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Page 8. Whitby Free PrAiss. Wednesday, JuIy 7. 1993 Former. Consorium head back, to, face chags KATIE CAMPBELL takes a big bite of her hotdog at the VVet yne laa oyl aPhomto b M a s Whl tbyFe r WaietmLneplzaf o yaheChlBns Ws rectnrisng BQt raise Poney or eaCkildren's Wish Foundation PRIME COMMERCIAL' SPACE FOR LEASE In downtown Port Perry approx. 3000 sq. ft. Air conditioned. Lots of private parking. Suitable for retail or restaurant development in the downtown core. Reasonable longterm lease available. Cati 436-3025 ADVERTISING POLICY The Whitby Free Press is a business whlch derives almost ail ils revenue from advertislng in one form or another. For obvious self-interest. we want our clients' advertising to work. Our policy ls to reach as many homes In Whltby as possible (usualfy more than 99%) and to provide local high-lnterest content that ensures that people read the paper and hence the advertlsing as weil. We urge readers t0 patronize our advertlsers in order that we can provide even better coverage in the future. We also stress creativity. We wî!ll provide our professitinal experience to advise dlients on ways Io make their a dverising more effective, but for a product that cannot be repossessed. there are no guarantees. We stuive to avoid errors. but when we make them, a correction will be made in a subsequent issue or a discount offered. The newspapers legallabiy is only for the actual spaoe occupied by the error. dfo Advrtsng is sold accordinig 10 me space il occupies. No additional charge is mad o artwork or layout Rind hence the newspaper retains the copyright on ail its original work. The newspaper reserves the right to refuse advertising which il finds objectionable or detrimental Io ils business. By MileKowalski A court hearng 'Ill be held Thursday for the foýer head of a Whitby company which swin- dled millions of dollars. Pia Fox (formerly Williamson) was remanded to tomorrew's court date following her appearanco in Ontario court pro- vincial division in Oshawa on Monday. TIhursday's hearing, may possi- bly dotermine theo disposition of charges laid against Fox 36, for ber role as owner of e honow banrp osortium Group of Moethan 800 people, most of whom lîve in Durham Region, invested $15 million in real estate deals the company clai- med te, have had in Oshawa, Muekoka and the Caribbean. Fox who was extradited te Cansila fromn England last week, is being held in custody pending the outcome of charges lad by RCMP last year. She faces four counts of fraud theft over $1,000 and criminai breach of trust. As a result of the scam, a lifetime trading ban was imposed on Fox by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) lest month. Earlier this year, 21 former Consortium Group sales refpre- sentatives were aIse banned from trading for periods of up te two years. In addition, Fox, wbo lhad eva- ded authorities until ber arrest in London, England in Marcb, must answer te, a conviction for illegally selling securities. Fox was finod $360,000 and sentenced te 21 months in jail in June 1992. She nover appeared for tAat Ontario court trial and was living in Florida prier te ber fieeingtoEngland. Other than te tell the Freo Prose that his client had reniar- ried, defence counsel Oscar Mul- lerbeck had ne comment on temorrow'?s pro-trial hearinq. The pivate hearing will bo hold tefore Judgo Donald Dodds in the latter's chambers. Crown atterney Scott Hutchi- son of Toronte said the hearing wiIl determine bew the matter will proceed, but ho tee would net speculate on the outcome. Hutchison's office, which handles Supreme Court appeals and special prosecutions, is pro- secuting the RCMP charges againsteFX. gFox founded Consortium with ber late bupband Lachian Wil- liamson in 1990. The following year the com- pany was placed in receivership. Evidenoe from ber OSC hear- ing stated that Consortium in- vesters were net paid off with money from the real estate tran- sactions but from new people investing money in tbe company. Trent 0 b U niversity at Durham College FaII-Winter Session More than 35 courses are offered weekday evenings or Saurday morning. Willimson berself teok almost $2 million for ber persenal use during the- 21 months prier te tbo company being placod in receDivership. OSC lawyers said investers will be fortunate te get back 10 cents on each dollar invested. Governments stiflng business By Bob Matheson Canaclian Taxpayers Federation According te Webster's, an entrepreneur is a person who assumes the risk of opening and manaing a new business venture in exchange for the possibility of profit. As Canadians, we must ask oursolves a very simple question: What bas happened te the entrepreneurial spirin htmd our country great? Clearly, the risks of starting a new enterprise are becomiàng too great considering the profits tbat cen be oxpected. Why -are the risks tee great? A recent report of a special Commons committee reveals that there are 200,000 federal orders and regulations that apply te businesses, many of wbich are ulninecessaEry and stifle new business activities. There are even more provincial end municipal bylaws, rules and restrictions. In sbort, bureaucracy is killing new businesses before they get off the ground. Banks, that pviusly provided the capital neeedfor these purposes, bave satisfied tbemselves with previding only tboso boans for which repaymont is certain, creating an ever- greater demand for goverrnments te "do somethine' te fix the problem they had a hand in creating in the first place. For this reason, govormoent programs have been put in place te reduce the risk of starting a new business. New companies can recoive start-up money and oxisting businesses cari get assistance te expand and grow.. Howevor, govermoents bave proven te -be only as good at choosing winners in business as in controling the deficit. How much botter it would have been if government bad simply created an economnic climate that encouraged entreproneursbip.. I have been involved in numerous business start-ups over the past 40 years. L, with scores of my fiiends and associates, have pooled our resources, talents and enorgies, and commenced ventures that were as diverse, varied and distinctive as tbe people wbo were involved. We bave built aparttnent buildings, produced t'eature- SEPAGE 18 JOHN TROUP, manager of a new 'self -employment mentor oentre' which opened last week at Oshawa Centre, shows George Holtomn how to tind the business start-up guide he's interested in. The centre, a joint proJect of Oshawa Centre, the Toronto School of Business and Canada Employment, is open to the public, free of char ge. Photo by Mark Reesor. Whitby Free Press