TURMEL PRESS 1980 (23pages)

800125Fr
@PAPER = CentreTown News , Vince Wright
@HEADLINE = Turmel: no interest rates
@NEWS = A banking system with no interest rates may seem utopian
to some, but to John Turmel it is the only way to solve
unemployment and inflation.
@NEWS = Turmel has decided to present his banking system to
voters in Ottawa Centre in an effort to wrest the seat from
Liberal incumbent John Evans.
@NEWS = Turmel said his new system is similar to casino banking.
@NEWS = "Any casino banker knows the fundamental rule of no
inflation. You issue money as you bring in wealth. That way all
dollars are backed up by wealth. It is physically impossible to
have inflation because the chips have the same value when you
cash them in" he said.
@NEWS = He added loans will not be accompanied by interest
charges and productivity will increase because people will borrow
and invest more money.
@NEWS = Turmel claims that economists are "not fighting
inflation, they are dancing to it." He said engineers, like
himself, know how to "maximize production" while economists only
try to maximize profit" and in so doing, they fuel inflation.
@NEWS = It was the Scottish engineer and founder of the Social
Credit party, Major Clifford Douglas, who inspired Turmel to
formulate his banking system.
@NEWS = Although he is currently registered as an independent,
Turmel said he has sent a letter to the Social Credit party
asking if he can carry their banner in the upcoming election
race.
@NEWS = If he gets a negative response, he said he may consider
running as a candidate for the Engineering party, a name he
thought up.

800201Fr
@PAPER = Centretown News, Vince Wright
@HEADLINE = The Watchitsuh Hussle
@NEWS = "The Wachitsuh Hussle" may sound like a new dance craze
but it is actually the title of John Turmel's latest policy
paper. It is designed to win Ottawa Centre voters with its
promise of eliminating inflation and unemployment by introducing
an interest-free monetary system.
@NEWS = The paper is the product of six months of intensive
research including personal observations of House of Commons
Finance committee meetings, said Turmel, who is running as an
independent candidate.
@NEWS = Although his ideas are somewhat similar to those of the
Social Credit Party, his application to carry their banner in the
upcoming Federal election was rejected.
@NEWS = "They turned me down because they know I'm in favor of
legalizing gambling, prostitution and dope," said Turmel, who
openly confesses he earns his living by operating illegal
gambling operations.
@NEWS = Turmel admits that the paper is aimed at younger voters
who are more receptive because they are feeling the greatest
pressure from unemployment and inflation. Yet he feels the
interest rate is the major issue among his constituents in his
riding.

800205Tu
@PAPER = Ottawa Journal, Dave Evans
@HEADLINE = Minor parties steal Ottawa Centre show
@NEWS = It was the minor parties' candidates and independents
that stole most of the show at the Ottawa South Community
Association meeting last night ... and John Turmel's damning of
bank interest rates stirred the largest reactions in the church
hall packed with more than 450 people.

800207Th
@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen, Michael Prentice
@HEADLINE = Record 10 candidates face students in Carleton
bearpit
@NEWS = Democracy is alive and well -- and rowdy, funny, serious
and eccentric -- in Ottawa Centre where a record 10 candidates
went at it in a bearpit surrounded by 500 cheering and jeering
students at Carleton University.
@NEWS = At one stage, two Carleton University professors -- Robin
Matthews of the National Party and Marvin Glass of the Communist
Party -- joined in an alliance to force a change in the debating
rules. They claimed it was undemocratic and contrary to the
ground rules when they were denied the right to comment on
questions not directed to them. The audience roared its support,
and from then on, all the candidates were allowed to respond to
any question.
@NEWS = Rhino David Langille and professional gambler John
Turmel, who is running as an independent, supported legalization
of marijuana. The candidates of the three major parties agreed
simple possession should not be a crime.
@NEWS = Turmel, who urges abolishing interest on loans, said we
could learn from ants how to manage our economy better. "Have you
ever seen unemployed ants?" he asked.

800209Sa
@PAPER = Ottawa Journal, David Evans
@HEADLINE = Big Three trade salvos at Ottawa Centre skirmish
@NEWS = Ottawa Centre's 10-candidate campaign recorded its first
skirmish with the thorny issue of equal time yesterday at a
spirited main-party debate at Lisgar Collegiate.
@NEWS = The huge field could make upcoming all-candidates
meetings a "circus" and reduce their information value, John
Evans said after the lunch time sessions which included an
appearance by Marxist-Leninist Robin Collins.
@NEWS = Tory Jean Pigott and NDP John Smart argued, however, that
all candidates should be given the same opportunities despite the
resulting problems.
@NEWS = When Collins asked to be allowed to speak, student
organizers explained the 40 minute lunch break had made it
impossible to accommodate all candidates. He held the floor for a
few minutes but finally gave in to the moderator's objections.
@NEWS = After the debate, Evans told reporters that future all-
candidates' debates might not be too informative if the multitude
of candidates diverts attention from the three main contenders.
The debates could become too long and boring or turn off
potential audiences. He said he has insisted that the upcoming
CJOH television debate be broken up into separate sessions, with
the Liberal, NDP and PC candidates appearing together.
@NEWS = EVANS WANTS PARTIES SPLIT APART
@NEWS = Smart and Pigott do not object to a split of the CJOH
program. Pigott said: "I'll debate them in another forum," and
Smart said the equal-time consideration was being met.
@NEWS = A spokesman for the television station said its stage has
room for five people. As a result, the five candidates whose
parties drew the most votes in Ottawa Centre in May will appear
together in a 15 minute spot followed with a similar time for the
five left over.

