The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada • 30

zin Ornate can gu ct-n SECTION tstaDiisnea Lonaon iyjj Belcourt la Quebec' leading Developer of Commercial, Office nd Industrial Spec 514-333-8600 JUVJ 1.800-361-2772 (514)878-3110 1255 University, Montreal MONTREAL. WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 8. 1986 airisie Iradissfrses agrees to buy Versatile operations subsidies and lower labor costs. Marine Industries, a shipbuilder and manufacturer of hydro-electric equipment and industrial products, had a loss of 15 1 million on revenues of 1113 8 million last year, though the company has said it should return to profitability this year.

Versatile Corp. lost $60.9 million In 1985 and 839.4 million in the first half of this year. of the province's three shipyards. The union says Marine Industries wants to transfer work to Versatile's Lauzon shipyard then close the one at Marine Industries said earlier that it was exploring the possibility of buying Versatile i eastern-Canadian ship-related operations. Versatile has been a takeover candidate since it asked its bankers to restructure its debt payments and suspended interest payments on about IS 8 million wortii of debentures sold to the public In 1976.

The company has been in difficulty partly because the Canadian shipbuilding industry is going through bard times. The companies complain that they must compete with foreign shipyards that benefit from government Marine Industries Ltd. of Sorcl has reached agreement to purchase east-ern-Canadian shipbuilding opera lions of Vancouver-based Versatile The Gazette has learned. However, both companies refused to comment on the deal yesterday, 'ending an announcement scheduled or today. "This is very sensitive stuff," Terry Lyons, vice-president of ma the Versatile Davie Inc.

shipyard in Lauzon; Versatile Vlckers Inc. of Montreal, which Includes Its cast-end shipyard; and Versatile Systems Engineering Inc. of Ottawa. Lyons also refused to comment on possible job losses. Gerald Larose, president of the Confederation of National Trade Unions, has said the sale of Versatile Davie will lead to the closing of one rine projects for Versatile said in a telephone interview from Vancouver.

"Discussions are still pending. Nothing has been sold until money changes hands. "You'll find out at 1:30 Vancouver time (Wednesday)." Lyons refused to say whether part, or all, of Versatile's eastern operations have been sold. They include: 1 I tier Ottawa asks west-coast ports to permit grain ships to load -V I v. r.tTOwr It- i Vi It, -f Hi V.

OTTAWA (CP) The federal gov-ernment has asked the B.C. Maritime Employers Association to reopen British Columbia grain terminals so loading of grain ships can resume, Labor Minister Pierre Ca-dieux said yesterday. Cadieux told Liberal Leader John Turner the government sees no reason why the grain handlers should be locked out in a dispute that Involves the unpacking of containers. The minister said outside the Commons he still is waiting for a reply to his telegram. "I don't think there Is any connection between grain movements and the container clause and the longshoremen are ready to work," Cadieux said.

The 3,700 British Columbia dock-workers were locked out by their employers Monday in a dispute hinging on whether the longshoremen should continue to have the right to unpack containers destined for customers within 80 kilometres of Vancouver. The 65-member Maritime Employers' Association claims the longstanding practice of unpacking the containers at dockside made B.C. ports uncompetitive with their U.S. rivals. Ironically, a similar clause giving longshoremen the right to unpack certain containers has just come into effect at all U.S.

West Coast ports. The container clause was negotiated 16 years ago on both sides of the border, but did not take effect in the U.S. because of protracted challenges, both in the courts and before the National Labor Relations Board. The employers' decision Monday to lock out the International Long 4 Gazette, Pierre Obendrauf Bill Gamble polishes part of Nissan lineup shown Montreal dealers yesterday. ation," said Brian Stacey, a spokesman for the Canadian Wheat Board in Winnipeg.

Stacy said the terminals will be able to start loading waiting ships immediately. Unloading rail cars, will be delayed until the terminals clear some space. Tony Kaplanis, eastern ports coordinator for the federal Grain Transportation Agency, said that, once the strike is settled, extra shifts will begin and some of the facilities will work around the clock to clear the backlog. However, Norman Hall, president of the Dominion Marine Association, said the Wheat Board will have trouble meeting its export commitments once the terminals are back in operation. He estimates the Wheat Board, and ultimately farmers, already have lost $200 million in grain sales because of the labor disputes.

That's based on the normal September shipment of 1.2 million tonnes at the board asking price of $180 a tonne. The board wants to move between 4 million and 5 million tonnes of grain before the normal closing of the seaway in mid-December, Hall said. That requires 150 to 200 shiploads, which could pose a problem if fog and cold weather set in early. The seaway has remained open until January some years. Meanwhile, six Soviet ocean-going freighters are steaming to Thunder Bay to pick up grain in anticipation of the end of Uiat dispute, The Soviet vessels, led by the Aleksandr Nevskiy, are scheduled to begin arriving at the port early next week.

