vs Castlegar News _Jonvory 29, 1986 Proposal says buy Canadian OTTAWA (CP) A fed. eral proposal to institute a “buy Canadian” policy. for school textbooks is ifitended te strengthen cultura! sover eignty, but it needs the full co-operation of the provinces to proveed, Communications Minister Marcel Masse said Tuesday Masse, heading into «4 meeting of the inner cabinet, told reporters that his two emissaries to the provinces are trying to work out a strategy that might be adop- ted when he meets his prov incial counterparts in March at Montreal. ‘The proposal on textbooks “is on a list of things that may be possible to do,” but it de pends on provineial eo-oper ation and “we're not at the policy stage yet,” the min ister said. Since December, officials from Masse’s department have been working with the provinces to set the frame work for the March federal provincial meeting. The gov: ernments decided earlier that policies on the publish. ing and film industries are needed to give focus to Can adian aims in those crucial cultural fields. The two envoys from Mas se were tracked down in Toronto, where they were meeting Ontario representa tives. Choice. $.98. CORRECTION PLAZA SUPERVALU Mexican grown, Canada no. | tomatoes should read $1.08 kg., 2 lbs. $.98 not $1.08 kg., 1 Ib. $.98. Lean ground beef should read $4.36 kg. Ib. $1.98 not $4.36 kg. | Ib. $.98 Primo choice tomatoes and not Prime Fortune mushrooms, stems and pieces should read 3 tins for $1.98 and not 3 for These items were shown in the Si 1 Tuesday ad of January 26, 1986. The Castlegar News apologizes to SuperValu The Castlegar News apologizes to Super Valu and its customers for any inconvenience. LIABILITY INSURANCE OTTAWA (CP) — It hit with the quickness of an exploding bomb and spread like a virulent plague: it was a liability insurance crisis in an industry which, until a few months ago, most Canadians had taken for granted. Some say Canadians should have seen the crisis especially since it hit the United States several However, few knew what was coming until they tried to renew policies at the end of the year. Now exporters, chemical companies, small transport firms, municipalities, hospitals, nursing homes, day-care centres and even the national ski team are feeling the squeeze as liability insurance premiums double, quad ruple and in some cases rising 10-fold or more for what is often much-reduced protection. Some found coverage could not be bought at any price. ‘The insurance industry is in a panic. The North American property and casualty insurance industry suffered its first loss ever in 1984. Canadian insurance industry profits declined drama tically in 1984 to $208 million from $684 million in 1983. The Canadian industry has had worse years, but says the trend points to disaster unless draconian steps are taken. Although liability insurance accounts for only 7.2 per cent of their business, Canadian insurance ocmpanies say that is where the big problems are, so that is where they're cracking down. OFFERS PROTECTION Liability insurance is bought by companies and non-commercial organizations to protect them from compensation claims made by people injured on their property or using their products and services. s and auto i policies include liability protection and premiums are rising in those areas too, but the big crisis is in corporate liability Here's how it works: An injured person files a claim in court. If the court finds the injury is the result of someone's neglect, it will award compensation for lost income and medical expenses. The neglectful party — or its insurance company — has to pay. As a result of the squeeze: — Some municipalities are doing without liability i and to close playg ds, rinks and pools to reduce risks. — Some Ontario school boards have cancelled athletic programs for fear of being sued while uni . Crisis hit like a bomb Ambulance in New Brunswick are 43 times last year's rate The National Equestrian Park in Ottawa closed for three weeks until it renewed its liability insurance at 10 times the price, but had to cancel sleighrides and hayrides because the insurer considered them too risky. — And, McGilliery Chemicals of Paris, Ont., was hit so hard the small manufacturer of household cleaning products was forced to close. At first the insurance industry blamed others for the mess. Claim expenditures were rising because Canadian courts were going crazy with generosity, it said. Then it blamed the international market. Canadian insurance companiesreinsure large policies to reduce their risk, but Canadian companies found they often couldn't obtain reinsurance. When Canadian companies can't reinsure a risk, they won't offer a policy. Many reinsurers were scared out of the liability market by catastrophes like the gas leak at Bhopal, India, which initiated more than $100 billion worth of lawsuits, and asbestosis claims which the industry estimates could total $38 billion. Industry experts say reinsurance capacity world- wide has declined very suddenly by about 75 per cent. Some said reinsurers were also confusing Canadian courts with courts in the United States, where one in 15 people launched a civil suit last year and court awards are much higher. Some don't believe the insurance industry is blameless. Federal Liberal MPs, suggesting the companies were engaged in a price-fixing consipiracy, petitioned for an anti. i i The insurance industry vehemently denies the conspiracy charge but admits it bears some respon- sibility. Insurance companies have paid more in claims than money collected in premiums since 1978 but until recently high interest rates enabled them to make huge profits by investing premium revenues and assets. Many in the industry say insurance companies were so eager to attract large volumes of cash to invest that they engaged in cut-throat price competitions on the sale of big commercial policies. