t 1 percent of fire deaths occurred In residential properly: The total’ - 125 Sy. number af home ffres. was 61,133, up 5,400 or about 11 percent. The --. 26. . + i ay " e faulty heating and electrical equipment... . me -» under: insured thelr property.” However, as any ‘insurance agent °.: 1 . will sadly demonstrate, fires hoppen with alarming regularity to - . * nearly .2,000 Canadians a day, and-at'a daily rale of $640,000-in * damages. ae - . ae ne “According 10 a recently published-bootclet from-the Dominion - Fire, commissioner's office in Ottawa; residential fire losses’ in‘: Canada (1871 latest available figures) reached an all-lime high of : $76,358,000, an increase of $22,375,000 or a 16 percetit boost over losses reported in'1970. , a Re In- 1971 nearly 65: percent. of all reported fires and almost: 85. leading cause of the fires was smokers’ carelessness, followed by. _ 2, Five or ten-year ago, individuals‘who bought homes al low a 1" prices and low interest rates escaped the hard effects of inflation in [80 : “paying for their homes.: Today, many are still escaping, at their .. own peril, the added cost of fire insurance on their properties by - paying premiums only on the criginal value of their homes... _“Seventy-five per cent of Canada’s home owning population is ’ “under insured ... and that might be a very conservative estimate,” 4, sald High Kay, vice president of The Halifax, oné.of Canada’s * ‘oldest insurance companies.” He notes that “houses are under in; sured today because there is an almcst universal resistance to spend the necessary money.” ; : ; a . Pe 7 . aos . - ‘Today, the real bug-bear we face is rampant inflation,” says. _» Kay. “As anexamople, with laborand malerials costs skyrackeling — s . ah ohh -al.a rate of twelve and a half percent in, 1973 (and‘is expected to ex ved 20 percent in 1974), a house that cost $25,000 to build in 1966, - would havea replacement cost of ‘about $43,000 in January of this’ years 0 a :- ‘There are of course, some homeowners whose policies contain an “inlaiion wuard ¢ clause, Who teel protected by ihe automatié, «increase in their coverage every year. However, few policies give a: : replacement cost of.your home, - Boe an , The Halifax people have provided the table below to dssist you in ’ jiving roam, family'reom, den, each bedtoam and full batiirooms, finished atlick , . Males avceleraling casts". * 507-2 ee -. “Unfortunately, most people have no idea’ where ‘they. stand Tegarding their properly insurance," Kay says,’ ''Their policies - ‘expire every. three years and are renewed almost automatically (hrough the mail, with litle or:no conside.ation: given ‘to’ the more than five per, cent increased coverage ... nol nearly enough to ; adequac, uf their protection. “And yet, ilonly lakes a few minutes __ lo gel-a roiigh picture of how susceptible youaré todigaster,” |. - Kav suggests (hut, you first dig wun your homeowner's palicy or j call your. agent 10 determine, the amount of: present in-force '- coverage you have, than with the cid of your agent estimate the your appraisal...- -- | OW TO DETERMINE YOUR HOME REPLACEMENT COSTS |. | “The best way to delermine the replacement cost of your home is ‘: lo amploy the services of.a.builder-or_a professional appraiser. to * make anestimate. ‘This service .is especially: worthwhile if you. ,* suspeel the value of your home is more than $50,000, “This will cost i between $80 and $100. ; wee ce «... Or you can.caleulate the number of square feet of living space in *- ydur home and mulliply by:$20. This will provide.a very rough | +> estimate, bul atleast you'll besomewhere near the mark. . "Step One; Allow two points for each of Ihe following: dining area, finished. basement: (ree room); and attached Barage (2earle so asl et re et to, - Then add up the total double points, | 0 ’ Next, givé.a single point for each of the following: half bathroom, large ‘upen- porch, suinreom, .allic, fireplace, central air con- © ditioning and allached-one car garage. : eet lax ore eel oy PE! aba RAO I EB oor _ Step Two: Add the single points to the deuble points to arrive al -the total number of points, Then, depending on whether your home . amiunt ‘of insurance’ required,” * 7” ASPENTE “among t is-of frame, of masonry construction, use the following table to, $39 15 ‘$20,000 16 $24,000, “A $22,500 18 $24,000 : 000 A . : $29, 7. 33 $30,500, + $32,000 ‘ $33,000 . $35.000 97 42,000 $36,000. 