The Aleksandr Nevskiy moved through the locks at Montreal at about 11 a.m. yesterday, the first step in the six-day journey up the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Lakehead. The Soviet vessels, each able to carry about 15,000 tonnes of wheat or barley through the seaway, could move a total of 90,000 tonnes out of Thunder Bay. Other vessels, including larger Soviet ships, have begun arriving at Montreal and other eastern ports to await a resumption in the normal movement of grain.

1 987-model cars are on their way but don't buy yet, analyst says By BRIAN DUNN of The Gazette The 1987-model automobiles will be making their debut in dealer PIERRE CADIEUX Longshoremen ready to work gets the employers' reply. One is to send labor mediator Bill Kelly, who negotiated a tentative agreement to the month-long strike and lockout of grain handlers at Thunder Bay, to see if a compromise could be worked out. The west-coast lockout already has resulted in layoff notices to about 900 CN Rail workers. More than 400 Vancouver-area workers will be laid off by Friday, while in Alberta, the railway said it is laying off 460 of its employees. Don Garcia, Canadian longshoremen president, said yesterday in Ottawa the union would help load grain at west-coast ports if the employers would lift the lockout at grain terminals.

The lockout was imposed just hours after a tentative agreement was reached that would reopen the terminals at Thunder Bay, Canada's largest grain port. About 1,200 grain handlers at Thunder Bay will vote tomorrow on a tentative agreement to end that -five-week shutdown. If the union ratifies the contract, the giant white grain elevators could reopen by Friday. But "it's going to take a few weeks before you get back to a normal situ showrooms across the country over the next week or so and, in most cases, the new designs will be sporting higher price tags. shoremen's and Warehousemen's Union effectively closed down most A sampling of manufacturers by the Gazette turned up increases Canadian west-coast shipping.

Vhat 1S87 cars will cost Some 1987 prices and change from 1986 on comparably equipped models: CAR 1986 Price 1987 Price Change BMW 325 $23,910 $25,825 8 Chevrolet Cavalier 58,770 ra 2.5 Chevrolet Camaro $12,091 $12,396 2.5 Chrysler Fifth Avenue $19,227 Chrysler Le Baron GTS $12,083 $12,080 0 Honda Civic $8,630 $8,995 -r42 Nissan Maxima $21,787 $22,987 5.5 PJymouth Tourismo $8,346 $8,412 Toyota Supra $26,368 $27,488 4.2 In his telegram to the employers in sticker prices ranging from less than one per cent, for a subcom- association, Cadieux said: "As the ex port of grain does not involve the pact Plymouth Tourismo, to 8 per cent for a BMW 325, compared with comparable '86 models (see accompanying chart). container operations, the government is of the view that the resumption of grain-export operations would not unduly interfere with your Auto-industry analysts say continuing negotiations" with the longshoremen. buyers looking for good deals on the 1987 models may be better off to sit tight until the dust settles in Cadieux said yesterday he had a the showrooms. number of options to follow once he Low-interest-rate financing pro grams offered by most major auto makers to clear out '86 models are Toys 'R' Us to open 4 Montreal stores set to expire with the next week. But the analysts say some may be extended into the 1987 model year or resumed shortly after the new models are introduced.

By JAY BRYAN of The Gazette Toys 'R' Us, the U.S. chain of giant General Motors of Canada Oshawa, Ont, which usually sets discount toy stores, has begun a major move into the Montreal market, with four large stores to be the pace for the industry, will end its 6.8- to 9.8-per-cent financing program today, and will introduce its 1987 models tomorrow. opened by mid-November. The Montreal stores will each pects to sell fewer cars and trucks in the 1987 model year. For model year 1986, GM, Ford and Chrysler sold 1.12 million cars and 414,800 trucks.

However, they only expect to sell a total of one million cars and 395,000 trucks in 1987. Detroit auto analyst Arvid Joup-pi predicts that saies incentives will resume once the initial rush to buy 1987 models is over. "The car manufacturers want consumers to believe they're running out of automobiles and that they should buy now," Jouppi said. He said new-car sales will appear strong at first because they will include fleet and leased-car sales. However, GM may continue the ny had been offering financing at rates of between 6.7 and 9.9 per cent, depending on the model of car and length of the loan.

Chrysler Canada Windsor, said its incentive program will end Oct. 13, the day before it introduces 1987 models. Chrysler has been offering such inducements as 3.9-per-cent financing on 24-month loans, rebates of between $500 and $1,500 or no-cost options on some models and $700 worth of free gasoline for its Kcars. Although none of the Big Three has committed itself to incentive programs in 1987, there seems little doubt that some special offers will be forthcoming. The domestic auto industry ex have about 45,000 square feet of on sales of $2 billion.

