10 — The Prince George Citizen — Monday, July 25,1988 Business — jMlliBlIB mmmrnm ' if ■' *50 Off 15-cu. ft. frost-free refrigerator incl. 2 adj. shelves and 3-temperature butter conditioner. White, R.H. hinge #51570. Sears reg. 949.99.......899.99 17-cu. ft. frost-free refrigerator #51760. Sears reg. 999.99.......949.99 Almond, L H extra ^ It’s the name that stands for dependable quality, innovation and reliability. ^ We service what we sell. Our tradition is built on fast and friendly service. ^ From coast to coast, millions of times a day, our customers depend on Kenmore. We’re dedicated to offering you appliances that are long-lasting and easy to use. ‘Canada's Best Sellers are based on current, independent national research surveys. Book sales in Canada dominated by U.S. OTTAWA (CP) — American companies still dominate this country’s book publishing industry and Canadian firms don’t appear to be gaining much ground, says Statistics Canada. “If you look at it overall, things look fairly constant,” Michel Freve, project manager of the agency’s book publishing survey, said in an interview. Whether it’s actual sales, average sales per company, market share, profits or employees, foreign-controlled publishing firms — almost all of them American — show higher numbers than Canadians in the business, Freve said. Thirty-six foreign-controlled companies posted $423 million in sales, while 230 Canadian-controlled companies logged $337 million, 1986-87 figures show. In average sales, Canadian firms had $1.5 million each during 1986-87 while foreign companies earned $11.8 million each. “It’s a very significant difference,” Freve said, adding the numbers for 1985-86 were $1.4 million for Canadian companies and $11.7 million for foreign firms. Foreign publishers enjoy higher sales and profits primarily because they import more books to sell here. “They import almost three times as much as Canadian publishers,” Freve said. American firms concentrate on sales in the textbook, reference and technical areas while Canadian companies earn most of their sales from general mass-market books. In terms of profit as a percentage of revenue, American firms are at 10 per cent while Canadians are at eight per cent. One area where Canadian companies do surpass American firms is in government grants. Three per cent of revenue for Canadian firms comes from grants. American companies don’t qualify for any. If the grants were taken away, Canadian profits as a percentage of revenue would fall to five per cent. The survey showed that publishing firms in Canada, both Canadian and foreign-controlled, produced six per cent more new titles in 1986-87 than the year before. About 70 per cent of those titles were published by Canadian-controlled firms. But figures on how many books by Canadian authors were published and who published them are not available, Freve said. Foreign publishers say they are publishing more Canadian titles but Statistics Canada has never asked for those figures before. This year’s survey requests that information but Freve said it may take a couple of years before publishing companies can supply accurate numbers. Foreign companies also create more jobs: 31 foreign companies employed 2,604 fulltime workers while 126 Cana-dian-controlled firms had 2,402 employees. SAFETY NET FOR DEBTORS Pizza business mushroomed EDMONTON (CP) — A business that began as one pizza outlet in Edmonton 25 years ago has mushroomed into an international empire. Jim Treliving, president of Boston Pizza International, said his company plans to set up franchises in as many countries as possible during the next 10 years. The first overseas outlet, with 200 seats, opened in Taiwan on July 2 and business has been brisk, Treliving said. In five years, he said, Boston Pizza should be established in most Asian countries and will have taken a crack at the U.S. and European markets. Treliving was an RCMP officer in Edmonton before he switched to the pizza business. He lived near the original Boston Pizza store in northwest Edmonton, which was opened in 1963 by Greek immigrant Gus Agioritis. He ate there a lot and, when the first franchise became available, he opened an outlet in Penticton, B.C. He and partner George Melville then opened outlets in other B.C. communities, such as Prince Rupert and Prince George. It came from the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League, who were popular in the Edmonton area when Agioritis opened his store, before the city had its own major league team. Bankruptcy considered positive process SATISFACTION OR WE SERVICE WHAT SEARS CARD... CANADA’S #1 HOME OF KENMORE MONEY REFUNDED WE SELL COAST-TO-COAST DEPARTMENT STORE CREDIT CARD DIEHARD, CRAFTSMAN I guess if you have to choose between bankruptcy and suicide, bankruptcy is the lesser of the two evils. At least it gets you out of debt alive, which your death might