28 . $44,000 $37,000 2 <1 $45,000" * $38,500 + : 1500 7 + : : $40,000 ~iLasy year, executives af The Halifax cimbarked on an extensive * . research program, examining 100 policles selected atrandom from _ ‘among several thousand being automatically renewed.. The results “were shocking: It wasfound thatonly 13 of the 100 policies hadbeen . adjusted during the past six years. ’ “4’greal deal of the coverage Was grossly inadequate and even ' the adjusted policies hadn't all been brought up to snuff,” Kay sald. -- The Nova Scotia home that cost $30,000 to replace, with a mere "$6,000 of il covered by insurance;, ae a . -- The Toronto home insured for $10,000 that sustained complete destruciion ..: replacement cost $34,000; . a ' «+. The Hamilton home that suffered partial damage costing $19,000 with only $6,000 worth of insurance coverage; _ - “No one. really believes that his home can be destroyed or damaged,” says Kay. “This attitude exists mainly 2 who livein cities and built-up residential areas, where if a fire does occur, the homeowner gambles-that the fire depart- ment will appear in minutes , as if by magic .:. and that just doesn’t ‘ happen. The result? People are left to face tragic logses ~ oflen - involving their life savings and home equity built up over many- years.” oo et an -_ -: “Theindustry has an obligation toalert the homeowning public to . tha dangers of being underinsured. Alter much investigation and a Jot of long, hard thinking, we've come up with a plan thal is linked automatically lo construction costs as cpmplled by Slatistics Canada (The Composite Monthly Index of Labor and Materials for _ seriously ‘Residential Construction). We feel this is the only reliable guide Lo . ~ building costs aiid that is what the policyholder wants to know If his honie is destroyed by fire .:, "Haw much will itcost to replace it?" “We call this new plan Buildex.” a et : How about increases in policy premiums? . “There are nung.” Kay says. “we ore. in fael proyidirig the extra ‘-eoverage withoul- charge for one year. . Monthly increases in coverage costs are absorbed ... costing the-homeowner nothing, - . Each anniversary dale; the amount of the Buildex coverage is- adjusted and premiums are calculated on the basis of the index last reported.” f° | ST nn The Homeowner is required to do just one thing: insure the “properly for-100 percent of its replacement value, “‘We must start {tom ‘an accurale .replacement-cost base,"’ says Kay... then .. Buildex lakes over. If you insured your home for, say; $30,000 and, aix months later, it would cost $32,000 Lo replace it, Buildex would "pay you $92,000 if yuu suffered a total loss, ‘There's an additional bonus in Buildex ,,, premium rates , in many cases, drop below standard rates, with savings of up lo 15 percent.” " “Weare going toshow people how the cost of replacing a building has gone oul of sight,” Kay said. “Our agents will assist them in, delermining whether they-have an adequale amount of coverage ‘and why they-sHfould have a policy which aulomalccally increases _the coverage in accordance with the rise in the residential building cost index. We believe with thése facts before them most people “will'tmake’ an intelligent decision.” 4’ x8 . Sheot MAHOGANY. PANELS UNFINISHED a x 8’ Sheet MAHOGANY PANELS PREFINISHED & ECONOTEX | “EQAM BACK” ‘9 xP Sheet ~ CARPET | snomare © DRILL ee a 4 i STORE HOURS Mon. thru Sat. 8:00 a.m, to 6:00 p.m. pee aya mdr areshete ty “The ).-3,0, :. Government... Employees’. Union is pressing . fora. 35hour. week .afid. owner - ‘improved «.. benefits” in “cnegollations with government on a eollective agreement for - about © 30,000. provincial -em- ployees, a Union spokesman. saidtoday, =. BCGEU general secretar * John Fryer said the demands are set out In wilon proposals made at a three-day, Initial” bargaining session this week ' (March' 26-28) with the Public A. Yes, the income you,, are Service Commission, the government's negotiating agency. .- aaa “Ag pn agreement covering more than 30,000 people, this will be the biggest union con- tract in the province,” Fryer “Wages and salaries will not be discussed in current \ . . «For further Information, calk the District Taxation Office. If you live In @ tell area, ath your long-distance cparaior for ZENITH 6-4900 and your call “with be placed without charge. ‘Q 1am now receiving pension payments from the Canada . Pension Plan. “1s the money ] : receive taxable, and should 1. include it when I report :my-’ income? . now receiving from the Canada Pension. Plan ‘is taxable. and should be‘ reported on: your Income tax return. mo Q. My wife and I were married In September. She was working -before. marriage but has not worked since, Can I claim the - full married exemption of $1,400: - for her?. What dogs she do about filing a reutrn? a A. If she received no! income after your marriage, you may ‘claim the fullmartied exenip- tion of $1,400. Otherwise, calculate -your exemption taking into account only the - income she received after your marriage,. If. your, wife. is taxable or had tax.