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Toys dangerous Its question not enough parents keep in mind when shopping for their childrens playthings argues the local chapter of the Consumers Association of Canada Toy eyes that can be pulled off and swallowed stuffing or materials that will catch fire quickly or games easily broken into sharp Consumers Week pieces are some of the things parents should watch for As part of national Con sumers Week to begin Monday representative from the federal department of consumer and corporate affairs will speak at the Barrie Public Library Saturday about toy safety Examiner Photo Time for the little guy By CHRIS MONTGOMERY Examiner Staff Reporter Consumers Week Time for all the little guys with the nickles and dimes in their pockets to flex their col lective muscle To take look at what theyre getting for the dollar they lay out And to learn what to do about those times when they dont get their 100 cents worth The week sponsored nation wide by the Consumers AS sociation of Canada will begin Monday and aim at promoting the cause of consumerism The 375member association formed locally about six years ago works to educate con sumers about what to look for when buying merchandise and to act on their behalf when pur chases or service is not satisfactory Without source of funding the association operates through its volunteer members and promotes its cause through Wednesday morning callin show on CKBB Only 25 per cent of the annual $8 membership fee is returned to the Barrie club leaving it without money for an office or advertising The associations project for Consumers Week is com parative list of toy prices The toys chosen from safetytested list drawn up by the national Toy Testing Coun cil will be checked at all major stores for prices The list planned for distribu tion in several weeks will be sold at cost by association members Appearing at the Barrie Public Library Oct 29 will be representative from the federal department of consumer and corporate affairs who will speak about toy safety and demonstrate hazardous toys The display and talk will run from 10 am to pm at the Mulcaster Street building In addition to fielding ques tions during the radio show the group investigates complaints forwarded to it by consumers and attempts to teach the com plainant to remedy the situa tion himself When individual efforts fail the association often acts as ad vocate on behalf of the con sumer in contacting both the merchant or dealer or in for warding the complaint to the appropriate govermnent agen cy Local lawyer Richard Whilcy an active member of the association acts as legal adviser to the group and has done work on its behalf Complaints fielded by the association have touched every aspect of purchasing the ap proximately 25 calls handled per week the split between male and female caller is about even says member Suzanne Cherry Knowing exactly what your rights are is the first rule of complaining Suzanne Cherry Consumer Advocate Youve pulled into small hotel for the night You pay the $16 for your room Youre given the key and shown to the door contract has been made youve paid and theyve provid ed Once in the room you discover that the blackand white television has no cable connection and receives only one channel unlike the $13 room with color cable television that you rented last nighti The water isnt very hot and the pressure is barely strong enough for shower The bed feels like its made of straw and the blanket is too thin to keep you warm The electric radio isnt working Youre now consumer in bind Its not the average consumer bind most deal with either faulty merchandise or mis leading claims ve but you think that somehow you havent been given fair deal for your money So what do you do Who do you complain to and how Whats reasonable for you to have expected First off understand that youve got no legal recourse in remedying the situation You paid for room and you got it If you asked no questions and were given no written or verbal Eggmises about it you havent ntaken Its the first rule of complain ing know what your rights are under the circumstances Then learn the art of com plaining Go directly to the manager says local consumer advocate Suzanne Cherry Understand that clerks are nothing more than that They dont make decisions and they cant bend policy BE PRECISE Explain the case and how you feel youve been wronged Be certain to make clear what remedy youd like taken If youre not satisfied theres not much you can do for the night but put up with it or leave Then inform the manager in writing about your problem including particulars of time and money If youre still not satisfied you can complain in writing to the hotel motel or tourist association to which the owner belongs Above all else wait until youve calmed down to launch the complaint And be polite but firm The route for more common complaints those dealing with products is similar Once you ve calmed down approach the store manager Have the merchandise with you if possible and all tags or purchase slips connected with it If you get nowhere in person try written letter After reasonable amount of time approach either the owner of the store or chain in the case of service or the manufac turer in the case of the pro duct Those who dont wish to deal with merchants directly are ad vised to contact the Chamber of Commerce which can handle the local complaints on behalf of the consumer Legislation protects Consumers with complaints about purchases or services ma find they have the weight of elawbehindthem network of federal and pro vincial laws exists to govern quality control packaging advertising and marketing Crucial to the consumer are two sets of legislation the provincial Fair Businws Prac tices Act and the federal Misleading Advertising Act They deal with things such as pyramid sales schemes the way in which products may be represented and the penalties that businesses guilty of infrac