800211Mo
@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen
@HEADLINE = John Turmel profile
@NEWS = Of all the candidates, John Turmel seems to have the most
trouble getting the voters to take him seriously. When he
outlined his platform at a women's-interest group all-candidates
meeting this month, he was laughed at.
@NEWS = Turmel would eliminate the payment of interest for
borrowing money. He says that would kill inflation dead and bring
full employment at once.
@NEWS = Turmel, an independent, is a 29-year-old engineer who is
fascinated with gambling and games of chance. He was fired from a
Carleton University teaching job for running a game in the
faculty lounge, and has tangled with police for organizing
gambling parties, which he insists are legal.
@NEWS = The self-confessed professional gambler says he is
putting his money on the Conservatives.

800214Th
@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen, Michael Prentice
@HEADLINE = Close fights in key Ottawa ridings
@NEWS = At the St. John's Church meeting, professional gambler
John Turmel and Rhino David Langille provided comic relief.

800219Tu
@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen, Michael Prentice
@HEADLINE = Liberal pounds Pigott back into private life
@NEWS = Liberal John Evans 21,732; PC Jean Pigott 14,249; NDP
John Smart 7,566; Rhino David Langille 358; National Party Robin
Mathews 171; Communist Marvin Glass 117; Ind. John Turmel 64;
Marxist-Leninist Robin Collins 44; Ind. Iqbal Ban-Tahir 36, Ind.
Ernie Bouchard 33.

800220We
@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen, CP
@HEADLINE = Socreds may not field Frontenac candidate
@NEWS = ST. GEORGES-DE-BEAUCE, Que. -- Social Credit leader
Fabien Roy, still reeling from the crushing defeat of his party
in Monday's federal election, has announced he won't run in
Frontenac riding on March 24.
@NEWS = Roy told a news conference Tuesday it's even uncertain
whether his party will field a candidate in the election, made
necessary by the sudden death of Socred candidate Nelson Lessard.
The death forced a postponement of balloting in Frontenac to
March.
@NEWS = Roy, who lost his seat in Beauce riding by about 3,000
votes declined to answer any questions concerning his political
future or that of his party.
@NEWS = He said the party's national executive is scheduled to
meet on March 9 to discuss its future and Roy indicated he will
announce his plans then. But he would not say whether he intends
to call a leadership convention.

800304Tu
@PAPER = Sherbrooke Tribune
@HEADLINE = Possible creditiste candidate in Frontenac: John
Turmel wants a new world
@NEWS = "I promised my grandfather who has just turned 82 that
he'll see the birth of a new world in which the chartered banks
will be replaced by computers and where, in daily transactions,
bank notes and coins will be replaced by chips where the number
will grow as the wealth of the nation grows," said John Turmel
yesterday, an engineer who lives in Ottawa and who will under the
creditiste colours in the Frontenac by-election unless forced to
concede the victory to Fabien Roy at a meeting during which the
party militants will be called to elect their standard bearer.
@NEWS = Mr. Turmel who, because of his Ontario origins, expresses
himself laboriously in French, has something against certain
creditiste militants in the county who hope Mr. Roy receives the
mandate to defend the party cause without having to undergo the
trial of a nomination vote. "Certain influential party members
want at all costs to give the nomination to Fabien Roy. I claim
that the rules of democracy should be respected. If Mr. Roy
receives the mission of carrying the party standard at a meeting
where they could freely vote for their choice, he would support
him but, if democracy is thwarted, I'll run as an independent
creditiste candidate.
@NEWS = If he's chosen to represent the party and if he should
win over the Liberal Leopold Corriveau, Mr. Turmel will make the
county a laboratory in which will be tried thee replacement of
traditional money by chips representing the wealth of the county
and allowing the acquisition of part of the wealth.

