Legal monopoly? Last week's: B.C. Appeal Court decision that North Vancouver's advertising lawyer Don Jabour must obey the B.C. Law Society’s rules on legal advertising doesn't begin to resolve the basic issue in this long drawn-out case. That issue is the right, or otherwise, of a prospective client to know what a lawyer will charge for certain simple routine jobs like wills, divorces and incorporations BEFORE actually contacting him. Mr. Jabour wanted . to provide such information through ad- vertising. But the Law Society. said “no”. . Appeal ‘Court Justice Peter Seaton — ave an earlier B.C. Supreme Court decision in Jabour’s favor — held that the Law Society's: “power to prohibit com- mercial advertising is granted as part of the broad regulatory power conferred by the (Legal Professions) act.” It may therefore be high time for our legislators to take a hard look at the act itself. It is difficult to see any valid reason why purely routine fees should remain a closely guarded secret until a prospective client sits down in a lawyer's office — unless the deliberate aim is to discourage him from “shopping around” for the best value in legal advice; or, alternatively, to subject the public to a price monopoly. If the Law Society has more altruistic reasons for banning all fee-advertising, it should explain them. It may have won its latest court case. But its harassment of Mr. Jabour has done nothing to enhance public confidence in the legal establishment. Keeping B.C. green In the matter of government interference with the private preferences of citizens we thought we'd seen everything — but we were wrong. Dewdney MLA George Mussalem wants a law requiring all groceries sold in B.C. to be color-coded green, amber or red according to their food value. Will the final step be color-coding citizens themselves — green for Socred, red for NDP? sunday news north shore news 1139 Lonsdale Ave North Vancouver BC V7M 2H4 (604) 985-2131 NEWS ADVERTISING CLASSIFIED CIRCULATION 985-2131 980-0511 086-6222 986-1337 Publisher Peter Speck Associate Publisher Editor-in-Chief Robert Graham Noel Wright Advertising Director Enc Cardwell Classified Manager & Oftice Administrator Berni Hithard Production Tam Francis faye McCrae Managing Editor Andy Fraser Nowa Editor Photography Chia Loyd bisworth Oichson Accounting Supervisor Barbara Keen North Shore News, founded in 1968 as an Independent Commun ly newspaper and qualified under Schedule th Part Ih Paragraph I of the Excise Tax Act is published each Wednesday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press tid and distributed to every door on the North Shore Second Ciass Mail Registration 3685 Subacriptions $20 per year Entue Gortenta + Shore Free Preas Lid All rights reserved Number 1VHO North No responsibility accepted for unmole ted matenal manuscripts and pictures which show be ac stamped. addressed return envelope trve Wa diragy compared py oo VERIFIED CIRCULATION 50,8670 Wednesday 49,913 Sunday Sui} THIS PAPER 18 RECYCLABLE OTTAWA (SF) - There really isn't much difference in the problems which were facing Joe Clark and his Tory freshmen when they came to power and the problems which beset the resurrected government of Pierre Trudeau. There still isn't an energy policy in Canada, despite the vital need. There still is a deficit out of control, albeit a larger one now than there was this time last year. There are major decisions post- poned in the Transport De- partment, defence Department, Finance De- partment, and in that crucial area of Industry Trade and Commerce. If anything, the situation on a national unity front is worse in 1980, late summer, than it was at the same time im 1979, and relations with our biggest trading partner, best friend, the U.S., are at an all-time low. Had Joe Clark, with his public image, been charged by the Canadian public with the same sins which sit on the back of the federal politicians in power today, there wouldn't merely be an Canada isn’t just pre low Of ‘awa bene ) Canadian Comment _BY PETER WARD electoral defeat, there would be a revolution. The difference, obviously, is style. Clark and his newly-in- power ministers told us we'd have to start paying our own way. They promised us 18 cents a gallon more in gasoline taxes, and they warned that there would be rough sledding ahead economically while we worked toward what passes “Oh, come on — whose do you think it is?” The big brainwash is under way and guess who is paying for it. Prime Minister Trudeau's concept of The New Canada has been packaged like the latest detergent and his ad boys are happily spending $10 million of the taxpayers’ money to persuade us that it launders cleaner and whiter than any other brand. That's the hidden message in the federal government's current national unity ad- vertising campaign. After all, you don't have to spend even ten bucks, let alone ten milhon, to convince the average Canadian that he lives in a wonderful country. Nevertheless, those moving television com- mercials on the