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THE HERALD Wednesday November 1989- Page 13 Cash in on proposed changes to credit card regulations Over the last couple of days you may have heard about some recommendations coming from Ot tawa on how the rules regarding credit cards should be changed Its not a major issue which will change life as we know it but its not trivial either The changes come from the House of Commons committee which Im chairman of and theyre intended to give maximum protection to the consumer to ful ly inform peopJe of the true costs of credit cards and to make sure in rates dont get out of control Im writing this column on the weekend before Dorothy and I head off back to Ottawa so I cant reveal exactly what these changes are Monday morning 1 will get up in the House and table my report and until then everything must main a secret But I can give you a glimpse into how these things happen Last June the committee decided that credit card rates of up to 28 per cent were kind of steep and that banks and retailers may not be giving folks all the info they could use to lower the costs of us ing plastic So we called witnesses and held a series of hearings Over the summer researchers working for the committee prepared background paper on the issue then a draft report on the evidence we d heard Finally working with the researchers I worked up a senes of recommen dations on how the system might be made more fair for average people The committee met behind clos ed doors for about six hours and went over the report page by page making changes and alterations and improvements Then last week we met to discuss the recom mendations This was when the tension level exploded On the committee are members of all three political parties all coming to the table with their own agendas Those from the NDP wanted major interventions in cluding a deep roll back in existing interest rates Others from the government side came determined to fight for the status quo Some committee members had been heavily influenced by the banking community others had less than a perfect knowledge of the complex issue they were about to wade into At the head of the table it was my job to try and find a consensus and above all to do the responsible thing We were about to recom mend changes to Parliament and to demand a response from the government What we decide could have a major impact on a lot of people after all there are 20 million credit cards in Canada with annual sales of an incredible billion We sat down last Thursday mor ning to study the 12 recommenda for change When we finished after a couple of interruptions it Sunnybrook veterans visit Legion Legion Lines J T HAYES Branch 120 PRO Last Sunday afternoon saw the annual visit of the Sunnybrook vets This visit is the branch gesture of appreciation to those who served and are now suf fering the price of service The ladies of the auxiliary prepared and the officers and members of the branch served a supper to our guests This followed an afternoon of entertainment by Jack Turner and Tony and Branch 120 stalwarts Cairns and Ruby Bailey Ray Clarke also assisted by leading a sing along As usual Fred tickled the ivories I forget how many years he has been turning out or this very special day On Oct 28 new members were initiated into the branch and were present to see honors and awards chairman Mac McLean and branch president Hank Russell award past officers medals to com Bea Clarke and Doris Chamberlain for their service as branch secretaries An evenings entertainment followed with music by Moonlighting FRIDAY NIGHT EUCHRE This weeks winners High lady Vi Hewitt second tie between Doris and Jean Harley most lone hands Floss Tracy High gent Charlie Sheppard second tie bet ween Gord Harley and Da Switzer most lone hands Chuck Tutty SATURDAY AFTERNOON MEAT DRAW- Winners Doris Allen Clarke Eric Clarke Joe Louth Bryon Greig Helen Cloutier Jim Hayes John Herman Nicholson and Bob Tost The roast was won by Harold Badham Poppy chairman Jean Narey is still looking for branch members who are willing to spare a couple of hours to assist with the campaign MEMBERSHIP You will be reading these notes on Wednesday Nov that gives you exactly 3C days to be an early bird So what you say well last year I got my dues returned as a result of be ing in the draw The odds aren bad pay now it could be your turn to win ENTERTAINMENT In the lounge on Nov Peter Edge At the Remembrance Supper or Nov 10 thats Friday remember music by Arrow PS Got your ticket There will be a meeting of tht Plymouth Committee on Wednes day Nov 1 at 8pm in the lounge DENTURE THERAPY CLINIC TH Denture Therapist 72 Mill St Georgetown 8778974 102EastDr Bramalea annum M 7912314 RESHAPE FAST With the SETMEFREE BODY WRAP Ho Shots Cteims Effort No Steam No Silt No Mintnls No Perspiring No Chemicals Appointments Mon Wed Frt between Centre EVERY SUNDAY LIVE HOMEMADE PIES Donutt Baked Dally on Premises Georgetown 8731211 DAY CARE 12Mos Up 6a Also Evenings and Weekends And Delivery Hot Lunches Snacks Games Muslo Lots of Toys Car Trips VERY REASONABLE RATES For More Information Plait Call 8732577 Two Land Division Committee members quit was seven oclock that night The last session had taken almost four hours During every minute there was intensity and not a little pas Committee members argued over every point forcing me to again and again to keep the discussion moving forward There was always the danger in that room of falling into fixed party positions which can end up paralyzing just about everything that happens in Ottawa Im learning In the end however we did work together Liberals New Democrats and Conservatives agreed on all but one of mendations On the last we had to have a formal vote and while there were strong opinions on both sides it did not break down along party lines The report will be a controver one and Im convinced the committee and me will take a lot of flak for suggesting big changes to strengthen the hand of the con sumer There are a number of peo ple in business who think cians should keep their hands out of the marketplace I can certainly understand the feeling but the free market has to be reminded from time to time that consumers can be pretty vulnerable With the explosion of plastic credit in our society when all kinds of cards are thrust upon us and when the temptation to say charge it is so great we need peopleoriented rules It was our attempt last week to do that in Ottawa And in doing so some of those destructive political fences came crashing down Two members of Haltons Land Division Committee the all citizen group that reviews land severance applications in the Region will resign as of Jan 1 John Walker of Halton Hills and John of Burl gave their notice recently to Halton Regional councillors The pair say they are too busy to continue their duties with the LDC UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP MANAGEMENT The eightmember allcitizens committee was under public scrutiny earlier this year when Regional Police acted on a citizen complaint and arrested three people including a former secretary for involvement in illegal land severances New members of the were named last spring Gini Wanda are available for your complete hair service NOVEMBER STREAK SPECIAL SAVES Reg On This Month 15 TINTS- SAVE 00 Reg This Month 235 GUELPH ST BESIDE BURGER KING SCISSORS SERVICE THAT WILL GO TO YOUR HEAD Typically Robert K smith 133 Downtown 821 7490