The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

N oe a | fp Sownant | dean Kelly orn er - THE RIGHT TO KNOW The "fourth estate" (the press) has an obligation to make the public aware of all facts in controversial issues so that they can make a proper judgement. With so many handouts and Public Relations people working for governments and big business the truth is often hidden or glossed over. Lobbyists are continual- ly pushing for favourable legislation for their com- panies while the small independent businessman cannot afford such a luxury. Although little is heard about lobbyists in Canada, they are active in Ottawa and provincial capitals. A recent disclosure by Sen. Jacob Javits of New York said that "an army of nearly 12,000 lobbyists with a BILLION dollars at their disposal have descended on Washington to get special favours for corporations and other special interests" Lobbyists have virtually taken over the U.S. government--they are so powerful . that they write part of almost every bill passed by congress. COMMON CAUSE a public interest group says the Energy Conservation Act "was weakened to a point of meaningless by powerfu) lobbyB*= 'They charged that General Electric and other multi-nation- al corporations won a tax break that cost the taxpayers a whopping $1.5 BILLION. The group said it was a matter of public record that 12 of the committee members had received contributions from General Electric." Senator Edward Kennedy charged "Day after day, lobbyists spend a vast amount of influence money in secretive ways for secret purposes. It's a national disgrace." Even makers of pizzas and toilet seats have lobbyists in Washington. A Ralph Nadar group attorney unmasked what he calls the "INVISIBLE GOVERNMENT" ...where top lawyers use their power to gain hugé profits at public expense. Maybe the Nader group should look into the foreign oil company lobbyists in Ottawa? Lockheed (paid $200 million) and Gulf oil have beer involved in pay-offs. : Co Even the food we eat is in part controlled by powerful lobbyists. The FDA for example was about _to introduce legislation that peanut butter contain no more than 3 percent LARD. Proctor and Gamble set its lawyers to work and the FDA came 'out with ~ city doing so. The bill for policing the games is a Cola paid $1.2 million to be designated the "official . Soft drink" while Molson's, a Quebec company got the same deal for $200 thousand, for its "suds. % Just THINK, IF THIS HAD BECOME | THE SKY SHOPS CONCESSION --- WE'D BE 5177IN' ON A LOJJA GREEN STUFF legislation which did not include the 3 percent limit on hydrogenated oils. (considered by nutritionists as bad - for _health).- There -are-no doubt "similiar cases in Canada but the laxity of the press and the lack of good investigative reporters have failed to bring these to the public eye. WHO SPEAKS FOR THE CONSUMER? The individual has little protection and can neither afford the time nor the money to fight for his rights. I : see case after case where the consumer is being ripped-off every day and little is done about it. OMBUDSMEN can only act in specific cases where the individual has been wronged by a government department. The Toronto Star in an article by Douglas Fullerton (former economic adviser to Ottawa) titled "Don't dare try to buck the patronage system in Ottawa" says "THE LEGAL PROFESSION IN THIS COUNTRY HAS A LONG AND WELL-ESTABLISH- ED PATRONAGE TRADITION - government business goes to friends of the party in power". . Revelations that Central Mortgage and Housing Corp. has been forced to choose Quebec notaries from a government approved list should come as a surprise to no one, least of all parliamentarians' says the Star. (24 Ontario Housing Corp. and Ministry of Gov't. Services employees have been charged with bribery). No doubt the best investigative reporting of the century goes to two-young men - Woodward and Bernstein of the Washington Post who through their persistant digging revealed the Watergate Affair. g Their story is being told in a new movie from their book "All the Presidents Men" with Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford. * Another example of good reporting is by Ben Bradlee executive-editor of the Washington Post (a most respected paper) and formerly of Newsweek who has just published a new book *'Conversations with Kennedy". In it he reveals many facets of President Kennedy and Jacqueline. One, of these private conversations according to Bradlee (a close friend of the Kennedy's) was that Kennedy was in favour of legalized abortion, but could not speak of it publicly as he was a Roman Catholic. One of the best investigative TV show is W-5. I was . fortunate to work on its fore runner "This Hour has ° Seven Days' on CBC-TV, a shocker in its day. -TV '60 Minutes" is