16 THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1979 printed in this issue Published once monthly as the official Western Canadian Regional'Coun 2859 Commercial Driv: x GUEST EDITORIAL th convention decisions. ae TWEEDLEDUM AND TWEEDLEDEE HEN in opposition, the Tories ranted and raved against the Liberals’ policy of jacking up Cana- dian interest rates every time they went up in the United States. The Liberals stoutly defended the interest rate hikes, saying they were unavoidable. Now that the two old-line parties have reversed their roles politically, they have also reversed their views on interest rates. The Tories are raising them at an even faster rate than the Liberals did, saying they are needed “to fight inflation,” while the Liberals are right- eously denouncing them. How the old-line party MPs can keep a straight face while doing these flip- flops is beyond us. And how the voters can continue to take them seriously amazes us even more. It should be clear by now to even the most obtuse citizen that the Liberals and Tories have absolutely no policy differ- ences. They both act precisely the same when in power, and merely go through the motions of criticizing each other's policies when in opposition. Meanwhile, the sky-high interest rates — for which both old-line parties are to blame — will further fatten the already bloated profits of the banks and other money-lending institutions, while im- posing usurious financial burdens on all of us who are dependent on credit. Far from helping to curb inflation, such scandalously high interest rates will inevitably push up the price of every product and service, guaranteeing that living costs will rise well above 10% next year. Perhaps we shouldn’t complain. This, after all, is what most Canadians want. If they had wanted to keep interest rates down, they wouldn’t have voted for the Liberals and Tories. They would have voted for the NDP. Ah, yes. We always get the govern- ment — and the interest rates — that we deserve. —Canadian Transport GGEST CON JOB” | O NE of the biggest con jobs in the country is being carried out by government run lottery foundations who are ripping off the public through false and misleading advertisements. In their advertisements they would have us believe, as in the case of Canada Loto, that better than one per- son in three has a chance to be a winner. The Provincial, while not quite so blatant, suggests that one in five can be a winner. The Western Express goes all out in claiming that all Westerners are winners. This type of advertising is morally indefensible. That the federal and pro- vincial governments can condone what is taking place is completely reprehensible and should be severely censored. Unfortunately, the lotteries are a highly lucrative source of income for the governments who it appears are not prepared to let ethics stand in the way of this bonanza. That the majority of the people bilked through these false claims are the low income earners least able to afford being ripped off doesn’t seem to concern the governments. Adding insult to injury the founda- tions have set up the lottery system so that the already slim chances of winning a major prize are almost eliminated by the method of drawing the winning numbers. For instance, Canada Loto will list a certain number of million dollar prizes that can be won on a draw plus a number of lesser prizes. On comple- tion of the draw the impression is left that there have been winners for all numbers drawn. This is not the case. The serial number of an unsold ticket could have been drawn and lottery officials would have no way of knowing because winners have up to a year to claim their prize. Taking this to an extreme, it is theoretically possible to conduct a draw without a major prize being won. Granted, lottery officials state un- claimed prize money is put back into future draws as bonus prizes but the public can only take their word for this. We suggest that it is incumbent on the two levels of government to devise some fairer system of conducting the draws. If the present system is allowed to continue the public may tire of the rip-off and refuse to participate in future lotteries. “He’s had loggin’ school .. . handle any job in camp . —r»2° 0 ®@_9 1ee@_~.® Ve WHALEN SESS: YS <7 VAC says he’s trained to .. includin’ yours.” @_.9 Ye89__.® ee@__.9 “Christmas Facts And Fancies Around The World A989 oe 8__-.9 1 eo 8__.9 — > ee ~o 720 ~o WSO e The Christmas Seal orig- inated in Denmark in 1903 when a Danish postal clerk decided to ask people to buy a special Christmas stamp to help raise money for sick and needy children. e The world’s largest Christmas wrapping, 42 feet long and seven feet in diam- eter, was constructed as a showroom display at a ga- rage in Hssex, England, ac- cording to the Guinness Book of Records. It took two weeks to build and concealed a Ford Escort car. e Flowers are among the most popular Christmas gifts throughout the world, ranging from the traditional evergreen wreath in north- ern Europe to the gay floral tributes used to decorate for South America’s Christmas Fiestas. With Interflora, the international affiliate of FTD, it is possible to send a floral holiday greeting to almost any country in the world in less time than it takes to send a Christmas card! e Jolly old Santa Claus is not the only one delivering gifts at Christmastime. In Scandinavia, they are brought by little gnomelike 20__.® 1 © @__. 9 e8@__.® —7@ > © @- ~o 9 OO” ~O- OO creatures called ‘Yule Men,” who are said to live hidden in the attic all year long. In Italy, they are left on Epiphany Eve (January 6th) by a wrinkled old woman called’ Befana, whose arrival is announced by a bell. The Magi, the three wise men, bring gifts to Mexican children who, instead of hanging stock- ings, place their shoes on the windowsill. e One of the _ longest Christmas celebrations in the world takes place in Sweden, where the holiday lasts an entire month. It begins on December 13th with Saint Lucia’s feast day, and ends on January 13th Saint Knut’s Day, when children ‘plunder’ the Christmas tree, eating all its candies and cookies before removing its ornaments and carrying it outdoors with a song. TOR Progressive Conservative members Of the legislature de- feated a private member’s bill recently that would have given Ontario’s 75,000 domestic workers a $3 an hour minimum wage. The bill, sponsored by Brian Charlton (NDP - Hamilton Mountain) was supported by the Liberals, but voted down on second reading by the Con- servatives. R. H. Ramsay (PC - Sault Ste. Marie) argued that many people could not afford domes- tic help if they had to pay the $3 an hour to which other workers are entitled.