ke LONDON (CP) — As a group, Canada's major banks reaped the biggest profits in the world last year, says a major international study released Friday. IBCA Banking Analysis Ltd., which rates the world’s major banks, found that Canada’s six leading banks showed a pace-setting average return on equity of 15.5 per cent. Taking Canada’s 1983 inflation rate of 4.9 per cent into account, the real percentage return on equity, or profitability, was 10.6 per cent, by far the highest in the world. U.S., Japanese and British banks were about three percentage points behind the Canadian banks in overall profitability with 7.9, 7.4 and seven per cent respectively. Although some Arab banks showed higher individual profitability than the Canadian banks, the group out performed all other major countries, the study said. The Canadian banks included in the study were Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, Toronto Dominion Bank and Banque National du Canada. TD LED IN '83 In 1983, the one with the best performance was Toronto Dominion which although ranked 62nd in the world in terms of assets, was 21st in profitability. The others and their profitability rankings: Bank of the bigge: Nova Seotia, 30th; Royal Bank of Canada, 41st; Banque National du Canada, Sist; Canadian Imperial Bank of IBCA warned that its system of rating back profitability was “only an intelligent guide, rather than a precise measure” because of different national laws regarding equity requirements. IBCA is best known for its credit rating system for non-U.S. banks, a business in increasing demand following fears that the world’s banking system could be strained by debt burdens in the developing world. “Judging by the general tone of comments on the banking world today, one might expect to find banks around the world in dire straits,” the report said. “In the United States the collapse of Continental Illinois is still a shock that has not been fully digested and the recent unexpectedly large quarterly loss by First Chicago seemed to confirm the worst fears that there was something fundamentally wrong with banks and banking.” However, IBCA found: “When we look at the data the fears are not borne out.” The survey saw an improvement over the last two years and predicted that banks will set up further reserves for their lending to less developed countries. FORESTRY MINISTER Merrithew an ‘overseer’ MONCTON, N.B. (CP) — Gerald Merrithew, Canada’s new forestry minister, views himself as overseer of an industry in crisis. His job is to nurture one of the country's most important industries back to health “We've got massive splatches of land all over Canada where nothing is growing except weeds,” Merrithew said. “There are one million Canadians directly or indirectly involved in forestry — it’s our biggest industry and we've got to do something about it or we're not going to have an industry.” Merrithew, New Brunswick's representative in the federal cabinet and a former minister in the provincial Tory government, was in Moncton to address the annual meeting of the New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Associa tion. He told delegates at a women’s luncheon he is still struggling with the organization of his fledgling department, set up by the Mulroney government with an initial operating budget of $240 million. Merrithew said he has travelled extensively in Canada in recent weeks, signing forestry agreements and sizing up problems facing the industry He bluntly characterized the situation as grim “Forestry is in trouble,” Merrithew told reporters following his speech. “Over the years we've taken our forests for granted MUST DO BETTER “We've cut and cut and cut, fires have taken too many trees and insects have taken even more and we haven't paid enough attention to forest regeneration. We've got to do a lot better. We must do it.” Merrithew said his role is to ensure industry and government allocate enough funds where needed to save forestry. He singled out research and development, replanting programs and needing special attention. “But it’s very difficult,” he said. “It's difficult to find the dollars to do what we feel needs to be done.” About 1,000 Conservatives from throughout the province are expected to attend the two-day conference in Moncton. Merrithew and Premier Richard Hatfield are