unity theme appear content) them selves with doing exactly that. No hard sell (pemsh the thought!) about any specific details of the con stitution that Mr Trudeau wants in place by next year Just pure patriotic mother hood. They show the mch and diverse beauty of the land The wide open spaces under clear blue skies where man and all other living creatures can cocxist in true harmony and freedom. Our wealth of resources promising eternal prosperity And, as the ad boys are fond of saying. much, much more to new GOING IT ALONE here's nothing wrong. of course, about these pretty pictures of Canada tn them selves But there are two things very wrong about the use the federal government aims to make of them at this particular point in time Eleven days from now Mr Trudcau and the provincial premiers meet in Ottawa for the 13th attempt in the past 53 years to hammer out a concensus on the powers of the two levels of government under a revised Canadian constitution. Hitherto, this has always been seen as a prerequisite to repatriating the present constitution (the British North Amenca Act) from Britain But this tame Mr. Trudeau is in a hurry If — as presently seems likely — he and the premiers fall to reach agreement during the week of September 8 on the fundamentals of a revised constitution, the Prime Minister has clearly in. dicated that he will go it alone In other words, he'll fepatniate the constitution unilaterally on the basis of an assured vote in Parhament, revise it as he sees fit. and, in effect. tell dissenting provinces to go jump in the lake The current ad campaign has been conceived and timed to fit into that scenano Betind the pretty, strictly “non polrtical” pictures of Canada hes the vaspoken polhucal message the country 1s being looked after well by Mr Trudcau and his Liberal colleagues in Ottawa, just trust them and Canada will become even greater REAL PROBLEMS In particular don't hasten to anyone clse's tdceas on The by Noel Wright New Canada — especially if they come from the west. the Trudeau-Liberal version of The New Canada 1s the only authorized version All ten milhon dollarsworth of it The second thing wrong about the unity ad campaign is that it virtually ignores the very real problems facing loyal Canadians ¢ verywhere It tmes to convince us there is no cnergy crisis in Canada. that our energy future is “manageable and being managed” This ts simply not true The Trudeau government has sall failed to produce any national cnerpy policy Because of the continuing uncertarnty the energy companics are aow talking about abandoning ol sands development our chief hope of self sufftciency altogether The ad campaign takes no note of the huge $14 bilhon federal deficit run up by the Trudcau government largely in oorder to win Ontano and Quebec crucial voles for a budget these days in Ottawa. They talked about a few hard, unpleasant facts in the of internationa relations — the Soviets being something less than inter: national benefactors, said we'd have to spen more on defence, meaning that we would do it. Consider the differences, : The Trudeau Liberals tell us. that there’s no need. for Canadians to pay world. prices for oil and gasoline.. We'll pay, mind you, but it will be hidden in the miasma of taxation laws. They tell us’ that we are getting new defence equipment. Yet, by. the time we replace our fighter planes in Europe, they'll be older than the World War 1 Spad would have been in 1945. The federal deficit? It's not all that bad, once you take inflation into account. Difference between the Tory and Liberal approach? One side tells the bitter truth and the other side? Well, the kindest way to put it is that they bend the truth. by keeping oil prices ar-— tificially low. Sooner or later all Canadians will be called. on to pay off this deficit in’ sharply increased taxes under whatever heading. RESOURCE GRAB Finally, the ad campaign reveals litthe or nothing of the Trudeau government's ambitions to grab control of ~ provincial resources jurisdiction over which is specifically assigned to provincial governments under the BNA Act. Already there's the threat of a federal tax on B.C.’s natural gas exports on which the B.C. government depends for a hefty portion | of its revenue. The im- * mediate effect would be higher provincial taxes for every British Columbian to make up the slack — ofr, alternatively, wholesale ~~ cutbacks (or even aban- ‘ donment) = of provincial programs 3 These are just a few of the things that Mr. Trudeau's > pretty pictures of The New major ‘4 Canada don't tell us. = Meanwhile, is got un patriotic to give senous © consideration to the pressing issues which those capensive ads seck to hid. It is mot unpatriotic to face up to the fact that Canadian unity — from Quebec City to Victoria — is in worse shape this summer than it was & year ago Or to do some constructive thinking of our own (which may aot com cide with Mr. Trudeau s) on how to mend Canada With deeds. commercials ew Coates women Ome Garena WON TV not