one of the finest information shows on TV. This week they took a look at the whole Olympic scandal. The unfinished stadium costing $800 million is 5 TIMES MORE than the niost elaborate stadiums on earth, The money spent on the Olympics could build houses for 120,000 people. Montreal had to delay building its long overdue sewage treatment plant for several years while they continue to dump untreated raw sewage into the St. Lawrence...the only major reported $100 million. Another interesting note: Coca oT. SR ] | a RI ot our job "There's a tendancy for a lot of people to think. - there's a government department for every concern that might possibly confront us, but every now and then we catch a glimpse of how downright inadequate some of these government services are. - Take, for example, the proposals by Scugog Island" resort owner Phil Goreski to expand his trailer park operation from 100 to 150. While there may not be a single thing wrong with what Mr. Goreski is planning, it seems that the onus is on the township to ensure that adequate facilities are available at the site. That's despite the fact that there are a handful of government departments...from the resources minis- \ try to the tourism ministry...who must approve such an expansion, As local council has found out, such approval is made on some questionable grounds...at least in the eyes of local residents. According to tourism officials on hand at a recent meeting of council; their approval is given on a basis of square footage per site. There's -apparently no tourism department regulations that require even a minimum of play, recreation, or open space areas. So, it seems, it's up to local councils to regulate such things...a job they are hardly experienced in. Council has already run into a number of snags that reveal the kind of dilema that confronts them. How: do we determine 'adequate' recreation area, play or parking area for a tourist establishment? council had to ask itself. Phil Goreski, who may have a perfectly legitimate case for expanding his establishment, will be further held up by a council that is ill-prepared and inexperienced in the operation of tourist establish- ments. Good buck in guns With the United States and Soviet Union committed _to something called detente and with the closer "relations developing between China and the West, it might seem that concern for disarmament is a throwback to Cold War days. But the fact remains that the sale of arms and the development of new and more lethal methods of destruction is one of the leading industries in our world today. In 1974, the last year in which statistics are available, the United States, Russia and Western Europe spent more than $300 billion on armaments alone. The growing nuclear capability of some emerging nations and civil wars, terrorist tactics and constant border skirmishes that are constantly before us make - it clear that peace has not come with the conclusion of the Vietnam conflict. How can it, when wealthy and powerful nations allow almost indiscriminate manufacture and sale of --arms? How can it when the big powers store and develop ever more sophisticated weapons of unbeliev- able destruction capability? : Almost forgotten during the confusion of 1975 was a significant agreement signed among European powers that offers an alternative to the mindless dependence on violent means for settling disputes. The Helsinki Agreement on Security and Co-oper- ation in Europe in 1975 could be a sign of hope in a world torn apart by opposing ideologies and divided by conflicting interests. The European nations that signed the agreement enunciated. 10 principles 'for governing relations between countries that make it clear that arms will never provide an answer for settling disagreements. - The Ten Principles require a climate of trust if they are to be implemented. So far only European nations -are Involved...and not all of these...but 'surely these principles should serve as the cornerstone for any country's foreign poticy:> 1. Sovereign equality, respect for the rights inherent in sovereignty. 2. Refraining from the threat of use of force. 3. Inviolability of frontiers. 4. Territorial Integrity of States. 5. Peaceful settlement of disputes. 6. Non-intervention in internal affairs. 7. Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, -inclyding the freedom of 8. thought, conscience, religion or belief. 9. Equal rights and self-determination of peoples. Co:operation among States. ~ 10. Fulfilment In good faith of obligations under international law. With these as priorities, massive defense spending could end and those budgets diverted to meet the - 'needs of people. It is not naive to speak of such ~ principles for realism demands an end to the arms industry, if we are to have peace.