the keynote speakers at the annual meeting. Delegates at the women’s meeting followed a tradition from previous years and passed a resolution Friday endorsing Hatfield's leadership There was no mention of the premier's legal troubles — he has been ordered to appear in court Nov. 19 to answer a charge of possession of marijuana. A small amount of the drug was found in Hatfield's suitcase on Sept. 25 during the Queen's visit to Fredericton. Hatfield has said the marijuana was not his and he doesn't know how it got into the suitcase. forestry education as areas Mine shut down produetivity by 40 per cent but he probably won't do a thing until he has to,” he said. “Most companies just work at getting good enough and then stop at that point. That's the thing that always scares me — complacency. and Inventory Control. Japanese competition has foreed North American and European manufacturers to adopt far more efficient pro- duction techniques, he said, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. One problem, Everdell said, is that managers here often have backgrounds in fields such as marketing, ac- counting and engineering — anything but manufacturing. “They can't understand why their manufacturing is all serewed up because they can’t relate to it.” WRONG REASON He also criticized North American jndustries’ pen-. chant for rewarding workers to produce more goods, even when they're not needed. “If you run a machine to produce 700 units an hour when you're only consuming 900, then you're just making inventory,” Everdejl said. th SYMB THE eo PY OPPYISA> ts OL OF REMEMBRANCE . . . a reminder that no sacrifice we can make for peace could be comparable with who gave their lives in the cause of freedom. “In the Heart of Downtown Castlegar” CLOSED THIS SUNDAY & MONDAY, CARL'S DRUGS OPEN. ROCKER WIN . . . Stonley Humphries Rocker (right) makes header towards Trail goal during West Kootenay championship played Thursday. The Rockers Daily & Paid Monthly — ‘otal Chequing Convenience sie atte. Credit Union beat J.L. Crowe 2-0 to advance to East-West cham- pionship on Friday and win that titl Coshews Photo by Chery! Calderbonk Rockers off to provincials YELLOWKENIFE, N.W.T. — A one-month suspension of operations at Cominco's Po concentrates to the European market. Polaris Mine production is VSE stock prices VANCOUVER (CP) steady at $1.25 and Acheron Prices were mixed in heavy trading Friday on the Van couver Stock Exchange. Vol ume at close was 8,140,776 shares. Of issues traded, 210 ad vanced, 198 declined and 433 were unchanged. The VSE index stood at 941.59, up 1.73 Resources rose .01 to .28. On the development board, Deep South Pete warrants was steady at .03 on 246,000, Deep South Pete dropped .03 to .81 on 238,550, Petromet Resources lost .02 to $1.44 on 237,700 and Retlan Re sources rose .03 to $2.93 on 179,600. Hudson Resources fell .26 to .80 and Emerald Lake rose ,.42 to $1.87. from Thursday's close. In the industrials, E] Dor. ado Systems gained .04 to $1.04 on 13,000, Norsat Inter. national rose .10 to $5 on 8,600, B.C. Resources lost .07 to $2.71 on 6,665 and York Centre A was up ‘4 to $7 7/8 on 3,850. Proflex Lid. was unchanged at .05 and Com- putrex Centres was steady at 25. On the resource board, Great Pacific Resources was up .30 to $1.10 on 208,150, Pezamerica gained .55 to $3.50 on 197,700, Windarra Minerals lost .17 to $1.26 on 155,300 and Goldrich Re- sources rose 01 to .69 on 98,800. New Beginnings was Castlegar Air Cadets NUT DRIV House to House Nov. 148 15 at City Hall. Treditione! Christmes & ter For We ore sorry for ony incon venience this moy hove coused our customers Michael Heard says it is time for a change The ridiculous level crossing on Columbia Ave., and the shortage of serviceable equipment during the recent snowstorm are but two examples of our old and tired City government. improvement elect Michael Heard for Alderman. laris Mine has been an nounced by D.L. Johnston, vice-president, Northern Group. The shutd: . from mid approximately 16,000 tonnes of zinc concentrates and 3,300 tonnes of lead concentrates per month. December to mid-January, 1985, follows a period of low zine prices and unsatisfactory returns from concentrate sales, according to a press release. The Polaris Mine on Little Cornwallis Island is a major Bea CasNews Subscriber Call 365-7266 for home delivery. supplier of high grade zinc EXPRESS Tickets Is Your Name in OPEN MONDAYS? LOOK NOW! in City management , Scatter Mat | Assorted colours Special Retail, each s 1 97 | DRESS PANTS Contempro style, polyester ond acrylic blend dress pants. Sizes 8 16. Assor ted colors. Canadian mode Compare ot $19.99 3 *14.88 lodies Mule Slippers Exceptional volue in these mule slip pers. Soft quilted linen vamp, cushion insole. Sizes S-M-L. Assorted colors Quantity limited -—.. 