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is asking why its members face premium hikes of up to 2,000 per cent when industry experts estimate claims expenses will — The Cherry Brook Zoo in Saint John, N.B., closed for several weeks until it finally found a company willing to insure it at greatly increased premiums. — Insurance premiums for the non-profit St. John exceed pr by only 30 per cent this year. “The may have d in the past from a very competitive market, but today we're suffering overnight,” says fed i ki Richard Average person will pay price OTTAWA (CP) — The average person will pay the price no matter what reforms are adopted in the liability insurance system. The current crisis is bound to lead to changes in Canada’s insurance system and liability protection will almost certainly cost more. Companies and municipalities will pay higher premiums and pass on the increase. “It's bad news for consumers,” says Helen Anderson, insurance critic for the Consumers Association of Canada. “They'll pay more insurance, they'll pay more for products, they'll pay more for services, they'll pay more in property taxes.” Options cover a lot of ground — legislating caps on court awards, more stringent operating standards for insurance companies, self-insurance pools, and government-operated insurance and compensation plans. Ontario set up a task force to look into wildly escalating insurance costs and examine potential solutions. The federal ised legislation to smooth out industry s has pr “boom-and-bust” cycles. Some American states are playing a similar role, insurance to share r ibi for high-risk cases. Alberta has set up a committee with municipalities to look into P and New Br ick has said it may organize its own insurance system. The insurance industry wants two-pronged reform. ‘The first prong would be a cap on court awards and firm guides for court interpretations of insurance contracts so they know what to expect when awards are made. NEEDS REFORM “We've got to see reform in the courts,” says Philip Kane, senior vice-president of the Toronto brokerage firm Johnson and Higgings Willis Faber. ‘The second prong would be legislation to weed out the “marginal” insurance operators the industry says were primarily responsible for industry wide premium price cutting. John Lyndon, president of the Insurance Bureau of Canada, wants gover to reassess ion he says is driving w ards. Examples include Ontario's family law reforms, which allow distant relatives of an injured person to sue, and Ontario's environmenta! spills bill, which makes polluters liable for clean-up costs. Meanwhile, muncipalities, school boards and other groups are examining possible mutual insurance pools. Each would pay into the pool, which would be used to pay any liability claim against a member. A self-insured municipality must pay liability claims out of general funds and make up the loss by cutting services or raising taxes. One variation of self-insurance is being used by Gough. Our NCW because it was just too expensive? Well now you can. one cach way when you pay full economy fare Business calls. reservations call your travel agent sppeoval Sc transportation gee not inc tudes Ever want to make a stopover during a trip but couldn't Pacific Western introduces our new $20* stopover. Now you can make one stopover on most discount retum fares or It's an economical way to visit more friends or make more Plan your $20* stopover today. For full details and Garlic improves health TORONTO (CP) — It may not win you many friends in cramped places, but a Tor. onto man insists that garlic each day keeps the doctor away. Surendra Tripathi, who runs the Academy of Ayur veda, says North Americans are virutally ignorant of the medicinal uses of many plants. He says garlic works like a tonic in regenerating nerve fibres and stimulating gastric juices that, in turn, help you pass hard foods. “We should eat one med. ium-sized eye of garlic daily,” he advises. Ayurvedism is the Asiatic Indian medical treatment by means of plants and drugs indigenous to India. Tripathi, who came to Canada from Denmark in 1970, has a mas- ter’s degree in human physi ology from Mankato State University in Wisconsin. He ran a Montreal clinic geared to the correction of posture defects before selling his shares two years ago and coming to Toronto. He says he wants to “edu cate” people on the use of herbs in the treatment of many ailments and thinks doctors are too much influ enced by pharmaceutical firms. politan Toronto. It is legally required to carry liability insurance, but can’t find any. So it is paying $25,000 for a $1-million policy with $1 million deductible. That means it has to pay claims out of its own pocket as if it had no insurance, but can say it is legally insured. Another variation on the self-insurance theme would have large tions and municipalities buy policies with multi-million-dollar deductibles. The advantage is reduced premiums. The disadvantage is that the insurance would not cover most claims. NOTES PROFITS Montreal economist Dian Cohen notes that while insurance companies are losing money in the liability field, they are making big profits on property insurance “I think one solution has to be to say to the insurance companies: ‘If you don’t want the risk part of your business, you can’t have the cushy stuff," Cohen says. Some think the answer is a government-run insurance system. Justice Allen Linden, president of the federal Law Reform Commission, says he would like to see a royal commission examine possible establishment of national government-operated injury compensation. Ottawa economist Mike McCracken says pressure for public insurance will grow if the Canadian insurance industry can't insulate itself from international and U Ss. problems. Housing starts Standard Size Reg. 14.96. Now: te Night Dreams Pillows Toddlers’ & Infants’ Jogging Suits Your Choice Save 25% on Infants’ 2-Pece. Suit. Fully washable acrylic with with " for and softness. Cotton cover; Polyester fill Reg. 17.96. Now: 98 print. Canadian made. 12-18-24 mos. Reg. 6.93. Now: Save 25% on Toddlers’ Screened Suit. Machine washable/ dryable acrylic. Sizes 2-3-3x. Reg. 6.93. Now: 500 20% on Spun bonded Polyester shell; Polyester fill Twin Size Reg. 12.96. Now: 102° available in all stores Double Size Reg. 14.96. Now: 11% Special Buy! Polyester/Cotton Fabric Tablecioths* in oblong or round sizes. 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For T-1 Special ... \ Berilax “‘“FAST CASH REFUND SERVICE’ Get more of your refund with © Berilax For Quality Tax Preparation at fees as low as 15% 1985 berta and British Columbia both showed 14-per-cent *gains, there was a three per-cent drop in Quebec and Saskatchewan. Based on last year's strong growth, 1986 should continue at a healthy and stable pace, Canadata economist Alex Carrick predicted. For all categories of con struction, the increase was 15 per cent nationally measured in terms of square feet, the survey said Last year's pace of housing starts was healthy, although it did not surpass the level of 1983, when federal and pro vincial programs designed to stimulate the sector artifici- ally raised the figures. Construction starts are a leading indicator for invest ment, with a one-year lead time for industrial and a two year lead time for commer cial projects. In dollar terms, residential activity rose 18 per cent. 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