800305We
@PAPER = Sherbrooke Tribune
@HEADLINE = No chance Turmel will be Frontenac candidate.
Petition for the return of Roy in Frontenac
@NEWS = THETFORD MINES (PS) -- "There is absolutely no chance
that Mr. John Turmel will present himself as the candidate under
the Social Credit banner, even if Fabien Roy refuses to present
himself.
@NEWS = That is what was categorically asserted by the new
president of the county Creditiste Association. Mr. Jean-Louis
Poulin, in a comment to yesterday's news that Mr. Turmel is
pushing for a nominating convention.
@NEWS = The region's creditiste committee met with Mr. Turmel
yesterday and advised him that a convention could not be held
because there was insufficient time. As well, affirmed Mr.
Poulin, no one in the party know this Mr. Turmel. "No matter, we
have no intention of supporting him."
@NEWS = Also, the creditiste executive of the county will meet
with Mr. Fabien Roy next Sunday at Quebec to give him a petition
with 3,500 signatures demanding and urging his candidacy in
Frontenac. Mr. Poulin hopes Mr. Roy will give a positive answer.

800307Fr
@PAPER = Quebec Le Soleil, Leonce Gaudreault
@HEADLINE = Frontenac: Fabien's decision on weekend
@NEWS = When Fabien Roy returns to Quebec today from his vacation
in warmer climes, he'll find the territory already active with
election organizers from all political horizons with an
electrical engineer who believes he has the key to the plumbing
of the theory of Major Douglas.
@NEWS = It's on the weekend that the defeated leader of the
Social Credit will decide if he will accept or refuse the
creditiste candidacy in the riding.
@NEWS = Armed with a petition of 3,000 signatures and convinced
of being able to elect him,l some local organizers will meed Mr.
Fabien Roy on the weekend at Quebec, at a national reunion, to
solicit his candidacy.
@NEWS = Mr. Fabien Roy must, however, take account of new factors
for an against this remarkable chance to get elected, only five
weeks after his defeat in the Beauce.
@NEWS = Mr. Roy should also take account of the presence of
another candidate, who says he's infinitely more creditiste than
Mr. Roy himself. It's Mr. John Turmel of Ottawa, an electrical
engineer and proprietor of the first private gaming house in
Canada (says Mr. Turmel).
@NEWS = He risks mixing up the card a little even if, at his last
two elections, he only received 64 votes in Ottawa Centre in 1980
and 193 votes inn Ottawa West in 1979, each time as an
independent.
@NEWS = Fabien Roy had in fact refused to endorse his candidacy.
The Creditistes don't want to hear about him neither. Mr. Turmel
will have to settle for being an independent Socred. "It'll be
Roy ... the banker against Turmel ... the engineer," said this
man who believes he has understood, by his experience with gaming
houses, how to apply the theory creditiste. Around the gaming
tables, there are only chips, not money. Therefore, inflation
cannot exist. It's like this that the social credit theory
functions, affirms enthusiastically the candidate Turmel
convinced of having discovered the secret of the application of
the theory of Major Douglas.

800308Sa
@PAPER = Quebec Le Soleil, Paul-Henri Drouin
@HEADLINE = Fabien will be a candidate
@NEWS = Joined by telephone at his residence after his return
from Jamaica, Mr. Fabien Roy, without wanting to confirm that
he'll accept the candidacy, clearly let it be understood that he
must "take account of several factors as leader of the party and
that a boat captain does not let his vessel go down."
@NEWS = Taking advantage of a national reunion at the Motel
Universelle, fifty or so local organizers and the Frontenac
executive will solicit the Roy's candidacy. Armed with a 3,000
name petition and convinced of being able to elect him, the
president of the executive, Mr. Jean-Louis Poulin, asserted that
he is convinced that Fabien will not be able to refuse the
request of the voters of Frontenac, that of being the Social
Credit candidate. According to Mr. Poulin, there is a well
structured organization ready and financing will be the problem.

@PAPER = Quebec Le Soleil, Florent Plante
@HEADLINE = The Creditistes prepare their return to Ottawa
@NEWS = To settle the question of finance, delegates to the
national meeting at the Motel Universelle will study a plan to
create a life insurance plan. With yearly premiums of $25 to $30,
each participant will receive a $10,000 policy.
@NEWS = There is also the idea of starting in each riding a "$100
Club" and a "$500 Club" for more fortunate members. Finally,
there will be the "$1,000 Club" of which Mr. Roy will give his
personal attention.
@NEWS = The party still owes several thousand dollars to Mr.
Lorne Reznowsky, who was leader of the party for several months
after the death of Andre Fortin.