4 Cotton Bikinis Save now on these 100% Cotton bikinis. Loce front pone! insert, double Qusset. Sizes S-M-L. Compare ot $1.99 2/*2.88 ie Night Shirts Printed front shirts in acetate ond polyester for warnpth and comfort. Compore ot $9 Saturday,.Nov. 14 - 17. Poe effective Wednesday to Boys’ Nylon Ski Jackets Sizes 8 - 16. Each $9997 Children's Jeans 100% Cotton. Sizes 2 - 3X koch $685 Ladies 2-Piece Ski Suits Poly/Cotton. Sizes 8-16 + ° 6997 { Men's Acrylic \ Pullovers Seve now on these specially priced men’s pullovers. Crew neck style, Ix! rib. 100% acrylic. Sizes M-L-XL. Assorted colors. Compare at $12.99 Sele, each ‘8.88 lece Glass Sets A special purchose enables us to offer these sets at o super savings price. Ideal for the holiday season. Compare ot $14.99, Sale, each ‘7.88 7 Plece Knife Sets Set consists of six stainless steel knives with hardwood handies ond one wooden block. Compore ot $14 99. Sale, set ‘9.88 Cheese Boards Solid hardwood cheese boords with round tile for cutting. sizes and styles. Gitt boxed. et $12.99 | cock By CasNews Staff Stanley Humphries Sec ondarly School's senior soc cer team defeated Prince Charles Secondary School of Creston &1 Friday to win the Bast-West high school soccer championship and advancé to the provincial champion ships. The SHSS Rockers de feated Trail 2-0 on Thursday to win the West Kootenay tithe. In Friday's game in Cres ton, Louis Costa and Joe Costa each scored a goal to lead the team to its victory. Thursday's game was played on a smooth, green surface on the Stanley Hum- field, after students spent a total of about 16 hours Wednesday and Thurs- day clearing the snow off the field Louis Costa scored one goal for the Rockers against J.L_Crowe, after the Trail team scored a goal on itself. *9.88 Castleaird Plaza Store Only NHL LAST NIGHT Canucks tie BLOOMING' Minn. (AP) — Petri Skriko and Moe Lemay scored t riod goals to lift Vancouver Canucks into a 5-5 overtime tie with Minnesota North Stars in a National Hockey League game Saturday night Minnesota, with two goals from Keith Acton, led 53 after two periods. But the Canucks, the worst team in the NHL with a 2-11-2 mark, got goals from Skriko and Lemay 2:33 apart in the third period to tie it and neither team scored in the five-minute overtime. The Vancouver rally spoiled Minnesota coach Glen Sonmor's return. Sonmor took over Thursday after Bill Mahoney was fired. Before quitting in January of 1983, Sonmor had been the North Stars’ most successful coach ever Minnesota, 3-8-8, has won only once in its last 11 games. The game included 121 minutes of penalties and four of Vancouver's five goals came on the power play. Minnesota had two power-play goals. CALGARY 3 MONTREAL 3 CALGARY (CP) — Colin Patterson scored two goals to give Calgary Flames a 3-8 tie with Montreal Canadiens. Patterson tied the game at 5:43 of the third when he escaped a check by Canadien Steve Shutt, cut in on goalie Steve Penney and deflected in a goal-mouth pass from Carey Wilson. The goal came about three minutes after the Canadiens had gone ahead 3-2 on a protested goal by Mats Naslund. The Montreal player parked in the crease, swatted at a puck as it bounced high in the air after goalie Rejean Lemelin had made the save on a shot by Pierre Mondou. The Flames argues Naslund’s stick was over his shoulder when he made contact with the puck. But referee Denis Morel let the goal stand. TORONTO 4 CHICAGO 4 TORONTO (CP) — Steve Larmer scored twice as Chicago Black Hawks fought back from a three-goal deficit to tie Toronto Maple Leafs 4-4 Darryl] Sutter and Curt Fraser also scored for the Black Hawks Danny Daoust scored two goals and Rick Vaive and Bill Root one each for the Leafs, who blew a 41 lead. Toronto now is winless in its last seven games and has only one win in its last 12 games. The Black Hawks, looking weary