Cecilia, I'm absolutely not offended, on the contrary: I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who gives a value to local buying. I myself prefer to buy from canadian shop even if it's more expensive for the same reason you exposed. But some people don't think that way and I can understand why; money can be more an issue for them than it is for me (I'm married, I have a good job, etc.)
I didn't found any canadian source for an hand crank when I was looking for one (I finally decided to buy a "suicide knob") but I hope somebody will have a suggestion. Maybe you should open an online shop to keep parts for us???
(And thanks for the info about the Bernina; I only had Singer in cabinet and they sure are not doing well without a case base).