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Report f rom the Legisiature BILL NEWMAN M,P.P.. ONTARIO SOUTH RIDING s The Ontario Travel Industry Act "Travels are dreamns translated into action'.' Undoubted- ly these sentiments as expressed by an unknown Canadian writer, mirror many individuals' feelings about travelling. Our friends and neighbours in moments of great enthusiasm express their intentions to escape from' it ail. They can see themselves reclining on spotlessly white beaches enjoying the 'cool ocean breezes or skiing the deep powdercd snow of Utah or Western Canada. If we could only win a cool million of that Olympie Lottcry Canada .... While a great majority of us want to take that trip a- round the wonld, many have partially realized our drearns in makîng European junkets or North Amenican tours. HAoIn This week 1 broke off niy "diploîniatic" relations.withi the Toronto Suin. It Wàý's bound to happen. And l'm glad, it happened at the time when the Sun hiac decided not to compete for hard newvs stories and phiotograplis. They will say 'm full of hot air, by even suggesting a thing like this, but 1 îhink thc evidence is on»my sîde. For instance, tie Sun was "suddenly" disinterested in a niurder story (ad photos) that came out of Mississauga. Nothing really big, you know.1 Just a niinor domnestic: one person dead and one with pellet wounds in the stor-nach at the hospital. 1 could cite many other instances wlhere "liard news" storics have been ignored. Anyway, whiat 1 rcally wanted to say is this three years doing freelance work for one paper has been a heck of a long time. Moreover, I'm flot the first nor the last person to depart frorn the Sun's ever growing ranks of disen- chantcd newsrnen who find die tabloid just a little hard t0 take. The decision to give up rny freelance activities with the Sun wasn't an easy one t00. After aU, in more tha n th ree ycars you make a lot of frîends. They start to like your work. And, above aIl, some openly admire the l)rofessîonal qualities of a photographer who knows the newspaper business inside out. But, then, there is this "upper echeclon"* (at any newspaper, l'd say) designed to keep reporters and photographers in line. They hand down' the decisions, stupid as sonie of them might be. Basically, there is an unwrit'ten rule on the editorial floor; be a good boy, listen to whiat we say, don't talk back and more important - neyer, neyer challenge the authority. Well, as you can sec, 1 dîdn'î quite follow thiese miles. 1 rebellcd. 1 wrotc %vhat one editor described as &"4snarky letters", 1 complaincd if the Sun would pay only $15 for the best ncws photo of Marina Hundt and 1 did not observe the "rules" that a freelancer can freelance only for one newspapcr. I still firmly believe thiat a freelance photo- grapher is free to offer his pictures 10 anyone wio's inter- ested in buy'ing them. Unless, the paper says, "Hey, Alex, we want this shot exclusively for us. We are prepared to pay more for this picture." So, you see, 1 was a bad boy. 1 oughit to be spanked. But, the editor did not bring his whip with hini to the office. lnstead, he sat down at his rickety typewriter and dashed off a nasty warning "Hcy you! Better behiave your- self. Disgrace or not, we are not paying more..and so on. Now that l'm financially more independent, 1 can af- ford to write a column like this. 1 don't have to worry about my next meal and I don't have 10 worry about what Mr. s0 and s0 says about me. AIl I know is that 1 have been in the newspapcr business for almost 20 years and that's an achievement by jîself. Furthermore, 1 would neyer make a good politician because 1 don't have the "righ t" personality. But, as a photographer, 1 arn convinced my talents will be used by many other people in th is world. What saddens me, though, is the fact that many news- papers, including the Sun, do flot care about quality - I mean, photographic quality. Given a chance 10 use a good picture and a bad one, the paper most likely will use the bad photo because il was taken by a staff photographer. A freelance piotographer would have to be paid for lis shot. But, in a long run, the paper will suffer by assuming that newspaper readers are dumb-dumbs who cannot see the difference in quality. The now-defunct Toronto Telegram applied the same principal and look, where's Uic Tely now - six feet under. Finally, 1 must say, that 1 enjoyed working together with somne real pros at the Sun - ace reporters like Rhona Kane, David Kendall, Bob McDonald, Joe Fisher, Barney McKinley and Joan Barfoot. But, I'm lost for words when I see the increasing numnber of amateurs infltrating It this business with a carte blanche endorsemnent from news editors. I hope 1 won't be around to see the day when news- rooms will be infested with second rate journal ists. Travel lias so transformied out attitudes toward other parts of tlhe world- and broadened our outlooks toward other peoples and other lands. I These great changes in rnaking travcl more accessible 10, our citizens have flot been, lîowever, without some problenms. You only have to recaîl news lieadlines over the years whiereby travellers were left stranded at foreign air- ports with luttle or no mioney to gel home. Conversely' somne European travellers have borrowed heavily-to finance their return flight already paid for by a charter organization. What this state of affairs has meant is less then a good. public image for the travel industry - a group of liard work- ing' travel representatives who have generally served the public, extremely weIl. However, tic press continued to report the abandonmenî of- passengers and has made thc travelling public more uneasy over the years.about the total absence of checks to eliminate thc "fly-by-night" travel operator. But you may well ask: are-there flot sufficient