as they ended a six-game road trip, eame to life with goals by Larmer and Fraser in the final 50 seconds of the second period. Larmer capped the rally with his ninth goal of the season at 8:16 of the third period. The veteran right winger from Peterborough, Ont., took a slap shot from the face-off cirele to the left of Leaf goaltender Ken Wregget and the puck squeezed between Wregget's legs. WASHINGTON 2 NEW JERSEY 2 EAST RUTHERFORD, N-J. (AP) — Doug Sulliman fired a 40-foot slap shot past goalie Pat Riggin on a seeond-period power play, enabling New Jersey Devils to gain a 22 tie with Washington Capitals. The draw extended the Devils’ winless streak to seven games (0-6-2) and broke a twogame Washington losing streak. It also extended the Capitals’ unbeaten streak against New Jersey to 18 games (15-0-3) North Stars Paul Gardner gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 7:23 of the opening period, taking a pass from Bobby Carpenter near the edge of the crease and jamming the puck by Devils goalie Ron Low. New Jersey was short-handed at the time with Mel Bridgman off for elbowing. BOSTON 4 DETROIT 2 DETROIT (AP) — Defencemen Ray Bourque and Mike O'Connell scored power-play goals and a stifling Boston defence limited Detroit to 16 shots on goal as the Bruins posted a 4-2 triumph over the Red Wings for their third straight victory Kelly Kisio gave Detroit a 1-0 lead 10:24 into the first period, but Bourque beat Red Wings’ netminder Greg Stefan with a 45-foot slapshot less than three minutes later to tie the score 1-1 Veteran forward Terry O'Rilly broke the deadlock 1:34 later, beating Stefan with a short backhander ISLANDERS 5 PENGUINS 4 UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Pat Flatley's goal midway through the third period gave New York Islanders a 5-4 victory over Pittsburgh Penguins. Flatley, a rookie right winger, broke in on a 2-on-1 break with Anders Kallur and blasted a 20-foot slapshot past the outstretched glove of Pittsburgh's goalie Michel Dion for his third goal of the season. The Penguins had tied the game 4-4 just three minutes earlier when centre John Chabot scored his second goal of the night, beating goalie Billy Smith with a wrist shot from 15 feet Chabot, who was obtained Friday from Montreal Canadiens for centre Ron Flockhart, stripped defenceman Tomas Jonsson of the puck at the New York blue line and went in alone on Smith. WHALERS 1 NORDIQUES 0 QUEBEC (CP) — Left winger Torrie Robertson ended a scoreless tie at 10:16 of the third period by converting Greg Malone's pass from behind the goal to lift Hartford Whalers to a 1-0 triumph over the struggling Quebec Nordiques. The victory enabled hartford to stay three points ahead of the last-place Nordiques in the Adams Division Dave Lumley started the play on the winning goal by sending a pass from the right corner to Malone, located behind goaltender Dan Bouchard. Malone quickly fed the puck to Robertson, who fired it between the legs of Bouchard for his second goal. UBC wins title OTTAWA (CP) — Uni versity of British Columbia Thunderbirds won the Can adian Interuniversity Athle tie Union soccer champion. ship Saturday by posting a 42 vietory on penalty kicks to defeat the Carleton Ra vens 21 The game was tied 1-1 in regulation time and two 15-minute overtime periods failed to produce a deciding seore. UBC advanced on the pen alty kieks and the Ravens conceded the game Brian Kennedy was in nets for the Thunderbirds and Mark Kennedy tended goa! for the Ravens. By GRANT KERR VANCOUVER (CP) — Redemption is the key word to the preparation of Winnipeg Blue Bombers for today's Western Division final against British Columbia Lions in the Canadian Football League playoffs. “We want to redeem ourselves after the last game here,” veteran centre John Bonk said Saturday in reference to Winnipeg's 20-3 loss to the Lions in the final league game at B.C. Place Stadium. “We have something to prove because we didn’t play well last time.” The Bombers were held to a net offence of 181 yards in the Oct. 27 game which determined first place in the West. Bonk vows it will be different in the divisional final because “this team has played well all year” and “we love being the underdog in this situation.” The Lions held all-star running back Willard Reaves of the Bombers to just 33 yards rushing in