WHITBY FREE PRESS, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1973e PAGE 3 MP Broadbent Ioud and clear in food de bate' With compelling, hard hit- ting rhetoric on the floor of the House of Conons last week, Oshawa-Whltby NDP Bd Broadbent appealed to parliarnent on the kind of role it should pursue in light of crisis problenis soaring food costs are caLsing Canadian poor and pensioners. His lively redress followed a House of Comimons motion that a special conîmittee be appointed to enquire into and inake recommnendat ions ti0fl the trends in food prices in Canada and factors dornestic and foreign whiclî are ac- counting for these trends. He particularly assailed ver- bally Tory poliicians, who lie said camipaigned with docu- niented proof on the gravity offlood costs but who are nlow deinonstrat ing lit tIc actioni in correcting Ithemn. "Aîiyone with ani ounce of' braitîs and two ounices of* polit ical coinifitinenit to tliis iim portan t issue should kniow tha t sucli an anenidnien t is coinpletely idiotie." lte said in cruiîcizing diec îhrcc monthl tiiie allotînen t proposcd for the study. "The commiiit tee," lie said. slîould deal ini a conicrete way with issues tlîat could have an effect flot ini six tuonîlîs but within a ycar in ternis of' a pernianien t, loiig-range pricing policy on food iin Canada. But the -miîn thirust of the cotnniiittee's work should be conicerncd with a recomnien- dation to keep food prices in Canada down so that Cana- dians witlh an average incorne, and ini particular those who are poor, cai afford to cat well." "And first of aIl, tliis coin- niiittee cati fiiid out who is gctîing the food dollar, the farier or the miiddlemianl," [ie said. "We know somne facts on this already. We kiiow that ini 1949, for example, the fariner was gcttiîîg 57 cents of every dollar spent on food, while ini I972, last year, his share lîad dropped f0 38 cents." It is quite clear," lie said, "that farniers ini Canada are by no mecans getting tlicir share- of thie food dollar, at least on the basis of preliini- ary evidence. Tlhe net incone of fariners f roiiithecir tiarin operations declinied in thue las! three-year period, wlîen the aîverage inicoume of oiler Cana- diatis was goînig p. f romn 1968 to 197 1 hy 8 pe r cenlt. " Aniother prime factor tlhe commiiit tee silould be dealinig witlî is wîa t real impact tlhe packaginîg industry lias on f'ood prices. what reui impact advertising has on thc share of the dollar spent, and how il contributes to the rising cost of food, he adviscd. He also voiced concern that studies conductcd within the larger Canadian cities and more particularly ini the United States have now iidi- cated that the large super- markets charge poor people the most for their products. "In the ghetto areas of large cities," lie said, "thie cost of basic commodities suchi as meat, rnilk and bread are fre- quenlly higher than they are in upper-inconie suburbs. One of thîe reasons l'or tlîis, lie advised, is tlîat thîe mobility of IL)oe-iiicoliiîe eitizenls is substantially less thiami the more affluent, and thus stores ini those areas have a captive mîarket and, if you like, ean gouge poor. people. Il' this is tie case, lie said, 1 for one, think it should bc stopped." "Aiotlier apparenit trenîd shows that old age penisioiiers arc eatiiîg a very substandard diet, a low protein diet, low iii essen tial vitamîins. Anyý st udy thai seriously looks ut food prices certainly niîust exanumie that question, i ,'[e said. Suggcsting tiat thue coin- mncîe oughit to suiînion be- fore it the hecads of large supernarkets lie said, "I for one would like to get thue hie.ds of' Lobluws, ICA, Stein- bers, Cunradiani Safeway and Domninioni Stores bef'ore the commit tee Io explain their profits. For exaniple, Loblaws, after taxes, recently shiowed a profit of 6.5 per cent, ICA 0.7 per cent, ýSteinbergs 9.1 per cent, Caniadian Safeway 10.2 per cenit anid Domnîion Stores 11.2 per cent. In the, case ýof thie latter three il sceeîîs to nie that exorbitant, unwarranted profits are being nmade. It may be thal tlîe heads of those companies could present testimnony that would show they warrantî tiiese profit figures, but I doubt it. "Perlîaps the coîninitîe could look into and seriously consi.der thec fèasibility of fi- niancing more direct charge co-ops. 1 know that in Hali- fax, Hamilton and in mny own consîituency, Oshawa, direct