existing standards t0 govern the opera lions of the travel industry? On- thc whole these regulations of Federal Government and the International Air Transport Association ap'ply more 10 business relationships in tlhe industry. These regulations pertain more 10 flie profit and loss statements of any nat- tional airline or charter operator and agrecd upon routes to bc uscd by these airlines. These standards have little effect on the travelling consumer. The new Travel Industry Act, whicli recently received third reading in the Ontario Legis- lature, is the product of considerable consul tation bctween t'rave] industry people and Mr. Frank Drea, Parlianîentary Assistant t thie Consumner and Commercial Relatiens Minister. The basic thrust of flie legislation is designed bo imiprove the traveller - travel agency relationship, particular- ly the business practices aspects of thiat relationship. Tlic new Act includes thesc outstanding features: * Al travel agents, carriers, tour operaters and travel sales- mien doing business ini Ontario must be rcgistered under die Act; * Registration under tic Act includes information on financial capability of' any travel business. the addrcss cf that business and identity of ewnotsiîx *, Travel organizations nmust centribute to a one million dollar compensa tion fund in the event cf a bankruptcy and te cover a customner's downpayment; * More specîfic and îipreved travel advertising standards withi respect to level cf service, hiotel accommodation and the uise of tlhe travel agency's nanie in advertising; * Al travel agents, carrifts and wlesalers would be required to post a S5,000 bond to present potential viola- tion of tlhe new Act. The smnall anieunt of the bond posted wvas the Ontario Goverrnment's response not te create treniendous ecenomnic Iîardship, particularly upon Uic smaller operator. Usually many businesses require bending statcd very clearly that thc single smaîl operat 'or because he or she lias few assets to back up a total forfeiture of that kind would be driven from the travel business. Ini that case the travelling public would have ended up dealing xith approxirnately 7 to 8 large travel agenciesý for the whole Province. Thie real purpose cf ithe bending is flot financial protection te the consumer but raller a solvency test cfthie operator. Somne travel representatives have clainiîed thiat the Act was passed toc quickly. In balance thi ct lias not yet received Royal Assent, ner ill it until al] the details of die Bill have been' satisfactorily resolved. flic travel industry will be fully consuited whien the question cf sclecting a Registrar te adnîinister titis Act riscs. CARE Canada Dept. 4 Ottawa KI P 5A6 A TTENTION FARMERS!! WHY PAY MORE? OThe Cus eomer ntso, #À We style your kair your way. Need suggestions? We # con give them. Know what 1 j you want? We'll do it. We 0 ~r un our shop to serve you. (TONY'S HAIRSTYLING L Bji arki Plaza 6M8«5441 î WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29 9' PAGE 7- The Law and You Q. My ex-landiord has been bugging me for weeks. He says that the floors in my apartment were scratched and scarred. That's truc enougli. But they were just as messed up when I moved in. 1 didn't cause the damage - so I don't sec why I should pay. Yesterday whcn I went 10 the bank, 1 was told that $125 w'as garnisheêd from my account. Today I got a summons from the landlord t0 appear in court. It said unlcss I made a reply my ex-îandlord would'get the rnoney without a trial. I'm just sure this can't be truc. A. It's truc alright- in some cases. But your landiord has made a mistake.. A plaintiff can garnishce money from a bank in'a smatll dlaims court action. Unless'the defendant files a dispute within 10 days from when thc summons is servcd on him, the moiney goes to thc plaintiff automatically and without a trial. But a plaintiff cannot get a garnishce summons in a dlaim for damames - only where thec daim is for a "dcbt or moncy Whmffd". You should sec a lawycr or your local Legal Aid Plan office irnmediately and gel the garnishee lifted. Q. My girlfniend got a job as a waitrcss. They startcd her off at $ I1.90 an hiour. l've heard thiît the minimnum wage was $2.00 an hiour and 1 think that she's gctting ripped- off'1 A. The regulations under the Emnploymcnt Standards Adt allow an employer in the hotel, motel, tounist resort, restauirant, and tavern industry 10 pay duning the first month of cmiploymnent of an employce who is a learner "a rate Ioer than flic usual minimum wagc". Q. l'm 16 years old and l'vc got a real problcm. 1 think 1 picked up a -dose of VD), aiid I want t0 gel it treated. Bt I don't want my parenfis to know. Can 1 gel a doctor's trealment without gcîîing their consent'? A. Youi can gel îreatmnent fromi a syml)athetic physician without your parents' consent. Ontario's Vencreal Diseases Prevention Act was amended. in 1971, and provides iii s. 20 (a) that a physician mnay treat a person 16 ycars or older for, venereal discase without the consent of that pcrson's parents. "THESE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, BASED ON ONTARIO LAW, ARE PUBLISHED TO INFORM AND -NOT TO ADVISE. NQO ONE SHOULD TRY TO APPLY OR INTERPRET THE LAW WITHOUT THE AID AND ADVICE 0F A TRAINED EXPERT WHO KNOWS THE FACTS, BECAUSE THE FACTS 0F EACH CASE MAY CHANGE THE APPLICATION 0F THE LAW." -RG KENNELS~ WheeThGet Tender Loving care ., BOARING PUPPIES TRAINING HWY -12, BROOKLIN, ONT. LOB 100 FRESH FROZEN BEEF (416) 655-4721 ti 25' lb. Most popular dry dug food 25-50 lb. bags as low as S 10.05 per 50 lb. bag LAST TRAINING CLASS FOR THE SEASON STARIS FEBRUARY 4, 1975 We Delîver MAKE YOUR HOME MORE LIVABLE WITI4 A [jet-N Remodel your kitchen or bathroom caîl or visit our showroom Sfree estimate OIL WHITBY 668-3381 MITCHELL' BROTHERS, BRuilding Supplies, Ltd. Brooklin, 655-4991