Dear Mr. Matheson,

We are writing to inform you that we will not be shopping at MEC until either the coop stops carrying JB Fields merchandise, or the boycott against MEC is lifted.

We have been members and loyal customers of MEC for many years. Shopping for outdoor equipment used to be a one-stop affair for us, partly because we admire the quality of the coop's merchandise, and partly because we support the principles it professes.

Sadly, the present dispute shows that MEC lacks the interest (or the guts) to put these principles to practice. The publicly offered excuse (at the MEC web site, www.mec.ca/faqs_issue.htm) that MEC received "contradictory evidence" from the two sides is ludicrous. In every dispute the two sides present contradictory evidence. Tobacco companies present contradictory evidence to that presented by health care researchers regarding the effects of smoking on health. Racists present contradictory evidence to that presented by egalitarians regarding the intellectual or other abilities of black people. So what? The point, of course, is that in certain disputes, one side is factually or morally right (or both), and the other is wrong. Every piece of information available to us suggests that the dispute in question falls in this category. To plead the existence of "contradictory evidence" from the two sides as an excuse for not taking a stand is to bury one's head in the sand.

We are saddened and outraged by MEC's position on this matter. We hope that the MEC executive will reconsider its stance and do the right thing. Until then, we will take our business elsewhere. This is the "decision that fits with [our] personal viewpoint", to quote the rather patronising statement in the aforementioned page at MEC's web site.

Sincerely,