800311Tu
@PAPER = Sherbrooke Tribune
@HEADLINE = Colorful nomination day
@NEWS = THETFORD MINES -- The Frontenac nomination day ceremony
was particularly colourful yesterday as five of the eight
candidates present were invited to speak to the journalists and
supporters.
@NEWS = It's certainly the speech of the independent candidate
John Turmel which held the most attention as he, blackboard in
hand, he tried to prove that the present banking system was the
cause of all the problems. Insisting he was must more creditiste
than Mr. Fabien Roy, this Ottawa engineer demands a technical
inquiry on the banking system.
@NEWS = Mr. Turmel reproached the riding executive for not having
held a nominating convention which constituted a grave breach of
democracy.
@NEWS = These assertions did not fail to elicit some comments
from Mr. Roy who stated he did nothing but respond positively to
a request of the executive who were responsible for the choice of
candidate in the county. All the while admitting that Mr. Turmel
was correct in his assertions with respect to the banking system,
he held that his party had always advocated the tenets of Major
Douglas and he had no intention of modifying this line of
thought.
@NEWS = Mrs. Metivier clearly showed her bias toward Mr. Turmel
when he attacked Mr. Roy for his lack of democracy in the choice
of creditiste candidate in Frontenac.

@PAPER = Frontenac Carousel, M. H.
@HEADLINE = Frontenac: 8 candidates running
@NEWS = Then came John Turmel, candidate defeated in Ottawa
Centre in the February election. Strong in themes, John Turmel,
blackboard of systems under his arm, literally captivated the
audience. To his assertions, Fabien Roy smiled at several
instances. But it was but a time out Mr. Roy did not, without a
doubt, "take up" the creditiste cat fight that followed.
@NEWS = The theme of John Turmel's election campaign: the
transformation of the Canadian banking system. Nothing less.
According to him, it would be possible to abolish interest rates
and make the country's finances sensible.
@NEWS = He believes in his project strongly and seems to have
fractured the creditiste organization. "They put me out twice,"
he said. Nevertheless, John Turmel took several of Fabien Roy's
supporters with him.
@NEWS = And it was after his speech that the leader of the Social
Credit party, in answer to the repeated attacks of Turmel and his
supporters, answered that there had not been a convention (which
Turmel was condemning the creditiste organization for) only
because the executive had given him unconditional support. "It
was not me who decided not to hold a convention." said Fabien
Roy, "it was the riding organizers."
@NEWS = He however added that it took time to organize a
convention, hinting that the party had been rushed by the call,
March 10.

@PAPER = Frontenac Carousel,
@HEADLINE =
@NEWS = The Social Credit organization was fractured with John
Turmel taking some of Fabien Roy's supporters away. After Mr.
Turmel's charges, Fabien Roy answered why there was no convention
which Mr. Turmel was complaining about. It's only because the
executive had given him unconditional support. "It wasn't up to
me to decide not to hold a convention" said Fabien Roy. "It was
up to the organizers of the county." He nevertheless added that
"It took time to organize a convention" making it sound like
there wasn't enough time."
@NEWS = After all, he had taken off for three weeks. No wonder
there wasn't enough time.

@PAPER = Le Progres
@HEADLINE = Fabien is running
@NEWS = As for John Turmel, independent candidate but stating
that he is carrying the Social Credit message insisted on the
necessity of a technical inquiry on the banking system.
Advocating the creditiste economic doctrine as explained by the
founder of the party, Mr. Turmel also declared he was indignant
that there had not been a convention. Also, it is evident there
now exists two creditiste clans in the region.

800318Tu
@PAPER = Sherbrooke Tribune
@HEADLINE = Sobriety
@NEWS = Mr. Roy had to conduct a sober campaign, starting with a
modest campaign office away from the main street of Thetford
Mines and almost in the shadow of an office, much larger and more
visible of another candidate, John Turmel, who has presented
himself as the real heir of Major Douglas, the engineer of Social
Credit. He has heckled Mr. Roy and his presence has permitted the
opposition to tarnish the image of the party's unity.

800319We
@PAPER = Thetford Le Progres Letter, John Turmel @HEADLINE = In a
very hypocritical fashion
@NEWS = Dear Sir:
@NEWS = I must protest the lack of nominating convention in the
Frontenac riding to pick a candidate for the Social Credit party.
@NEWS = At a meeting of the riding supporters after the general
election, Fabien Roy told his audience to search for candidates
and hold a convention. He then left on holiday.
@NEWS = I alerted Mr. Roy by letters dated Feb. 22 and Feb 29 and
March 5 that I wished to contest the nomination. My family have
roots in the riding and has been creditiste for 45 years. I sent
Mr. Roy a detailed correspondence because I had tried to to
communicate with him by telephone a few days after the general
election but, on hearing my voice, he hung up. I suppose he
didn't want to hear what I had to say.
@NEWS = On Feb. 24, I took part in a meeting of the Frontenac
executive. the same men who had attended the meeting just a few
days before did not want to even consider a nomination
convention. It would be their boy, Roy, or no one. They had
already been circulating a petition that Mr. Roy be the
candidate. If they really got 3,000 signatures, it means that Mr.
Roy will get at least 3,000 votes on polling day. In the
meantime, Mr. Roy was tanning himself while the ship was sinking
and was not available to resolve the conflict.
@NEWS = Time ran out. There was no convention. Mr. Roy accepted
their petition knowing full well that there was another openly
declared candidate on the hustings.
@NEWS = I must conclude that Fabien and the riding executive
planned and executed the appropriation of the nomination without
a convention in a very hypocritical fashion. A man who proposes
one thing and counts on doing the opposite suffers from a very
bad habit.
@NEWS = I am of the opinion that several norms of ethical
behavior have been breached and I would ask you to transmit this
information to the government agency that you judge best equipped
to handle this complaint.

