‘REGINA SUFFRAGETTES’
[ri-province probe gets
grocery bag of exhibits

RMED with a bag of grocer-
ies, Mrs. Peggy Mrazek of
the Regina Food Suffreget-

tes appeared last week before
_the prairie provinces price in-
quiry commission, which held
four days of hearings in Regina.

This commission, set up last
December by Premier Thatcher
of Saskatchewan and the pre-
miers of Manitoba and Alberta
has Judge Mary Brattob of Sas-
_katoon as chairman. Other mem-
bers of the tri-province com-
mission are Dr. Shirely Weber
of Winnipeg and William New-
bigging of Edmonton.

Mrs. Mrazek suggested that
the powers of existing govern-
ment departments dealing with
consumer affairs be extended
so more thorough and frequent
investigations can be made to
counteract discrepancies now
confronting consumers.

“Tf wartime price control ‘is
necessary, we would favor this
before a national economic crisis
or another depression descends
upon us,” she said.

The group said they disap-
prove of supermarket games,
giveaways, elaborate packaging,
misleading and unnecessary ad-
Vertising, fractional weights and
gimmicks which add to the cost.
_ Food costs have got so high,
they added, that eggs are a
luxury in some homes, the price
being up to 71 cents in Decem-
ber as compared to 57 cents in
June.

Mrs. Mrazek used Safeway’s
Bonus Bingo to illustrate the
high cost of games. Safeway’s
ads for Bonus Bingo for one
week in the Regina Leader Post
ran to $754.70 and radio com-
mercials for the same period
were $157.20. In addition there

is the TV and cost of flyers. .

This means abéut $58,000 in a
year would be the advertising
costs alone on this game. ~
“We are not against the sup-
ermarkets advertising their pro-

ducts only against the advertis-
ing of their games and gim-
micks,” she added.

The group brought along to
the hearing an example of de-
ceptive advertising from OK
Economy Store. The ad read,
“All strained and junior baby
foods, 10 tins for $1.00.”

A customer selected assorted
food and at the checkout coun-
ter was told it did not apply to
baby meat dinners. When she
pointed this discrepancy out to
the manager, he offered to
change the sign.

“In the end the customer re-
ceived the meat dinners at the
special price, but how many
other customers paid the regu-
lar price. when they should have
received the special?” asked
Mrs. Mrazek.

Again -she- reached into her

bag and this time brought forth

an example ‘of mislabelling —
two tins of Libby’s spaghetti of
identical size and label, except
one was marked 15 fluid ounces
and the other was marked 14.
Both sold for the same price.

Then came an example of the
high price of packaging. Mrs.
Mrazek had a 14-ounce box of
24 Smiles n’ Chuckles Turtles
which cost $2. She pointed out
that if they were bought in the
bags which sell at two turtles
for 10 cents, they would only
have cost $1.20.

She next illustrated how
“cents-off” deals are used to in-
crease prices. She said the cul-
prit this time was Kellogg’s
Wheat Chex. The regular price
was 35 cents for an 18-ounce
box, and in ‘November, a 10-
cents-off deal was put on and
the “regular price’. boosted to
46 cents. When this “special”
went off, the price was 11 cents
higher than the previous regular
price, she said.

Mrs. Mrazek also took excep-
tion to the fact that manufac:
turers raise prices when the raw

material cost rises, as soft drink
manufacturers did when sugar
prices increased, and, then not
dropping their price when the
raw material costs go down.

- “Women are not looking for
romance in their grocery store,
just fair prices,” she said.

She said consumers should
boycott each time they shop by
buying only what they feel to
be good quality at fair prices.
There should be more consumer
education, and federal and pro-
vincial governments should
carry out their responsibilities
by providing better information
in a form consumers can under-
stand.

“Since the food industry has
been unwilling to , voluntarily
comply with common ethics and~
accepted standards of decency,
authority must rest with our
government to initiate, regulate,
and enforce compliance to
standards,” she added.

Also appearing before the
commission was W. E. Rogers,
a Moose Jaw member of the
Painters and Decorators union.
He proposed legislative controls
to alter the balance between

the gross national product and

profits to favor consumers and
labor.

After pointing out the rapid
growth of monopolies, combines,
and cartels, Rogers said:

“I am confident that their
privileged entrenchment in our
economic order has_ enabled
them by various devices, per-
haps for the most part unknown
to us as yet, but which could
be revealed by a process of ex-
amination for discovery; to
shield ‘excessive profits, and by
passing along every new cost
to the consumer by pushing up
prices, have prevented both the
labor force and the consuming
public the right to enjoy rising
prosnerity and living standards.

