conditions further north have been more favourable, and expects to see many trappers from northern communities such as Lac Brochet and Tadoule Lake. More critically, however, has been the impact of falling demand for Canadian furs. “I picked the worst four years in history to get back into trapping,” Boles noted. “Five years ago, fur was at its top prices. Four years ago, it dropped to some of the lowest on record.” Whereas the average marten pelt will currently fetch roughly $40, Boles recalled that the same pelt could have gone for up to $300 before the slump. This decline, Boles notes, is not due to anti-fur activism,

but multiple domestic circumstances afflicting traditional buyers of fur. A quintessential luxury good, wild Canadian furs depend on international markets with a healthy elite class that can afford the tailored, finished products which utilize the furs: the highest quality jackets may run anywhere from $50,000 to $90,000. Regular international buyers hace included Russia (currently under embargo due to its actions in Ukraine), South Korea (where government officials are currently embroiled in scandal) and China (where several fur importers were recently convicted of circumventing the country’s 30 per cent luxury tax, and over $1 billion in furs were seized by government officials). But regardless of circumstances, Boles asserted that the northern fur tables would continue as an essential element of northern life. “It’s not about the dollars. It’s a part of tradition, and Canadian heritage.” Boles also noted that the fur tables were typically one of few major supply trips for residents of remote communities, and a huge opportunity for retailers to do business. “They don’t just come in with the money from fur in their pockets,” Boles said. “A lot of people are going to be buying Christmas supplies, trapping supplies; if you need groceries next week, make sure you get them before Dec. 15 or you’ll be standing in line and finding empty counters.” Boles also took the opportunity to invite chamber members to the Manitoba Trappers Association’s new office in Eriksdale, relocated from its previous home in Lac du Bonnet. He noted that not only was it easier to find staff in the area, the location would be more convenient for trappers travelling south for errands. “It’s one block off of Highway 6, so when they’re headed to Winnipeg, they can pop in and pick up supplies.”

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