- deducted : from her salary, she must. file her own return.) @, My nephew aged: 16, came ” to live with me leet. yer when his parents’ were killed in am auto accident. Although Ihave not been appointed as his legal ‘guardian, and no papers have been: signed, he is. totally dependent on me. Can I claim him asa dependent on my in- ‘for: provincial employees, sets - dependant If -he -otherwise _and education under a foster peo . “We call our -province - : ‘Beautiful. British Columbia,” Bryer said. “It is richly en- negotiations, Fryer said.” The - pay. issue will resolved in oceupational : component - negotiations to follow ratification : ofthe master agreement, Lo (The Publle Service Labour. Relations Act,. legislation in- | troducing collective bargaining up. a’ two-lier” bargaining system, ove level leading to a master agreement. covering ‘ ebnilitions of work common to ail employees in the bargaining “unit; the other level covers a series of .qecupational com- ponent contracts on’ wages and other conditions peculiar to union component members.) Fryer said the main thrust of the union if the master ‘agreement negotiations will be toward increaséd _leisure..time for BCGEU members. ’ “dowed with recreational: resources: and BCGEU mem- _ bers are entitled to reasonable leisure time’ lo’ enjoy resources.”" . In the master contract BCGEUmembers are proposing: _ A seven-hour workday, 35- hour week. . -- "Wacation entitlement of 21 days after one year's service and an additional day for each year thereafter. -A sharp reduction in over- time work, restricting it to such emergencies as forest fires, highway snow. plowing with double time for work beyond 35 hours ‘’ 4 week and triple time . for work on days off or s holidays. » ° @Extra pi Tip Column -come tax form? . . ; A, Yes.. The fact that you have. hot been’ appointed his legal guardian would not -bat’ you from claiming your dephew.as a qualified: 9 0, Q:. Last year my wife.and [-, ‘decided to assist a child who lives in another country. . We send regular payments to this - child to receive food, clothing’: parents plan.” We have not adopted ‘this. youngster,. but I. am wondering ©. if:I claim the child ‘as a dependant. on my income tax return, or claim the money I. send to her’ as a charitable donation.?..~. A. You may net claim the child as a dependant’.as you did not - have custody of control over the ” Youngster. However, payments made in the year to the Foster Parents Plan Of Canada are eligible* for deduction as charitable donations when, supported by proper receipts. Q. Wehad a baby last year who only lived'a few hours. Can we make.any tax claim-fer her? * A.. Yes, if.a child is born in the year and lives, you may. claim the child asa dependant for a $300 exemption. * ; @. have been claiming my children as exemptions on my tax return, Can my wife claim the medical expenses paid on their behalf, on her tax return? ‘A. Medical exepnses can be - alfowed only to the person who claims the dependant for the year’ when -the x incurred. lett Q. ‘As an employer, I made the proper. deductions for income tax, Canada Pension Plan ‘and . Unemployment Insurance, but Z misplaced my remittance form PD7A. How should { make my remiltarice for the deductions? : A. Your remittance: should be forwarded to the Taxation Data Centre, Ottawa, with -your ~employer's ‘number outlining “he pay period covered and the breakdown of the applicable. deductions: 00805 ‘ ares your dollers. - ands. those tatutory ay of 75 cents an hour pense “Was . for all afternoon shifl, work and $1an hour for graveyard. -Premium pay of $1 an hour for all weekend. work, -including scheduted work. ae -Eleven: statutory: holidays, adding the firat ‘Monday: in August to existing statutory. holidays > for provincial. em- ployees. So -A dental care plan paid for by the employer, «© -: a “Cash reimburgement to” employees for unused sick leave. ve . -Time off under the sick leave plan: during illness ‘among immediate family members. (The. BCGEU — recently ‘negotiated this entitlement for employees’ at Okanagan College, members of Local 62, BCGEU.)* - 700 ' Fryer said the union seeks lo standardize the work week for employees in the- BCGEU’ bargeining unit. ‘Their work. week now varies from 34 hours, - AO: minutes, 374 hours; 40 hours and 44 hours, : : ' The as-hour week is gaining ‘more and. more acceptance in both public and privale sectors, Fryer said. | - Fryer said Introduction of shift differential for B.C.'s public employees is long overdue. ' : “The. provincial government js -probably the only major employer in B.C. not paying any shift differentiai.’”: i He said the union's objective is a one-year contract (from “April 1, 1974 to March 31, 1975.) . Fryer said the union and the Public Service Commission ‘have scheduled a. series of three-day bargaining sessions Jn Victoria and Vancouver during April. The ‘negoitations cover em- ployees in the “public service bargaining unit," one of three bargaining units covering B.C.'s- public service under provisions of the Public Service Labour Relations Act. The BCGEU was certified March 8 as bargaining agent for the public service bargaining unit. There are separate bargaining units ‘for registered and psychiatric nurses and for some prafessional employees. The union's 15-member master bargaining committee comprises Fryer aid BCGEU president Norman T. Richards as co-chairman, vice-president and W.C. Reid, treasurer Nancy Hamilton and’ representatives of each of the union’s il province-wide’ branches and occupational councils, FENCE STAIN PAINT ROLLER TRAY REGULAR