800320Th
@PAPER = Montreal Gazette
@HEADLINE = Crucial fight for Socreds today
@NEWS = Roy's slim chances of unseating Liberal incumbent Leopold
Corriveau who took the seat by a margin of 5,442 votes in May
were compounded by the candidacy of fellow Socred John Turmel.
@NEWS = Turmel, a professional gambler and an earnest disciple of
Major C.H. Douglas who engineered the Social Credit economic
policies 50 years ago, ran unsuccessfully as an independent in
Ottawa Centre Feb. 18 and recently embarrassed Roy by calling for
a party leadership convention. Turmel is not credited with much
support and the convention request was refused.

800523
@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen, Bob Marleau
@HEADLINE = Brothers crap out in local hotel raid
@NEWS = Police said that about twenty five women and men were in
the room at the time of the raid. Turmel was charged with
possession of illegal gambling equipment, inducing people to play
with dice, and keeping a common gaming house. Both were scheduled
to appear in court on Monday.

800719Sa
@PAPER = Ottawa Journal Magazine
@HEADLINE = Ottawa's gambling crusader
@NEWS = Ottawa's John Casimir Turmel has a list of gambling
charges against him, but he's not deterred and you can bet he's
dedicated to legalized gaming. By Paula McLaughlin
@NEWS = When John Casimir Turmel looks you in the eye and tells
you he's going all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada to
fight the latest batch of gambling charges against him, you tend
to believe you can bet on it.
@NEWS = Turmel, a professional gambler who runs roving "gaming
parties" in the Ottawa area, vows he's going to beat the rap and
just might bring down a sacred cow (the banking system) in the
process.
@NEWS = The 29 year old, Carleton University graduate in
engineering says he hasn't been deterred by the four police
raids, three robberies and six trials he's endured in connection
with his gambling activities over the past year.
@NEWS = I'm still going strong," he grinned, referring to the bi-
monthly "gaming parties" he operates in various hotels, community
halls and restaurant basements in the national capital area. (A
gambling session at a disco-casino-boatride are on the recent
agenda).
@NEWS = His latest run-in with the law and the episode which may
send him to the Supreme Court occurred May 24 when he was
arrested at a game he was operating in the Talisman Hotel. He was
charged with keeping a common gaming house and possession of
gaming devices (cards, card tables, dice, poker chips).
@NEWS = I'm going to fight this every way I can, and if I bring
the banks down with me, all the better."
@NEWS = WILL FIGHT RULING
@NEWS = Turmel, who thinks he's the only incorporated
professional gambler in Canada, maintains that banks are much
like casinos except "they charge interest on their chips." In a
poker game, he maintains the chips are issued "simply and
strictly limited to the wealth that is brought into the game."
@NEWS = On the other hand, interest charged by the banks fuels
inflation which leads to all kinds of economic woes, he insists.
@NEWS = Turmel, who has conducted his personal crusade for
legalized gambling and against the banking system for several
years, advocates an interest free, cashless society. To back his
beliefs and to ward against thieves, no cash changes hands at his
parties.
@NEWS = Before the game, players-by invitation only-make deposits
in a bank account in Turmel's name. The deposit slip is used to
"buy into" the game and winners' cheques are paid out at the end
of the night.
@NEWS = He says he plans to fight the gaming house charges on the
basis of a Supreme Court ruling that a person can't be convicted
of keeping a common gaming house as long as the game is held only
once in any location. "The banks are involved in gambling games
much the same as mine, only they're stationary, so why weren't
they charged?" he asks.
@NEWS = BARRED FROM CASINOS
@NEWS = He also says that if he can be charged with possession of
playing cards and dice, the department stores, drug stores and
variety shops which sell the items should be charged too. He's
fought-and lost- similar charges on three previous occasions.
@NEWS = Turmel is up front about his gambling abilities. "I'm
good, he concedes. "It's tough to beat the game, but I'm a
professional and can do it." The key to winning is counting the
cards and knowing the probability of winning every time you bet.
The size of your bets are crucial, too" he adds.
@NEWS = He claims he has been barred by several Las Vegas casinos
because of his winning ways.
@NEWS = LIST OF GAMBLERS
@NEWS = "Gaming parties" go on in Ottawa all the time, he
maintains. Besides his own gambling sessions- where few patrons
take him up on an offer to become the "bank" and let him play
against them- he plays two or three times a week at various
locations in the area.
@NEWS = He says the Nepean and Gloucester police monitor his
games, but don't lay charges. It's another story with the Ottawa
Police, however.
@NEWS = He has a list of about 170 "local members of the gambling
fraternity" whom he invites to his games to play blackjack,
poker, backgammon and "a few dice games." He's selective about
who can play and says he runs an "open, honest game."
@NEWS = He once won $39,000 over a 24 hour period in an Ottawa
game and lost most of it a while later when "I naively played a
couple of guys with crooked dice."
@NEWS = The players who are invited to his games "come from all
sorts of backgrounds," he says. "There are people who run their
own businesses, housewives, clerks, even a couple of
millionaires."
@NEWS = There are a few players in town who "can win or lose tens
of thousands of dollars in a night and it barely phases them," he
adds.
@NEWS = Most non-professional players lose a unit an hour on the
average, he says. "For example, if a person is placing $1 wagers,
on the average he'll lose $1 an hour. If a person is betting
$100, he'll lose about $100 an hour. Obviously, I try to play the
$100 player more often than the $1 shooter."
@NEWS = He also says the reverse formula is true for him. "On the
average, I would win a unit an hour."
@NEWS = STARTED YOUNG
@NEWS = He does have his bad nights, however, and there are
occasions when he comes out the loser. "That's obviously the
exception rather than the rule," he says.
@NEWS = Turmel took up gambling as a teen-ager. "A couple of my
school mates were playing poker and I sat in on a game. I've been
playing ever since."
@NEWS = He says gambling paid for all "my excess spending money"
at Carleton University. He decided to switch goals from becoming
an electrical engineer to a "money systems engineer"
(professional gambler) when he started making $20 to $50 an hour
at the gaming tables.
@NEWS = He enjoys playing poker, blackjack and backgammon (for
money) but the most exciting game at the moment is "trying to fix
the banking system."
@NEWS = RAN FOR OFFICE
@NEWS = To press his stand, Turmel has made several bids for
public office. Although Lady Luck has never come his way in the
political game, he claims to have set a record for being a
candidate in three federal elections in the course of one year.
@NEWS = He entered the May 22, 1979 election in Ottawa Centre
riding as a independent candidate. Nine months later, he was back
on the campaign trail under the Libertarian banner.
@NEWS = He even threw his hat in the ring in the federal by-
election in the Quebec county of Frontenac called after the
untimely death of one of the original candidates in the riding.
@NEWS = Turmel admits he's a more successful gambler than a
political warrior, and still jokes about how he garnered more
votes in Frontenac than on his home turf of Ottawa centre.
@NEWS = I'm going to cash in my political chips yet," he's
willing to bet.

