Yesterday, only four days after this petition was launched, MEC announced that they will no longer carry Vista Outdoor brands! Thank you to everyone who signed this petition - I’m so proud of what we have achieved together. This is a watershed moment for Canadian corporate responsibility, and others are quickly following MEC’s lead. Running Room, a Canadian company that has become North America’s largest specialty running store, also announced yesterday that they are pulling Vista Outdoor brands. And Recreational Equipment Incorporated (REI), the American outdoor gear co-operative, made the same announcement last night. We know that MEC and REI senior management were in contact following the launch of this petition, and it is clear that our collective efforts to pressure MEC are having a ripple effect! I started this petition last weekend, after learning about MEC’s connection with Vista Outdoor through the brands they stock. I was shocked to discover that my purchases could inadvertently be benefiting a company with deep financial ties to the NRA — and I wasn’t alone. In just a few short days, we united more than 50,000 people who wanted their Co-op to take decisive action. We received national media coverage as more and more people across the country got involved. In yesterday’s open letter, MEC CEO David Labistour said: “Demonstrating leadership and leveraging the power of community, are among MEC’s core values.” He said MEC will now “lean in further on the question of what corporate social responsibility means for MEC, widening our scope beyond environmental footprint and responsible sourcing to consider ownership structures.” I sincerely commend MEC for taking this stance, and reaffirming their core values. This victory is part of a larger, crucial movement to ensure companies are accountable for the impact they have and the choices they make. This movement is born out of a demand from the people ‘below’, because power concedes nothing without a demand. If there’s an issue you care about and you want to make a change, I encourage you to start your own petition — you’ve just seen the impact we can have when we join together: change.org/start With thanks, Sarah Latha Fellow MEC Member