the last matchup of the teams with the best records in the CFL. The Lions finished first with a 12-3-1 record, two points ahead of the 11-4-1 Bombers. B.C. won the 1983 western final, also at B.C. Place, by defeating. the Bombers 39-21 on three touchdown catches by wide receiver Merv Fernandez. TOP OFFENCE Winnipeg had the most explosive offence in the CFL this season, scoring 61 touchdowns before the final league game. The Bombers rebounded from the B.C. loss to hammere Edmonton Eskimos into submission in the western semifinal a week ago, 55-20 in Winnipeg “The focus has definitely shifted to B.C.,” added Bonk. “The pressue is squarely on them in this case “If we can put the offence together with our tough defence, we can make things miserable for any team.” B.C. slotback Ron Robinson, who scored the first touchdown in the last Winnipeg game, expects to be a busy receiver if Winnipeg tries to take away the Lions’ Bennet not TORONTO (CP) Safety Paul Bennett, discarded by three Canadian Football league clubs this season, gets an opportunity today to make it to the Grey Cup game with team No. 4. However, Bennett — the CFL career punt return leader with 4,858 yards on 482 carries over eight seasons — isn’t bitter about all the travelling he's had to do this year. He's more interested in leading his latest team, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, to a victory over Toronto Argonauts in the Eastern Division final. The winner of the game, scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. PST at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium, will advance to the Grey Cup in Edmonton next Sunday against either Winnipeg Blue Bombers or B.C. Lions. “It was a business decision, that’s what football's all about,” Bennett, 30, said of his moves from Winnipeg to Toronto, then being waived by Edmonton Eskimos and claimed by the Ticats. “Everybody asks me about the revenge factor but there's enough pressure without the Toronto thing. “I don’t worry about what happened in the past. You can't dwell on the negative. Instead, Bennett dwells on Hamilton's chances at a Grey Cup appearance and admits the admittance price is a bit steep. MUST BE HOT “The offensive line will have to play the game of their lives and Dieter (quarterback Dieter Brock) will have to come up with a hot hand “And the defence will have to hold them to two touchdowns and a couple of field goals. Anything more would be unrealistic.” The Ticats, who split two regular-season games with the Argonauts this year, finished second in 1984 with six wins and a tie against nine defeats, while Toronto placed first for the third year in a row with a 961 record. Bombers want to redeem themselves deep threats in outside receivers Ned Armour and Fernandez. “They try and cover me with linebackers at times when they double up on the outside,” said Robinson. “I think I can beat a linebacker deep in certain situations.” Robinson, a four-year CFL veteran, was picked up from Montreal Concordes early in the season and contributed 55 receptions and six ‘touchdowns in B.C.'s successful defence of the regular-season title in the West. COWAN STARTS B.C. quarterback Tim Cowan, who became the starter late in the season when Roy Dewalt was injured, often looked to Robinson when teams double-covered Fernandez. “I'm pretty sure the Winnipeg defence will push me around and do a lot of grabbing,” said the 6-foot-4, 205-pound Robinson. “I'll have to use a lot of motion and try not to get jammed.” Robinson said he senses a feeling of maturity on the B.C. team that lost 18-17 to Toronto Argonauts in the 1983 Grey Cup game. “I think the fellows know what to expect and they want it even more this year,” he said. “They feel they can go all the way this time “We knew we had our hands full when we lost Roy, our all-star, so we got together with Cowan and helped him the best we can. He can do the job. He proved that the last time Winnipeg was here.” Winnipeg quarterback Tom Clements, who led the CFL with 29 touchdown passes, is expected to try and establish the running game with Reaves in order to set up the B.C. defence for the deep pass to wide receivers James Murphy and Jeff Boyd. The Lions likely will counter with a short passing game if the Bombers drop off deep to defend against Fernandez. revengeful Hamilton enters the game on a four-game winning streak, including a 17-11 decision over Montreal Concordes in the Eastern Division semifinal last weekend. The Ticats lost 41-36 to the Argonauts in the Eastern Division final last year and Toronto went on to win theBrey Cup, beating B.C.