A decision to end a decades-long tradition of having bagpipers perform at the downtown Montreal Ogilvy's store was made quietly this week, but the reaction to it has been anything but.
The pipers had been a part of Ogilvy's since the end of the Second World War — at first, playing to announce closing time, and more recently, during the noon hour.
Holt Renfrew, the store's parent company, decided to do away with the pipers on Wednesday, to make way for new traditions as the two stores continue the process of merging and expanding.
"The pipers will always be a big part of our history, but they are synonymous with a different era for Ogilvy," the company's vice-president, Normand Ciarlo, said in a statement. "Now is the right time for us to respectfully move on to relevant and new traditions."
Within hours, the petition was launched on Change.org. It's titled "Keep Piper Tradition alive at Ogilvys in Montreal", and as of 11 a.m. on Friday, more than 800 people have signed it.
"Old Traditions are relevant and we need to keep this tradition alive," the petition's text reads. "It's a part of Montreal and it's a disservice to our [vibrant] city to just let it go!"
Online reaction to news of Ogilvy's move have been overwhelmingly negative. Many lamented the move as an affront to Montreal's Scots; others wondered if another Ogilvy's tradition dating back to the 1940s, the famous animated Christmas window, was the next to go.