“| Business

Three Sidney firms have been

awarded a total of over $120,000 in
= rants from the Science Council of
| “British Columbia.
: Disbursed from the Science and
Technology Development Fund,
the grants were awarded to encour
age pioneering work in the high
technology sector in B.C

Microtek Research and Devel-
opment has been awarded $50,000
to continue developing inexpen-
Sive vaggines to protect salmonoid
apt against bacterial diseases.

Microtek president Dr Stephen
Newman said the vaccines will
offer the acquaculture industry an
expensive means of helping pre-
serve fish stock against disease.

Arctic Sciences Ltd. has been
awarded a $22,135 grant towards
research into signal enhancement

Will any prices really go down
assuming the proposed seven per
cent Goods and Services Tax takes
ympull effect Jan. 1?

Yes, says Ottawa. I wish I could
be-so certain.
There’s no question that you
will certainly pay more for most
services — from car-repair labor,
0 a haircut, to legal fees, to movie
tickets — once the seven per cent
tax is added. Now, you pay no tax
on such services.

As far as goods, the GST will
replace an existing federal sales
tax (FST). If there now is no FST
| on the item, then the tofal cost to
# @ you should rise. But if the GST is
Mees than the FST; the price you
agp PAY should go down.

' Jim Ramsay, chief of staff in
Finance Minister Michael Wil-
son’s office, challenged my com-
ment in a recent column about the
GST that it’s “anybody’s guess
what will happen to the price of
ordinary consumer goods” after
implementation of the GST.

: “Tt is not “anybody’s guess’,”
4 Ramsay said. He provided a list
with “a sample of organizations
which have promised the govern-
ment — and therefore the Cana-
dian consumer — at either the

Finance committee hearings or the
# Consumer and Corporate Affairs

committee hearings to pass on all

savings gained from the replace-

ment of the FST:
Black and Decker Ltd., Camco
Inc., Canadian Construction Asso-
ciation, Canadian Federation of
Farm Equipment Dealers, Cana-
dian Tire Ltd., Chrysler Canada,
# Du Pont Inc., Federation of Auto-
#_ mobile Dealer Associations of
© Canada, Ford Canada, General
= Motors of Canada, Imperial Oil
f Ltd., Inglis Ltd., Interhome
# Energy Ltd., Retail Council of
Canada, Sears Canada Inc., WCI
= Industries.”
H ©: You might like to save that list to
see what happens to the prices of

techniques for echo sounders.

General manager Gary Wilton
said the new techniques being
developed will facilitate the
improvement of the quality of
sonar signals by up to 36 times.

This new technology will also
provide sidescan sonars with
greater underwater mapping and
surveying capabilities, he said.

Sidescan sonars are a valuable
tool used by geologists. The tool is
also used in the oil exploration
industry.

A $48,645 award has.also been
made to Seastar Instruments Ltd.,
towards development of a laser
diode for use in optical communi-
cations.

Company president Peter Ber-
tang said his firm is working on
introducing fibre optics to peo-

these companies’ products both
now and in the new year.

“Representatives from eco-
nomic think tanks’ such as the
Economic Council of Canada and
Informetrica Ltd. have agreed with
the government's view that com-
petition and market forces in Can-
ada will force businesses to pass
on savings to consumers,” Ramsay
said.

Naturally there is more to pric-
ing than the GST. Competition can
affect prices. So can supply and
demand: a surplus of goods and
low demand tend to lower prices,
while shortages and high demand
tend to raise prices.

Marketing approaches will vary.

Some companies, for example,
might quietly raise some prices
now, then lower them once the
GST becomes law next year. Does
that mean the company can say it
passed along the savings to you?
Savings from what level? Perhaps
the price will be less than it was at
Dec. 31 but more than it is today.

Knowledgeable shopping is
your best protection against unfair
pricing.

If you know what goods and
services normally cost now, you
can then decide if they are fairly
priced early in the new year.

Ramsay said Ottawa plans to
help publicize prices.

me

ples’ homes as an alternative to
copper wiring for cable electic
appliances.

The electro-optical device being
developed would allow a much
higher amount of electrically-
transmitted information to reach
homeowners than existing technol-
ogy currently permits.

Advanced Education, Training
and Technology Minister Bruce
Strachen encouraged other busi-
ness to request help from the
Science Council in time for the
next awards. He said applications
for grant funding will be accepted
up until Noy. 1.

A total of $8.5 million is up for
grabs as part of the Science and
Technology Development Fund
this fall, he said.

Do prices ever really go down?

“The government is acting to
ensure that consumers are well
informed of the changes before the
GST is implemented,” he said.

“Consequently, consumers will
be aware of what to expect in terms
of price increases and decreased
for key goods and services.”

Ottawa has opened a GST Con-

sumer Information Office to help .

provide information about the
GST and its effect on prices. The
office will also register complaints
about unfair pricing practices.

The office has published a 16-
page booklet with GST informa-
tion and a list showing what effect
the GST will have on more than
100 goods and services.

You can get a copy of this guide
by phoning the office toll free
1-800-668-2122 between
10:30 a.m. and 9 p.m.

This guide should also help you
decide if you should respond to
those “buy now to beat the GST”
ads.

However, even if buying now
could save you money as far as the
GST goes, make sure you consider
what your money could have
earned (after tax) or how much
interest you will pay if you put
your purchase on your credit card.

It won’t make much sense to
save perhaps seven per cent if you
end up paying 30 per cent credit
charges for the next six months.

Mike Grenby is a Vancouver-
based columnist and independent
personal financial adviser; he
will answer your questions as
space allows in his column —
write to him clo The Review, P.O.
Box 2070, Sidney, B.C. V8L 3C5.

The Review - Wednesday, October 10,1990 — A19

Sidney firms reap grants forscience JAIL

Continued from Page A4

Crown counsel Edward Orm-
heim said all the outstanding
charges against Valan had been
compiled and a list would be given
to Valan’s defence lawyer.

The current charge arose Sept.
26, the evening before Valan’s last
court appearance, Ormheim noted.

A Sidney RCMP constable spot-
ted Valan in the Sidney 7-Eleven
Store, despite a court order that
Valan stay away from the store.

Valan tried to escape detection
by ducking behind a counter and

sneaking out of the store but was

arrested by police, Ormheim said.

Valan told police he went into
the store for the video games,
Ormheim added.

Miller said Valan had gone into
the store to get money he was
owed by a friend in order to buy
milk for his 18-month-old son.

WATCH
FOR SUNFLOWER’S.
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very

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t only $7500

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