tions may suffer If you have trouble making complaint or convincing yourself that its possible Miss Cherry suggests look at one of several howtocomplain books available through the library or bookstores TACTICS General mics about how to complain apply in most situa tions she says but specific tac tics are best suited to the per sonality of the complaint For example one book sug gests sending latenight telegrams to the managers of companies that delay or refuse to rectify legitimate com plaints second suggests that the complaintant simply plant himself in lineup and refuse to move until satisfied third advises that long handwritten letter coming across the desk of an executive will catch his eye more quickly than typed one The most successful com plainer concludes Miss Cherry is the one who knows her legal bargaining position the pro route for complaint an is willing to stick it out until satisfied The rest she adds is prac tise Consumers with possible complaints against businesses are advised to contact the Bar rie Chamber of Commerce on Fred Grant Street or the Bar rie chapter of the Canadian Consumers Association through research director Joy Wooland at 7260519 Legitimate complaints under the act can be forwarded through either of the associa tions or sent directly to either the business practices division of the ministry of consumer and commercial relations at Queens Park or the depart ment of consumer and cor porate affairs in the legislative uildings in Ottawa Being properlyinformed consumer is the other side of the consuming coin So you bought sofa last month and the arms have fallen off Not only that but the legs are loose and the material is already wearing thin Youre whats known as dissatisfied consumer You ma also be whats known as foo ish shopper The other side of the consum ing coinas important as the buyer who knows how to corn plain when hes wrongedis the consumer who knows better than to get taken in the first place Suzanne Cherry member of the Barrie branch of the Con sumers Association of Canada and Bob Holl ood manager of the Barrie hamber of Com merce agree on the im portance of informed con sumers In marketplace thats very real world and very hard world and where there are not freebies Hollywood advised consumers to do all they can to inform themselves before they spend their money And while consumers are tak ing the offensive and more often examining small pur chases than they did in the past Miss Cherry suggests that far more information is available to buyers than they might suspect Informed shopping for things nch as televisions radios food clothing and appliances have been made easier by the wealth of consumer informa tion in magazines and specializ ed consumer publications says Miss Cherry And the more determined attitude of shop pers to price and quality comparison has led to greater willingness by merchants to ex plain merchandise The easiest thing consumer can do say Hollywood is ask as many people as many questions as possible Neighbors are the best source of references for household and other goods and especially for advice about ser vices he says LARGER PURCHASES Miss Cherry advises the same holds true of larger purchases rugs houses and auto mobiles for exam le Real estate boards can he with in formation about how to pick an agent and about how to make full use of his services good number of the com plaints directed to the associa tion through its weekly radio show deal with clothing that has failed to withstand either wear or cleaning Some of the consumers would have been saved their pro blems advises Miss Cherry if theyd taken more care in the ori inal purchase su ests taking time for things 11 testing seams for strength tugging on buttons to see how securely theyre fastened checking for tags that indicate preshrinking and ex amining the manufacturers washing instructions realistic ap raisal of the garments qua ity or the quality of any other product is fair we to assess whether its worth price being ask ed Such an assessment goes Ion way toward preventing the fee ing that youve been taken when the purchase later seems flawed says Miss Cherry The best way to shop say both Hollywood and Miss Cherr is with an eye to get ting most for dollar by knowing as much about your purchase as possible the examiner Saturday Oct 22 1017 1a Tourist trade increase experienced in Huronia By JOHN BRUCE Examiner Staff Reporter Early predictions for good summer tourist season proved right Good weather in May June and July the new Collingwood slide and fewer competing at tractions brought more tourists to the Huronia Muskoka and GreyBruce tourist area last summer than in 1976 About 1500000 cars passed through the gates of the provin cial parks at Wasaga Beach according to the local Chamber of Commerce while Blue Mountain Resorts Ltd reported that more than 100000 people took The Great Slide Ride west of Collingwood Vern Telford manager of the Ontario Ministry of Industry Trade and Tourism information office on Highway 400 said the number of inquiries at the of fice were up about 13 per cent in July August and September compared to the same three months last year Ste Marie Among the Hurons near Midland reported an in crease of about 10000 visitors this year compared to 1976 he said The Collingwood area record ed considerable increase in the number of visitors this year Telford said because of the new slide ride GOOD FALL Good fall fishing for salmon muskie and pickerel helped keep the tourists coming to the Huronia region after Labor Day said adding that many tourists came to this are to see the fall colors because leaves in other areas were 80 to 90 per cent turned by midSept ember Overall Telford said the Huronia region experienced good increase this year com pared to other areas of the pro Vince Gord Canning vicepresident and general manager of Blue Mountain Resorts Ltd said more than 100000 visitors took the 3000foot ride down Blue Mountain between July 15 and Labour