Maclean's

CANADA

The newest boat people

The saga began as a simple remake of a familiar plot. A rusty tramp freighter slips through the chill Atlantic fog to deposit its human cargo near Canada’s undefended coast. Men with the dark complexions of south Asia swarm ashore, risking the hazardous illegal landing to take advantage of Canada’s well-known leniency toward anyone who manages to set foot on its soil and claim the status of a refugee.

48

COLUMN

Bring on the backbenchers

Television, as we know, is mostly horrible; an enormous misuse of a tremendous invention. It is mainly mindless pablum, junk food for the eyes, a series of goofy game shows and witless soaps—indeed the “wasteland” that U.S. television regulator Newton Minow labelled it years ago. By Allan Fotheringham4 min

24d

BUSINESS WATCH

Royal Trust challenges the banks

This week Royal Trust begins issuing some intriguing new financial instruments, which threaten to revolutionize the multibillion-dollar but relatively staid guaranteed investment certificate (GIC) market, traditionally reserved for investors satisfied to get low earnings on their funds in return for minimum risks. By Peter C. Newman4 min

26

COVER

‘FABULOUS FERGIE’

The Duke and Duchess of York initially displayed a no-nonsense demeanor when they made their first official appearance together before the Canadian public at Toronto’s Queen’s Park on July 15. As the 21 guns of the artillery troop of the 7th Toronto Regiment slowly boomed out their salute, the brisk and businesslike royal couple marched quickly through the park, scarcely glancing at the crowd of more than 5,000 well-wishers who had come to see them.

14

WORLD

Spreading the faith

Some time this week a Kuwaiti tanker is expected to sail into the Persian Gulf flying an American flag and protected by a U.S. naval escort. Last week Iran threatened to strike at any Arab state that provided port facilities for the U.S.-shielded ships.

38

THE WINTER OLYMPICS

Securing the Games

Since the massacre of 11 Israelis by Palestinian gunmen at Munich in 1972, the threat of terrorism has haunted the Olympic Games. Indeed, the training of security personnel for the Games is now as complex and sophisticated as that of the athletes. By JOHN HOWSE4 min

22

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Building a first for Canada

When Toronto-based Onex Corp. went public in April, president and chief executive officer Gerald Schwartz conducted his own high-energy sales campaign rather than relying entirely on the underwriters. He personally lobbied Canadian institutional investors for buy-orders and flew to Europe for meetings with potential investors.

30

COVER

The Man Who Will Be King

At 38, he is one of Europe’s most politically concerned royals. But Britain’s Prince Charles appears to many observers a sad, lonely, some-what misunderstood figure—trapped in the unenviable position of having to wait years, perhaps even decades, before taking over the job for which he has been trained since birth. By ROSS LAVER4 min

12

WORLD

‘The buck stops here’

He had purposely left the glamor of his white admiral’s tunic and decorations at home because, as he put it, “this issue is not a navy issue.” Instead, Rear Admiral John Poindexter sported a nondescript blue suit. And, despite coaching from his lawyers, his voice was bland and emotionless. By MARCI McDONALD6 min

18

WORLD

The nuclear caper

The inquiry raised immediate suspicions at the Carpenter Steel Corp. in Reading, Pa. In 1986 a man approached the company about the possibility of ordering 25 tons of an extremely costly and rare steel alloy. The man told the steelmaker that his Pakistani client planned to remelt the metal—a process that would destroy its special, high-strength properties. By IAN AUSTEN4 min

18

WORLD

Diplomacy for democracy

Assistant Secretary of State for Asian Affairs Gaston J. Sigur had planned to make an early night of it. He was due to fly out of Washington early the next morning to join Secretary of State George Shultz on an 11-day diplomatic tour of the South Pacific. By WILLIAM LOWTHER3 min

20

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Accounting in the West

For the past two weeks 72-year-old Hildegard Baron has had trouble sleeping. As a result, she watches TV—or occasionally takes a sleeping pill. When she becomes really despondent, the Calgary widow quietly sobs and says that she worries about paying the August rent.

4

COLUMN

The chase for leftover fortunes

Two years ago Terence Howes struck pay dirt in a warehouse and in the dusty archives of a trust company. The warehouse contained a box filled with a cool $2 million worth of unclaimed stock certificates in a mining company whose assets had passed over to another company. By Diane Francis5 min