charge co-ops began operating amnd have been operating withî sonie succcss. Wlîcre îhey have not turncd out weIl lis been in a nuiîber of conimunities whiece iniost imîportanit factor was thîe absence of Sig- nificauit fiîîaîcial resources. lIn Oshîawa and Hamilton tlîe organized trade union miove- ment played an important role ini their initial financing. I would like the conîiiîtee to consider what rote federal fi- nuîicing miglît play ini the spread of direct charge co-ops across thiecountry, as one means of keeping down food prices. A direct charge co-op seils prodLîcts for cost plus teil per cent. Tlîat means compared with tlîe profit mar- gins of the leadinlg superniar- kets, ini terrms of their total assets thcy are operating a! a profit of perhiaps one per cent, and that is why co-ops should be seriously considered ini ternisof profit ini keeping food at hîgli price levels. Following lus impassioned pleas, Mr. Broadbent was quesîioned by Linzoln Alex-' anlder (Hamilton West) who asked in rejoinder, "If îlîings arc so great f'or superinarkcts, why are so many Loblaws stores closing criiniasse across the country." I would flot attcrrnpt to give a definitive answer and that is why 1 support the mno- ion for a committee to look. at the question. Perhaps one of the reasons is that i f lhcy (food chains) are rationalizing the number of their outlets in the city so that they rnay gel a better profit per store, in thal way their overheads are going down, their rents and 50 on," answered Mr. Broadbent. Mr. Broadbent, a lively cru- sader on tic Canadian food cost issue for soi-ne time, de- mionstrates a, relentlessness in keeping the problem before J07 MP ED BROADBENT the cabinet and is winning respect from concernied mem- bers from bothi the Liberal and Conservative Parties in this vital malter. Sea Cadets C orps on increase after WHITBY--Fiftcen ncw re- pressei cruits have joined the Royal who Canadian Sca Cadet Corps boats Witby and tlucre is stili room t(.)tle for I15 more, Commanding Royal Officer Capt. Joe Frendo- donat- Cumbo CD. said, following a bugle receuîl rccruiling drive. The B Capt. Fremdo-Cumbo said naîed lie had rcceived calîs from lion ir parents ini Ajax, Whitby, Legio, Brookîin, Pickering and even Th( Oshawa. assiste RCSCC Wiitby's program ing ou imcludes a band, scuba diving, dinner seamanship training, rifle drill, of the shooting and Leading Sea- suranc man's courses. Cadets are eh- Gestel gible for scholarship when corps. they are ready for college, Cal depending on quotas and thanki qualifications. Club, Navy In the summer there are Auxili camping trips, cruises, cadet -Tr exchanges and sailing courses. cadelù Capt. Frendo-Cumbo ex- Schoc drive ed his thanks to those have donated sailing and a ship's bell, and eBrooklin branch of the iCanadiaui Legion which ced funds for an entire Ssection for the band. Brooklin Legion also do- 1the band's trumpet sec- in 197 1, and the Whitby n provided the drums. ce Whitby Legion also ýd the sea cadets in help- )ut with their Christmas -r, and Dr. R. Hildreth ,Manufacturers Life In- ice Company donated a :ner machine to the apt. Frendo-Cumnbo also ked the Whitby Yacht Sailing Sehool and the League and its Ladies' diary for a job well done. raining nights for the sea ts arc at Coiborne Street )o Wednesday nights. Try Sec cable. the todaty difference Enjoy Cable-Clear reception on your T.V. set. CALL TODAY for 12 clear stations filled with more movies and sports - without an antenna! Don't watch one more with poor reception. Start program enj oying your T.V. today. Just $4.95 a month plus a small connection charge. Extra setsand FM radios just $3.OO a month. CALL TODAY! OSHAWA 579-2232 WHITBY 668-9331 BOWMANVI LLE 623-2506 «5 cabletv Says Loblaws and ottier major food chains, who are profiting lhandsomely on the backs of thie poor, pois.hould be called before Parliament to explain profits. 1 TEWETIYE PRES (Volce ot the Cwinty Town) Hometown paper pf Whitby, Brooklin, Myrtie - - and Ashburn; serving Ajax and Pickering. Published every Thursday Ptl)ished liv wVIiîliy Irix pre....ic~. 21I2 Brock St. Southi. Wliilw.' Mail Hox 206, Whitby. l'hile~ 66"4>111 or 668-611 I2 Geileral Manager- W. "bill**t)urki.re EHitor; Judy I>urktqcMILN 1:.iturial Stalf::Blli WilliamsiMILN sport%. kijior: Doug wCales PERMITI Advertising: Rosi Win..îaily NO. 294 I BEFORE CABLE TV AFTER CABLE TV -77, -- 7 7