As of January, it ran 246 stores in the U.S., Canada, Britain and Singapore. In the less than three years since Toys 'R' Us came to Canada, it has opened nine stores. By the end of this year, the number will total 13, and the company is looking for more sites in Quebec and Ontario, the only two provinces where it now operates. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Toys 'R' Us (Canada) does not make public its own sales or profit figures, but Wahle said each of the Canadian stores has been profitable within a year of being opened. The parent company's sales average roughly $8 million U.S.

per store. Wahle said seasonal employment during the Christmas shopping period could increase the chain's Montreal-area employment to more than 800. Toys 'R' Us (Canada) plans to open stores on St. John's Rd. in Pointe Claire and on Newman Blvd.

in La-Salle by late October and on Daniel-Johnson Blvd. in Laval in mid-November. The company opened a store on Taschereau Blvd. in Bros-sard last week. The U.S.

parent company, based in Rochelle Park, N. is the biggest toy retailer in the U.S., accounting for 16 per cent of all toys sold in the U.S., Wahle said. The parent company turned a profit of $120 million U.S. last year game program or introduce a new one, a company official said. floor area, making them twice the size of a typical supermarket.

Consumers are almost expect Together with a distribution centre, the four stores will employ 350 to 400 regular employees, said ing it, because we've trained them," the Oshawa-based official said. "But we probably won't know until Oct. 9." Elliott Wahle, president of Toys 'R' Us (Canada) the company's Toronto-based Canadian subsidiary. He Incentives at Ford Motor Co. of Canada Oakville, also are set to expire today.

The compa- said about two-thirds of employees will be part-time. Inquiry spotlight swings toward some big-time financiers portfolio last May amid a barrage of allega he had no first-hand knowledge of the rea I TSE 3024.24 Up 7.89 Hugh Anderson Some of Canada's financial elite are being summoned to a nondescript office building in Toronto this week to tell what they know about dealings by former cabinet minister Sinclair Stevens with one of the country's most influential business empires. Undoubtedly, it is not a happy experience for them. Wealthy stockbrokers such as Tony Fell, president of Dominion Securities, or Jimmy Connacher, president of Gordon Capital, are not accustomed to having the motives behind their business dealings probed in public. But the process under way at a judicial inquiry headed by Justice William Parker may very well supply much-needed answers to some very puzzling questions.

Why, for instance, was one of the em-' pire's top executives so keenly interested in raising money to rescue one of the minister's personal companies, a cash-short outfit called York Centre? This would-be savior was Trevor Eyton. He's president of Brascan, the principal holding company for the interests of Toronto financiers Edward and Peter Bronfman. Fell told the inquiry he worried about a conflict of interest when Eyton first tapped his firm for help in January of last year. tions of conflict of interest in connection with his business dealings. And in its earlier phases the government-ordered inquiry was concerned mostly with dealings between Stevens's department and an Ontario auto-parts company, Magna International.

But it's now moving into matters related to the government's big-dollar privatization program. Before his resignation, Stevens was the minister responsible for handling arrangements to sell a string of industrial companies owned by the government through the Canada Development Investment Corp. And evidence already presented at the inquiry indicates that from the start he was keen to have Eyton and other Brascan executives play a leading role in the divestment program. Meanwhile, for top Canadian stockbrok-ing firms such as Dominion Securities and Gordon Capital the planned sales offered big business in commissions and fees. It all adds up to a potentially explosive combination.

son. Eyton himself will presumably be asked that same question soon. He's scheduled to appear at the inquiry any day now. In fact, being questioned in public about his business dealings is becoming a regular part of Eyton's life. A few months ago, for instance, he was involved in some occasionally testy exchanges with federal MPs on the Commons finance committee.

They were probing the inner workings of Brascan because of public concerns that such business empires may exert undue influence over financial firms under their control. Eyton maintained Brascan doesn't do anything of the sort, and he was supported in this view by executive vice-president Jack Cockwell. Brascan controls such well-known financial companies as Royal Trust and London Life. It's also into real estate, mining, the oil business, the liquor business, and high-stakes financial wheeling and dealing. The close interest in relations between Brascan and Stevens marks a new phase in the inquiry.

The former minister gave up his industry DOW 1784.45 Unchanged ME 1520.94 Up 3.12 But he went as far as looking into a possible money-raising deal because Eyton and the Brascan group were, in his words, very important clients. In the end, though, Fell turned Eyton down because it wasn't the kind of proposition Dominion Securities felt it could sell to its other clients, he explained. Connacher said Gordon Capital came to the same conclusion because a York Centre deal would not be a "normal" sort of underwriting. The transaction was a "sensitive' one because the firm involved was connected to a member of Parliament, he added. Asked why Eyton was anxious to help Stevens's struggling company, Connacher said coldV 1 (N-Y.) GOLD (N.Y.) DOLLAR 72.C8 Down 0,13 GOLD 5441.05 Up $2.05.