800809Sa
@PAPER = Hamilton Spectator, Matt Maychak
@HEADLINE = Gambler may put dice in Hamilton West race
@NEWS = Ottawa's John Turmel just might gamble on Hamilton West.
An engineer and self-proclaimed gambler, Mr. Turmel ran a losing
campaign in Ottawa ridings in this year's tow federal general
elections. He recently lost again in a a by-election in Frontenac
Quebec. Now he's thinking about entering next month's federal by-
election in Hamilton-West.
@NEWS = "I ran in Frontenac and nothing was happening," he said.
"All those guys wanted to do was sit around and buy radio ad
time. There were no all-candidates' meetings.
@NEWS = NOVEL
@NEWS = "If there's some action in Hamilton, I still might decide
to run."
@NEWS = The 29 year-old Carleton University engineering graduate
says he lived in Hamilton for 12 years. To say he has a novel
approach is to put it mildly. Calling himself "Canada's only
banking systems engineer," Mr. Turmel wants to tear down our
present interest-based banking system. Instead, he would have the
Bank of Canada loan money interest-free --as long as it's paid
back -- like gambling chips.
@NEWS = Mr. Turmel, who is appealing to the Supreme Court of
Canada over a conviction for running a common gaming house,
advocates legalized and government regulated gambling and
prostitution.
@NEWS = "But what I really want is to fix that money system," he
said in a telephone interview. "That's my goal in life. I figure
the guy who does it will get the planet named after him. So I'm
giving it a shot."
@NEWS = He's so committed to his cuase that he laid charges of
keeping a common gaming house yesterday against Gerald Bouey,
governor of the Bank of Canada. "Running a common gaming house is
defined as charging a fee for the use of gambling chips,"
explained Mr. Turmel, adding that banks charge interest for the
use of their money.
@NEWS = Mr. Turmel hopes to run simultaneously in upcoming
provincial election in Ontario and a civic election in Ottawa.
@NEWS = A stand-out in a capital full of off-beat political
types, he usually uses a roulette wheel and a blackboard covered
with mathematical equations to explain to voters how his new
economic order would work.
@NEWS = BEAUTY
@NEWS = "If I find out there's going to be three of four or five
all-candidates' meetings in Hamilton, I'll run. I can set up my
whole campaign on a moment's notice and I'm willing to drive down
there a couples of times a week."
@NEWS = At present, there's only one such meeting scheduled for
Aug. 20.
@NEWS = "The beauty of it is I can change the system overnight,"
said Mr. Turmel. "I want one hour with Pierre Trudeau and my
blackboard and I could clear up the whole thing. Then I could get
on to solving the problems of acid rain and nuclear pollution.
After all, I am the engineer."