“This indicates that we must
have controls, effective legisla-

tive controls, designed to alter
the balance between the gross
national product and profit8 in
a manner which favors the con-
sumers and labor at the expense
of excessive profit taking.” *

CCF members of the Saskat-
chewan Legislature also present-
ed a brief to the commission in
which they called for a prices
review board to expose to pub-
lic view plans for price increas-
es and to act as a check on the
spiralling cost of living.

The brief also
action to restrict phony promo-
tions and advertising, and for
a government program to aid the
low-income home buyer. They
further proposed that drugs be
placed under medicare to re-
duce costs.

Pointing out that it was the
low-income families hurt most
by high. prices, the brief pointed
to the need for a total effort in
legislation and contribution by
voluntary groups and citizens
which would bring about a con-
sumers’ bill of rights and a
square deal for consumers.

Opposition leader Woodrow
Lloyd, in presenting the brief
for the CCF, said that Canadians
have insufficient price and pro-
duct information to enable ra-
tional choices in the market
place, and he urged a program
of consumer education.

He pointed to the vast quan-
tity of items available in super-

‘markets along with the inade-

quate and confusing description
as making the buyer's task dit-
ficult.

“Tf one is influenced by the
claims of some advertisers that
romance, passion and success
are allegedly purchasable in a
box, can or parcel, one is still
further from choice based on
fact, or resulting in satisfac-
tion,” he said.

Lloyd also declared that con-
centration of market power in
the hands of five great food
chains, three giants in the soap

MODEL UNITED NATIONS

Hodge-podge of knowledge and

The 13th annual model as-
sembly of the United Nations
opened last week in Toronto
amid a scattered audience of
assorted parents, grandparents
and kid sisters, with the usual
platitudinous speech on the ne-
cessity of giving the UN power
to gain peace in a_ troubled
world.

George Ignatieff, Permanent
Canadian Ambasador to the UN,
gave a speech which contained
no proposals, concretely, to im-
plement peace.

The debate which followed on

wesiyy

the entry of the People’s Repub- -

lic of China was. most interest-
ing, primarily as a study of how
the. representatives from 66
high schools in Ontario and the
eastern U.S., see the world. For
instance, a student representing
Poland continually shouted,
spoke rigidly, and acted as a
commissar out of 007 might.
The Algerian representative
very adequately portrayed
small nation chauvinism. Cuba
was represented by a student
-who spoke in French, thus get-
ting in his blow for bicultural-
ism. while the Rumanian dele-

gate spoke, strangely, Rumanian,
Pakistan’s proposal for main-
land China’s entry consisted of
changing credentials from For-
mosa to the mainland, (thus
requiring only a simple major-
ity). The countering American
proposal saw the matter as one
of expulsion of one nation and
entry of another, and would ré-
quire a two-thirds majority.
Two votes were taken on the
American motion, Zambia’s ‘cre-
dentials were disallowed in the
first, (a boy was representing
Bishop Strachan), on a tie vote.
One school was allowed to

change its vote from NO to YES
before the vote was announced.
(An interesting development
was South Africa voting against

and Czechoslovakia voting for

the American proposal).

In the second vote, the vote
was 26 to 25 for the American
proposal, but Nigeria, who wish-
ed to reverse her vote (defeat-
ing the motion) before the voie
was announced, and ‘following
a precedent set minutes beiore,
was not-allowed to do so. The
passage of the two-third requie-
ment meant the loss of the
Pakistini resolution, even

February 10, 1967—PACIFIC TRIBUNE

called for —

an effective job the fl

industry and © similats
groups of large organi f
other fields leaves the ~
at a marked disadvanlt

He added that the E|
that-a sentiment exP&)
the June, 1966, Const
ports is valid for Can ¢
nation’s distributiol
from farm to check-O¥" |
needs major overhaul.

: |
though the vote was py
to 19. a

The assembly is an hg
blend of students wh0 a
their countries with ©
knowledge of policy, #1
who seem to be utterly)
of any world reality. 4
common illusions see! tiff
among those represet
Socialist World, show")

ment press has done: 47
seem that any young {4
high school should b@ 4
in this Model AssemblY
dispel these popular !