OTTAWA— How many Canadian flag lapel pins could the government possibly need?

Try 14.6 million.

That, according to the Department of Canadian Heritage, is how many little Maple Leaf clasps the government will have purchased since 2013, after it fulfils its most recent order for another 3.5 million brass and polystyrene pins.

Such a quantity could supply four in 10 Canadians with their own special flag pin. Each member of the federal public service — numbering 263,000 last year — could wear 55 of them at the same time. And visiting dignitaries could snatch them up and lose them in junk drawers for many years to come.

Natalie Huneault, spokesperson for the heritage department, said in an email that the government spent $792,940 to buy 11.1 million lapel pins from 2013 to 2017. The cost of the latest batch will depend on who gets the supply contract, she said. A tender notice published Thursday states the government will give the latest lapel pin contract to the lowest bidder.

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Huneault explained that the pins are used for “notable celebrations” like National Flag Day every Feb. 15, as well as other events like Canada Day. They are also distributed to parliamentarians, she said.

“Promoting knowledge and appreciation of Canadian symbols is an essential component of the mandate of the Department Canadian Heritage,” she said. “Distributing promotional material is an important part of this responsibility.”

Simon Ross, a spokesperson for Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly, said “the Canadian flag is an important symbol for our country” and that the government has a duty to promote it.

The flag pins are being ordered by the same department behind the ice rink on Parliament Hill, which the government set up as a winter celebration centrepiece to mark the end of Canada’s 150th birthday bash last year. The initiative raised eyebrows across the country, not only for its multimillion-dollar cost, but also because of a slate of rules for public skaters that banned hockey, cellphones and “multiplayer games” like tag.

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The structure of the rink was being dismantled from the lawn in front of Centre Block on Thursday, as workers removed the Canada 150-branded rink with bleachers, boards and glass around the ice surface that has marked the Hill since the beginning of December.

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The heritage department said $8.1 million was budgeted for the rink and its operations over three months, but Ross said Thursday that the final cost — which hasn’t been released publicly — came in under budget.

The department also says 152,089 people skated on the rink from Dec. 7 to Feb. 28 — an average of more than 1,800 skaters per day.

“The Canada 150 rink has been a great success and a tremendous symbol of the 150th anniversary celebrations of Confederation,” Ross said.

The boards, glass and netting will be donated to a community in the Ottawa region, but its ultimate destination has yet to be determined.

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