-16-17. To make it to this year's Grey Cup, Bennett feels one of the players he will have to help stop is wide receiver Terry Greer, who caught 70 passes this season for the Argonauts for 1,189 yards and 14 touchdowns. “An absolutely incredible athlete,” Bennett said of Greer, a fifth-year member of the Argonauts from Alabama State. “You can almost hear the engines gun up when he starts to run “And he's fearless in traffic.” COULD BE TROUBLE But Bennett said the Ticats also have to keep an eye on receiver Paul Pearson, who caught 71 passes in an injury-plagued season “He has deceiving speed and he can take unbelievable punishment,” Bennett said. “They're all worthy of special attention.” Cornerback Gerald Bess, who led the league with 12 interceptions this year, said he hasn't met a receiver who couldn't be distracted by an occasional bump. “Any receiver will shy away if you lay a pretty good lick on them,” Bess said. “They start looking over their shoulder.” And Bennett said Toronto's twin-quarterback system can play havoc on defensive plans. “They're both intelligent but they play a different game. We have to adjust our defensive game to them. “Condredge (Holloway) is more dynamic while Joe (Barnes) is more methodical “They can be beaten but it will take a hell of an fort.” effor' . Ottawa coach demoted By GRAHAM COX OTTAWA (CP) — George Braneato lost his job as head coach of Ottawa Rough “They're upset. They feel as Riders, but his biggest worry though the whole brunt of is the fate of his assistants. what happened this season Still smarting from the has been put on them. That worst season — four winsand it’s their fault we lost all 12 losses — since 1964, gen. those games eral manager Don Holtby PART OF THE GAME told a Friday news confer “That's the way they're ence Brancato will become going to take it, but it's all director of personnel respon- part of the game. But they sible for seouting and re feel there's a lot of other cruitment after six years as a player, three as assistant coach and 11 as head coach troff, Joe Cargano and Dick Adams. Of his assistants, he said: He said the decision was reached unanimously Mon. day at a meeting with owner Alan Waters of Toronto and president Terry Kielty But Brancato, who con tinues for the two years re- maining on his current con By CasNews Staff J.L. Crowe's senior boys volleyball team won the AA West Kootenay champion ships in Castlegar Friday night In the championship game estimated worth at Stanley Humphries See $100,000 2 season, was con- ondary School, the Trail team cerned about the effect the defeated L.V. Rogers of Nel change would have on assis. son two games to one. to win tant coaches Don Sutherin, the title. Wayne Giardino, Tom Dimi Stanley Humphries, the things that happened and they just hope it doesn't af fect their opportunities to get other jobs.” Holtby said the assistants are all on one-year contracts that expire at various times early in 1985 and it will be up to whoever becomes the new coach to determine whether they're retained coach to lose his job this week. Saskatchewan Roughrid ers fired Reuben Berry and announced general manager Jobn Herrera’s contract will not be renewed. Brancato’s Riders had never missed the playoffs until this year as the Louisiana State graduate amasses a personal 82-90-4 won-lost-tied record, took the team to the Grey Cup twice and won it in 1976. Brancato is the second Canadian Football League J.L. Crowe wins title only other team entered in the championships, lost both of its matehes in the round robin contest. The Rockers lost 15-11 and 15-7 to L.V. Rogers and 15-11 and 16-14 to J.L. Crowe The Rockers, having play ed in tournaments in Trail team,” admitted Stosh Uchi da, who along with Barry DePaoli, took over coaching duties from Don King about three weeks ago. He said one of the reasons for the poor performance is that the school doesn't have a volleyball program in the school because of a lack coaches. The school doesn't even have a junior volleyball “We're not that good of 2 team this year, he added