not. But lawyer David Gagnon insists that bankruptcy should not be considered an evil at all, that it does not deserve its negative reputation. “I consider bankruptcy to be a positive process,” said Gagnon, who specializes in working with debtors, creditors and trustees in bankruptcy. “Although everyone views bankruptcy with dread, it does represent the safety net which preserves debtors from financial calamity.” Gagnon told of a couple in their 60s who had once been millionaires but then lost everything when their business failed, leaving them with debts they could never repay. “Debtors in those circumstances are desperate, usually broken in spirit and occasionally suicidal,” said Gagnon. “Financial rebirth through bankruptcy, even for those in their 60s, can restore the glint in their eyes and the optimism that just maybe they can regain the fortune they lost. “Most important, they have fin- have money for more than the necessities. If they keep on this way, is integrity being preserved at too high a price? Ask the children.” But, I asked Gagnon, should a borrower be allowed to escape debt at the creditor’s expense? “If you lent somebody money,” I said, “you would feel it unfair to have that person avoid repaying your money by going bankrupt.” “You would be out of pocket while that person would eventually be able to go on holidays and buy a nicer home — instead of paying you back.” Gagnon agreed that having a debtor go bankrupt could even lead to the bankruptcy of the creditor. “But the creditor made the choice to take some risk by lending money and charging interest, he said. That interest should allow for some losses. “Parliament established bankruptcy to provide a fresh start, to serve society’s interest by giving a bankrupt individual or company the chance to re-enter society and become productive once again.” (For more information on bankruptcy proceedings and costs, contact community or provincial debt counselling services, the federal consumer affairs department, a lawyer or an accounting firm which can act as a trustee in bankruptcy.) Gagnon said a bankrupt whose problems arose from abuse of credit should never receive credit again. “But if the bankrupt was an honest unfortunate, why shouldn’t he or she be entitled to credit once again? I remember one bankrupt who received a $15,000 loan to buy a car within six weeks of his discharge. And why not? He had a significant income and was debt-free. So he was more creditworthy than ever before.” Going bankrupt might provide financial and emotional relief. But going through the process could be stressful. First, if you are a truly desperate individual bankrupt, you might qualify for the special $50 fee. Otherwise, you pay the trustee up to several thousand dollars, depending on the complexity of the situation. “Then the trustee, usually a chartered accountant, takes all your non-exempt assets to raise as much cash as possible to repay the creditor(s),” Gagnon said. “These rules vary from province to province, but you might typically be allowed to keep assets worth only up to $2,000. That includes personal possessions right down to clothing, tools and even a wedding band. “Exempt assets might include life insurance policies and annuities with a spouse, child, grandchild or parent as beneficiary. “Once you declare bankruptcy, the creditors must turn to te trustee to try to collect. “Bankruptcy can affect your credit rating — but so can lawsuits and unsatisfied judgments,” said Gagnon. “Possible loss of credit is rarely enough reason to stick it out and not go bankrupt.” The amount of debt is relative. “There was a man with debts of $7,000, and that amount represented the world to him,” Gagnon said. “He could pay only $100 a month, which barely covered the interest he owed. “That situation was as crushing to him as bigger debts are to people with more means.” 30" range features analog clock-controlled oven, true simmer and deluxe elements. White. #63080. Built-in dishwasher has 6 push buttons, 3 level wash and our exclusive Power Pump^ system. #78360. Prices in effect thru Sat., July 30,1988. 279" Mid-size microwave. 0.8 cu. ft. 650 watts, programmed defrost, delay start. #87563. HOUSE AND HOME BONANZA EHDS THIS WEEK! your money's worth... and more ally come to the end of an unhappy chapter in their lives. At least they can face the future with dignity again.” Gagnon cited the example of another couple, both with good incomes, with three small children. “They had borrowed to make what turned out to be a very bad investment,” he said. “Now they were stuck with a debt on which they could only afford to pay the interest, which they had been doing for the past five years. They will never repay the principal. They will never have enough money for a proper vacation, never be able to move to a nicer house and pay down the mortgage, never • •• 35 YEARS OF KITCHEN EXPERIENCE