Day quelling manage ments fears that the slide would be merely fad Vern Telford sees good season ma Ready for winter WASIIINGIUN iAlt chases this winter PUEBLO olo tAIi to 40 reinforcin Charges KMart WASHINGTON AP nearly five million workers to $335 in 1981 Mines suffer because of tax policies TORONTO CP Manufac turing has become the darling of government policy at the ex pense of the mining industry RW Bagulcy senior econo mist for the Royal Bank of Can ada said today The miningindustry may be in danger of losing its political constituency he told mining investment seminar And this ma explain why illconceived an inappropriate tax policies have been initiated in recent years The oneday seminar was sponsored by the Canadian Council of Financial Analysts Baguley urged the govern ment to improve aftcrtax prof its for Canadian mining laxes paid as percentage of pretax profits have risen to about 41 per cent from 35 per cent in the early 19605 The rate for manufacturers has been stable at about 40 per cent We had man return cus tomers he sai adding that there were twohour lineups for the slide on Labor Day weekend It turned out to be an ex cellent summer business for ski resort he said Canning added that Blue Mountain will have new triple chairlift and $150000 of new snowmaking equipment for its ski slopes this winter in an ticipation of another banner ski season WASAGA BEACH Business in Wasaga Beach was extremely good until mid August said Carl Mitchell tourism director of the Wasaga Beach Chamber of Commerce He cited good weather in May June and July as the ma jor factor behind the early season boom but when the weather turned sour in August the tourist business in Wasaga Beach followed suit There is usually drop in midAugust Mitchell said but the weather made it lit tle more severe The Civic Holiday in August business notes New energy supply surveys iri dicate the US could get through severe winter this year without the extensive plant closings and layoffs that hit last winter An energy department survey shows the US should have enough fuel oil this winter to make up for expected shortages of natural gas At the same time the staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reported there may be more natural gas available for emergency pur Antidumping move rl Steel Corp has joined four other 78 steelmakers in an effort to stop five Japanese and two Indian steel firms from dumping concrete reinforcing steel strand on the US market In complaints to the treasury department the 178 companies say the foreign firms are dumping the strand on the US market at prices 22 per cent below prices in the countries of origin The bars are used extensively in bridge girders beams ant other building prixiucts KMart stores in Colorado and North Dakota have been accused by the US labor depart ment of violating federal wage laws by allegedly paying female employes less than that paid men for the same work it was announced Wednesday Minimum wage debate WASHINGTON AP The Senate is considering com promise version of the minimum wage bill that would push the US wage floor from $230 an hour to $835 an hour by 1981 The compromise expected to go to vote in the Senate today and then to the House would mean pay boosts for by Jan when the current minimum would jump to $265 Additional increases would push the minimum to $290 an hour in 1979 $1110 in 1980 and Stress communication Communication is the key for the Greater Barrie Chamber of Commerce both incoming and outgoing presidents told the chambers annual dinner meeting Thursday Dave Blenkarn formally installed Thursday and Ed DAVE BLENKARN new president tiy iu it had to improve is usually the towns best business weekend of the sum mer season he said but because of the weather the Vic toria Day weekend took top honors this year But despite the cold wet August weather Mitchell said about 15 million cars checked into the provincial park 60 per cent increase over 1906 1976 WAS BAD Boyd Robertson director of the Huronia Tourism Associa tion said 1977 was very good year compared to 1976 But that wasnt hard to do 1976 was bad year he said citing strong competition for tourist dollars from the Mon treal Olympics American bi centennial celebrations and bad weather The Collingwood slide broke all North American records fa first year attendance for that type of attraction he said Some gift shops say it was record year for them Robert son said and the service sta tions say theyre in good shape after the summer season Harper president for the past 19 months said the chamber and businessmen in general mist get their mes sage to the public We need further com munication with the man in the street to tell him that the wellbeing of the business community is his well being Blenkarn said He said the message must be expect less produce more Business comes in for heavy criticism Har said and we have to re these critics or our silence can be taken an admssion of guilt Blenkarn president of Allan Cook construction was installed in office by Mayor Ross Archer other new officers are Peter Howden first vice president and ShirleyJean Lokun second vice president Don Coulson re mains as treasurer Harper told the chamber reduction of debt was one if his major goals He said the chambers winter carnival debt has fallen from $12000 to $2500 since he took office and its general debt has dropped from $9000 to $3000 litinf Mrs Irving Carson of Phelpston won last weeks Wheels of Yesteryear Contest by correctly identifying the make as 1928 Chevrolet Mrs Carson wins $10 gift certificate good only at Brass and Glenn on Dunlop Street as her prize Jim Armstrong of Barrie also wins gift certificate Last week we indicated no correct answers had been received We were proved wrong the Oct it Wheels of Yesteryear belong to 1950 Nash Rambler not 1952 Ken Baldry pointed out our mistake If you can identify this weeks automobile send your entry to Wheels of Yesteryear The Examiner Box 370 Barrie L4M 4T6