‘“s Bep ives THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER +P . « = . FROM "AS a As British Columbia moves through the second half of the Twentieth Century, it is im- portant that we have a great- ~ er regard for the quality of «+» our daily lives. To this end , it is important that the con- sumer be protected and in- * — formed to enable him to avoid »* fraudulent practices and _» make wise selections in the - , market place. Inferior goods and unethi- $ cal dealers, though in the 7* minority, should be driven ,» from the market place so that businessmen can improve the ' , quality of their goods and ¥ x services, the person of small pa means stretch his income, and y the busy man of affluence ob- > tain good quality. o + LAW: RULE 6 The common law rule of >» “caveat-emptor” (let the buy- er bewaré) is not broad 3. enough to govern business af- ‘= fairs in a society which prides cS a itself on being one of the *, most affluent on earth. Qual- | ity and not quantity should / be the aim of the market . place, and this can be assisted |+*, by minimum rules worked out « in consulation with business, * finance institutions and the 4, public. bs The Dominion Bureau of “Statistics reports that total loans to consumers by finance companies and retailers in- creased from $1,968 million in 1957 to $2,253 million in 1960. This is big business worthy of a provincial government’s attention. I advocate the fol- lowing action: ACTION 1. A Consumers’ Council should be incorporated by an act of the Legislature, but operating independent of government, to aid con- sumers, 2. Legislate to minimize high pressure door to door sell- ing which is sometimes plainly fraudulent. 3. Government cannot and should not hold the hand of every person who en- ters the market for retail credit, but government can and should assist the credit buyer by enacting an interest rate disclosure act. No contract should . be recognized at law a, which does not tell the: : (a) cash price of the ‘oods g . x4 (b) total lump sum cost of oa carrying charges, and (c) rate of simple interest .. THE LEGISLATURE By TONY GARGRAVE, MLA law, as has been done in the case of bills of lading and insurance policies. Small loan companies, finance companies and credit unions should be consulted as to the format of these contracts. Lend- ers need to be given basic minimum protection to en- able them to make such loans, but the consumer needs better protection than he has been getting. 5. We should insist on accur- ate and informative label- ling of all packaged prod- ucts. The- housewife should not have to com- pare grams with ounces in deciding whether a “Giant Economy Size” is in fact more expensive per ounce than smaller packages. 6. Unpaid workers need ad- vice and protection in the collection of wages. This can be provided by bond- ing, legal aid and advice, and increased information to workers on how to pro- tect themselves. 7. The certification of the safety of used cars by re- tailers when they are sold to members of the public. TRENDS OTTAWA (CPA) — The ‘Department of Labor’s sur- vey on manpower trends in Canada during the decade ending 1961 finds that rail- roaders have been affected more than other workers by automation and technological changes. BODIE’S Quick Action Service COLLISION REPAIRS Free Estimates and Terms ——_@—_ ALIGNMENT —~—— PAINTING Factory Finish Mobile Infra-Red Bake Oven PHONE | 681-9267 | Night Calls 266-7414 COLLISIONS tTD. 1150 Seymour, near Davie Specialists for over 33 years When | got to travel more than an hour ta work . . . | travel in comfort! some are made This one, the famous 3 PARIS “Light Cruiser”, has been made for over half a century by the same family of craftsmen right in B.C. PIERRE PARIS & SONS 51 West Hastings Street Vancouver 3, B.C. Family Teamwork in Craftsmanship since 1907