800812Tu
@PAPER = Atlantean Era
@HEADLINE = Letter to the Editor: Speak out
@NEWS = Mr. Kurt Waldheim, Secretary General of the United
Nations, New York, N.Y.
@NEWS = Dear Sir:
@NEWS = The international banking system as we know it is in the
state of imminent collapse. The exponential system now in use
will be replaced as soon as governments realize that its function
can be performed by a small computer at a fraction of the
borrowing costs.
@NEWS = Since all industrial systems are seeking to maximize
their industrial action, when they succeed, they will necessarily
be using a linear banking system. Both Capitalism and Communism
are headed in the same direction.
@NEWS = When the banking system is linearized and interest is not
used in economic computations, the poor will become a market for
all that is physically possible. Unrestrained by that financial
fetter, the engineers of first Canada, then the United States and
the Soviet Union, will compete with each other in the game of
industrial production at the expense of less and less human
labour. In this economic game, we'll even learn to respect one
another's abilities.
@NEWS = The end to the economic war means the end to real war.
When men are fed, clothed and sheltered, there will be little
incentive to fight. We are at a turning point in history, the
dawn of the era where money will be servant and not master.
@NEWS = Men of science and reason are gaining control of the
world's political systems and hopefully, given that the two most
powerful industrial nations in the world today are headed by
engineers, there is a reason to believe that the solution will
soon be implemented.
@NEWS = All either has to do is commission a technical inquiry
into the workings of the banking system and the question will be
answered.
@NEWS = It is now up to the leaders to say "go" and we'll be off
on an industrial boom of GLOBAL proportions. It's coming soon.
@NEWS = The Engineer.

800825Mo
@PAPER = Hamilton Spectator,
@HEADLINE = Gambler puts his dice in race
@NEWS = Barring last minute entries, there will be four
candidates in the federal by-election race in Hamilton West.
@NEWS = John Turmel, a 29 year old self-proclaimed professional
gambler from Ottawa, has filed nomination papers as an
independent candidate in the Sept. 8 by-election.
@NEWS = Returning officer Joe Petruccelli said the deadline for
nomination was 2 p.m. today.
@NEWS = The by-election is required because of the resignation of
former MP Lincoln Alexander who has become head of the Workmen's
Compensation Board of Ontario.
@NEWS = Mr. Turmel was not available for comment today because he
was demonstrating outside the Bank of Canada, according to his
mother in Ottawa.
@NEWS = But the graduate engineer from Carleton University told
The Spectator earlier that he is "Canada's only banking systems
engineer" and advocates an interest free banking system.
@NEWS = He added that he believes in legalized and government-
regulated gambling and prostitution.
@NEWS = Mr. Turmel who uses a roulette wheel and blackboard to
demonstrate his reforms for Canada's money system, said earlier
his candidacy would depend on the number of all candidates
meetings being held in the by-election.
@NEWS = Mr. Turmel has said he is appealing a conviction for
running a common gaming house against Gerald Bouey, governor of
the Bank of Canada.

800826Tu
@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen, Tim Harper
@HEADLINE = Another candidate for mayor
@NEWS = Perpetual candidate and city gambler John Turmel has
decided he's been putting his eggs in one basket too often. So
he's spreading his elections hopes around.
@NEWS = The man who should know the odds, has joined Marion Dewar
and Pat Nicol in the longest of long-shots for this year's
mayoralty race.
@NEWS = But first, Turmel has to worry about his election bid in
a federal by-election Sept. 8 in Hamilton West riding.
@NEWS = And before that, Turmel has to worry about his latest
encounter with police, this time a Monday raid by Quebec
Provincial Police on his Ottawa River floating crap game on the
Ville de Vanier.
@NEWS = The city's self-proclaimed professional gambler said
Monday he is running for mayor, and will continue running for any
opening, so he can establish his interest-free Bank of Turmel to
replace the Bank of Canada.
@NEWS = And he is running as an Independent Social Credit
candidate in Hamilton West and will be there campaigning today.
@NEWS = All his election bid will cost him is his registration
fee of $200 and his gas money between Ottawa and Hamilton. He
stays with friends in Hamilton and has campaign literature
remaining from his last unsuccessful election bid, in Frontenac
riding March 24.

