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Page 20, Whitby Free Press. Weéh'éieaY. 4-I7.0 By Mark Reesor Canada needs to maintain a strong telecommunications sys- tem if it wants to remain con- petitive internationally, says Bell Canada -vice president Jim Schram. Schram told the Durham Region Manufacturers Associa- tion (DRMA) it's clear "informa- tion technology is going to drive business in the nineties and tele- communications is a critical part of it... "It's become indispensable because of its ability to enhance productivity, increase efficiency and improve effectiveness." As proof he points to a U.S. study in 1991 which found that for every dollar spent on telecom- munications, business saved $1.64 in labour, transportation and courier costs. That works out to a savings of $81 billion in labour alone over a 20-year period, says Schram. "We did our usual divide-by-10 routine and came up with an $8-billion savings in Canada due to telecommunications efficien- cies." In fact, some people say tele- communications in the nineties is as important as railways were during the industrial age, says Schram. "That makes some sense, because in that age, everything related primarily to moving goods and when you look at things in the nineties, we're pri- marily preoccupied in moving in- formation... "When you listen to Tom Peters talk about American Air- lines' reservation system generating more income for American Airlines than the air- line does, and TV Guide generat- He says Bell Canada, Northern Telecom and Bell Northern Research spent $1 billion in research and development last year. Public policy that decreed tele- phones be accessible and afford- able to all is a big reason so many Canadians are wired in, but Schram says it's been made possible by "a rather elaborate system of cross-subsidy between long distance and local service." Bell Ontario makes an average of 27 cents a minute on the average long distance caîl "and 17 cents of that goes to cross- subsidizing our local service," JIM SCHRAM ing more income than do the TV stations in theStates, you start to realize howi important the movement that handles informa- tion has become in the nineties." Canada is well-placed to meet the challenges of the information age, according to Schram, who says nearly 99 per cent of all households have phones -- "we've led the U.S. in this area for 30 years." Schram says Bell Canada has been spending some $2 billion a year for the last several years on capital projects in Canada -- things like digital switching euipment, for example. rhree or four years ago Bell was behind the Americans and even its partners in Telecom Canada in that area, he says. Now its local and long distance sides will be "100 per cent digit- ized" by the end of next year, "which puts us only behind . France in terms of the G7 coun- tries in digitization." says Schram. "If you wonder why our con- petition has been able to come in and undercut us, it's not because thoir costo are lower. You can see where an awful lot of our contri- bution is going -- to support our local service.» Competing long distance ser- vices have taken a big chunk of Bells' long distance revenues, according to Schram. While the CRTC projected they"might get 2 per cent of the marketby 1994, they actually picked up 6 er cent of the market by the en of 1992, he says. That's why Bell is asking for more money, says Schram. Although the company had record profits in 1992, "the fact 18 our regulatory system works in advance. It's not good enough to go through the year and prove to te commission that you had a shortfall and then go back and get the money to make it up... "The only way that you have a chance of staying whole is to project the year ahead, and when we did our projections into «93... thingsjust didn't add up. Schram says without a rate increase, Bell is facing a shortfall of $650 million in 1994. 'Food for Food' at Subway By Cheryl-Ann MacKean Whitby's Subway restaurant will holda 'ood for Food' drive -- exchanging non-perishable food items for submarine sand- wiches -- on April 18. "I will try te, collect as much food as I can," says owner Said Salamat of the fundraising drive for the local food bank. The event will start at 3 p.m. and continue for 99 minutes. Whitby Mayor Tom Edwards will be at the restaurant to help collect food from people. Patrons who bring in at least one non-perishable food item will receive a free six-inch sub- marine. The donations will go to the local food bank for distribution in Whitby. Ail Subway locations in Canada and the U.S. will be conducting the same food drive on the same day at the same heur. This is the franchise's first year organizing, the food drive but, "I'm sure it will run very good,»Y says Salamat. Patrons can donate as many as 50 food items, and they can bring them in on any day, not just The Durham Business & Pro- fessional Women's Club will meet on Wednesday, April 28 in Port Perry Elizabeth MacArthur will dis- cuss 'Cultural Diversity.' Cost is $25 for members, $30 for non- members. The meeting will be held at the during the 99-minute event. Salamat will have about seven or eight employees working that day, boginning early in the morning so that the bread can be baked fresh. "I'm expecting a lot of people, says Salamat. Dreamerest Equestrian Centre (formerly Greystone), on Simcoe St. S., Port Perry. For reservations or more infor- mation, call Karen Graham at 427-6930, Joanne Cox at 571- 0473 or Joan Ann Evelyn at 725-9179.