oe

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 1969

LOBLAW COMPANIES LTD. (46.5%, 58 i
LOBLAW GROCETERIAS CO. (90.1% > vi

_ WESTON OCTOPUS. This chart was made public in December, 1966 by George Weston Ltd. listing his various
holdings. Encircled is B.C. Packers and its subsidiaries. Left out is Nelson Bros. which Weston had already
_ aequired six years earlier. B.C.’s fishing industry is now added to his multi-billion dollar empire.

Socreds avoid main issues

ue By NIGEL MORGAN
_ The Throne Speech, which
‘Opened the third session of
British Columbia’s 28th Legis-
lature, was as usual more
Noteable for what it left out than
‘what it contained. The opening
: ch, read by Lieutenant
Governor Jack Nicholson but
written by Premier Bennett to
_ fell the Legislature what his
_ administration intends to do, left
_ Political problems galore unan-
_SWered. In fact, seldom has so
Much been said about so little.
Obviously the pressing:need for
velopment of home industries,

‘ * -
,e ni £40 f#ebed

ee ee ee ee

material shipments to foreign
lands is to be ignored again. And
not even a hint is to be found of
tax relief, or urgently needed

expansions in vital social expendi-

tures, despite the fact that
B.C.'s budget this year will go
beyond the billion-dollar mark
for the first time in our history.
Educational problems, mu-
nicipal reorganization and acute
fiscal difficulties, strip-mining
dangers; acute housing and
hospital shortages are all bound
to come up, but nothing indicated
in the way of a bold, new
approach in the Throne Speech.
Without. doubt the toughest

vrs eee

jw ce 1

battle of the two-month session
can be expected to centre on the
government's education policy,
with the Socred’s_ school
financing formula adopted last
spring already a proven failure;
and a chaotic university crisis
having forced the resignations of
three B.C. university presidents;
Government treatment of civil
servants in the field of collective
bargaining; its highly contro-
versial Mediation Act policies;
pollution control; and exorbitant
auto insurance and telephone
utility rates can be expected to

See SOCREDS, pg.12

Pacific Tribune

VOL, 30, NO. 5

B.C. FISH INDUSTRY

By MAURICE RUSH

10c

The announcement a few days ago that the giant
Weston food empire had acquired control of Nelson
Bros. Fish Co. through its subsidiary, B.C. Packers, has
raised the danger of one major monopoly taking over
control of B.C.’s third largest industry.

It also underlines the threat to
the public posed by this giant
monopoly, which now dominates
the food industry of Canada and
can fix prices at will at the
expense of the consuming public.

This latest acquisition makes
B.C.'s salmon industry virtually
the private possession of
Weston’s. B.C. Packers, together
with Nelson Bros., are estimated
to account for about 70 percent of
all salmon, the most important of
the province’s fisheries. It’s
likely that the two also control a
similar percentage, or higher of
the other fisheries.

There are now two giants in the
field: B.C. Packers, in which
H.R. MacMillan played a
dominant role for over 30 years,
and the U.S.-owned Canadian
Fishing Co. Between them these
two giants have been gobbling up
one company after another until
today they dominate the field
entirely. Canfisco controls most
of the fisheries left over by B.C.
Packers except for a _ small
portion handled by the Co-ops.

Unknown to the general public,
these two giants in 1954 entered
into an agreement to acquire 50
percent interest each in their
competitor, J.H. Todd Sons Ltd.
This news did not leak out until
some time later. Since the mid-
fifty’s one or another of the
smaller companies have been
eliminated, until today the
fishing industry in B.C. is
dominated by the two, with B.C.
Packers by far the larger.

Just over a year ago the
Weston interests were instructed
to appear before a special session,
of the Commons-Senate Probe on
Prices to reveal their various
holdings. The revelation of this
multi-billion dollar food chain
shocked Canadians. Listed

among its holdings was B.C,
Packers and its various
subsidiaries, including a 50
percent control of J.H. Todd and
Sons.

BUT, Nelson Bros., which B.C,
Packers has apparently
controlled since 1960, was not
included.

In other words, this giant
monopoly kept from Parliament
and the Canadian public the full
extent of their monopoly
holdings. What other holdings
were controlled by Weston at
that time which were not
included in the report to the
Commons-Senate committee?

The chart of Weston holdings
presented to the committee
included 150 active companies,
1,850 supermarkets, 80 plants
and 250 warehouses. Its total
sales, mainly in the food
industry, was $3 billion.

In B.C., in addition to its
holdings in the fishing industry,
Weston’s control or own outright
the following: Kelly Douglas;
Super-Valu Stores; Nabob
Foods; W.H. Malkin; Loblaw
Stores; Shop Easy Stores; Hi Lo
Markets; Dickson Import Co.;
Tamblyn Drugs; and a host of
smaller operations, some listed
and others apparently, not listed,

The disclosure last week that
Weston’s now has a dominant
grip on B.C.’s fishing industry,
and that this octopus is
continuing to expand its
operations, raises a very urgent
public question: How long can
the federal government
continue to close its eyes to this
monopoly threat to the public
welfare?

Ottawa must be compelled to
act to bring this giant food
monopoly under public control
and take steps to break it up.

Vietnam

The sponsoring committee regrets to announce that because
of the time schedule the two speakers of the National Liberation
Front of South Vietnam will be unable to keep their speaking
engagements in Western Canada. The meeting set for Vancouver
on Wed., Feb. 5 is therefore cancelled.

Unfortunately, because of other commitments they have to
leave Montreal on Feb. 4 and will only be able to keep their
speaking engagements in the East at this time,

rally off