WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, MAY 27,1987, PAGE 5 You are about to buy a car seat for an infant. The array of products available will dazzle the mind. Which car seat provides the most protection for the infant? You are preparing a meal for a very dear friend. The friend has a severe allergy, bad enough to be fatal. How do you tell what is in the packaged soup you have served? A friend has just become a parent for the first time. As a gift, you have hauled out the baby's crib yoùr mother used when you were born. Will it still be suitable? In all the above cases, the answers are clear. In the case of infant care seats, all those now on the market must meet federal standards. Although some variation does exist, you can be assured that whatever is on the market does the job reasonably well. In the case of the soup, you simply read the label, which tells you the ingredients. And in the case of the used crib, the chances are anything that old will not meet current standards. But a quick check with the federal Ministry of Consumer and Corporate Affairs will confirm whether or not an older crib meets federal safety standards. The reason such standards in these and other areas can be traced to the Consumers' Association of Canada. The CAC grew out of a special consumers' committee set up during the Second World War. "The dream of a national consumers' movement was born when women's groups across Canada were recruited by the Consumer Branch of the federal Wartime Prices and Trades Board to assist in monitoring prices and rationing. The Women's Regional Advisory Committees... became the source of guidance and information for Canadian homemakers on all consumer matters," says Chris Mercer, writing in the current issue of Canadian Consumer, a magazine produced by the CAC. "Responsible for keeping the cost of living under control during the war years, the Women's Regional Advisory The Town of Whitby has denied a Whitby. resident's plan to convert a dwelling on Kent St., following rejection of an appeal by the resident at last week's ad- ministration committee meeting. Harry Saroyan, who wanted to convert a single family dwelling to provide five additional dwelling units, appeared before committee to complain about the denial. He said planners previously had "verbally approved" his plan to construct a five-unit addition to the dwelling, but then later denied the application because it did not con- form to yard provisions in the WITH OUR FEET UP by Bill Swan Consumers landmarks Cornmittee volunteers were shocked to see prices climb quickly as soon as the war ended." As a result, many of the regional committees refused to be disbanded, and led to the formation of the Canadian Association of Consumers. Much has changed in the forty years since. But at the time the theme of the market place was: Let the Buyer Beware. Few federal standards applied. For example, in 1951 the association took on the battle of women's clothing sizes, which meant that shoppers in those countries could buy a size which fit. No such standards existed in Canada. Each manufac- turer or importer then could impose a unique sizing stan- dard. The consumer was left to sort out the confusion. We now have standard sizing - the result of battles fought in the early fifties. In addition, textiles now are marked with instructions on cleaning and care. All of this grew out of the CAC. Other CAC landmarks: 1948: Margarine, which had been forbidden because it would threaten the dairy industry, is legalized. (But it will be several years before coloring is allowed. Remember squeezing the color button on the plastic bag of Blue Bon- net?) 1953: Bacon manufacturers finally agree to package bacon with clear plastic. Previously, a plastic window on the product contained red stripes which made assessment of the bacon almost impossible. 1962: CAC discovers that beef from dead and sick animals is being sold in retail stores. The publicity leads to a cleanup in the industry. 1964: CAC pressure results in National Health and Welfare publication of a list of permitted food additives. Before, any ingredient could be used until it was proven harmful. Now, manufacturers had to prove a product was safe first. But lobbying for change in laws and regulations is only part of the CAC's function today. Since 1963 the association has produced The Canadian Consumer, a monthly magazine. Regular features in the publication include product test reports. Thus it is now possible to gain expert advice on products before you spend your money and learn the hard way. The magazine also provides considerable detail on any major consumer project: what to look for when building a new house; safety advice on wood-burning stoves; how to plan and buy insurance. More information on the Consumers' Association of Canada is available from CAC at 2660 Southvale Crescent, Level 3, Ottawa, Ont. K1B 5C4. A membership in CAC costs $25 and includes a subscription to the Canadian Con- sumer. Dwelli*ng plan rejeected zoning bylaw. bylaw to mean that conversion can planning report. But planners "They (planners) came out and take place only within the walls of found that yard provisions did not said what I was doing was right- the existing structure. The report conform when they reviewed the verbally," said Saroyan. said Saroyan's plan did not con- site plan prepared by Saroyan. bm really upseta...ithis is not nice form to this definition. The Town solicitor then reviewed what you're doing to me. I waited Saroyan's lawyer, in a legal the site plan and agreed with plan- nine months, I spent $900, so give opinion to planners, said the ap- ners that it did not conform. me a chance." pication to build an addition con- Saroyan claimed that the Town In a report, planning director Bob formed to the definition of a conver- solicitor "changed his mind" about Short states that the planning ted dwelling. the application. But councillor Joe department has always interpreted The Town solicitor verbally Bugelli noted that Saroyan's the converted dwelling zoning agreed to that opinion, states the lawyer did not accompany Saroyan to appeal the denial. Saroyan also admitted being told by his lawyer that the application "didn't have a chance.", "He said I would likely lose," Saroyan told committee. Bugelli said Saroyan had a chan- ce to revise his plan but did not. He advised Saroyan to consult with planning department as to how to make the application acceptable. "What you have before this committee despite what you've heard....cannot be accepted," said Bugelli, adding that approval of the application as is would set -a precedent.