800827We
@PAPER = Hamilton Spectator
@HEADLINE = Candidate would end our monetary system
@NEWS = Gambler, engineer and political hopeful John Turmel would
like you to throw away your money. Mr. Turmel said at last
night's meeting held at James St. Baptist Church that Canada's
biggest problem is inflation. "All you have to do is get rid of
interest and you will get rid of inflation and you can do that by
getting rid of money." His solution is to have large industries,
like Stelco and Dofasco issue their own form of money "chips."
The value of these chips would be in direct proportion to the
value of goods produced by an industry. Workers would be paid in
the chips issued by their employers and then spend them in the
market. "It is a practical engineering solution to the whole
thing."
@NEWS = He emphasized that engineers deal in what can be done
while economists deal in what can't be done.
@NEWS = Since these chips are not real money, he said, bankers
can't charge interest on them. "Once the money system is
converted to chips, the cause of inflation will have been
eliminated."
@NEWS = BUY DIRECTLY
@NEWS = That way steelworkers could buy cars direct from car
makers because car manufacturers need steel and this form of
money would get it for them. "It would be just like a big poker
game. You don't pay any interest for having your chips."
@NEWS = He said Stelco and Dofasco could start this revolutionary
new system if they wanted because "they have the economic clout
to be able to force it."
@NEWS = In his gambling career, Mr. Turmel has endured at least
five police raids and six trials and has been convicted of
running a common gaming house. Monday night, a boat he has on the
Ottawa River was raided by Quebec police and gambling equipment
was confiscated. No charges have been laid.
@NEWS = Mr. Turmel admits his revolutionary solution to Canada's
economic woes probably won't win him many votes. "I really don't
think I have any chance of winning this election."

800828Th
@PAPER = Hamilton Spectator
@HEADLINE = Church meeting sparks uproar
@NEWS = Election candidates are in an uproar over a candidate's
meeting to which only three of the six contenders are invited.
@NEWS = St. Marks' Anglican Church is holding a meeting Sept. 3
but is belling it as a "principal candidate's meeting." Only the
Liberal, PC, and NDP candidates have been invited while
candidates for the Libertarians and Marxist-Leninists and an
independent are excluded.
@NEWS = "We don't have to invite anyone we don't want to," said
Rev. Duncan MacLean of the church.
@NEWS = Independent candidate John Turmel who describes himself
as a professional gambler and unauthorized Social Credit
candidate said the number of planned all-candidate's meetings was
a factor in his candidacy. "It seems unfair and unchristian of
him," he said referring to Rev. MacLean. He said he would not
crash the planned meeting "because that's not my style."
@NEWS = Mr. Turmel said he is still upset over being denied an
opportunity to speak last week at a private candidate's meeting
at McMaster sponsored by a homosexual group.

800829
@PAPER = Hamilton Spectator Letter, Rev. Duncan MacLean
@HEADLINE = All candidates meeting at St. Mark's Church
@NEWS = Re: `Church meeting sparks uproar' (Aug. 28)
@NEWS = This meeting was arranged in consultation with the
campaign managers of the three largest political parties as an
opportunity for the many senior citizens and other voters in our
neighborhood to hear and question candidates of these three
parties, whose philosophies are well known.
@NEWS = The declared purpose of the meeting was direct and within
our democratic system where people and even churches, have the
freedom and opportunity to encourage citizens to make
responsible, informed choices in a free election.
@NEWS = Nowhere in our democratic process do I see an obligation
for anybody to provide, free of charge, a forum for all
candidates to present their parties' philosophies. Surely, to be
obliged to do so would be a denial of democratic freedom.
@NEWS = I wish to make quite clear that the meeting was arranged
to enable those who wished to hear the candidates of our three
largest political parties within a limited time. It is hard to
conceive how this could be construed as excluding anybody from
presenting their views and limiting the opportunity of citizens
to hear them. Anybody can arrange a meeting for any candidate or
candidates if they wish and will take the trouble. There is no
right to a free ride.
@NEWS = Since the meeting has been publicized, I have been
contacted by the other candidates. I told them what I have
outlined above.
@NEWS = I saw no valid democratic reason why the arrangements for
the meeting should be changed. But, if it was the commonly agreed
desire of the three invited candidates that it become an all-
candidates' meeting, I would accede to their wishes.
@NEWS = I asked John Turmel if he would be good enough to put the
opinions he expressed over the phone regarding my attitude and
Christian failings in a signed statement and I would happily post
it on my church bulletin board and send a copy of the Spectator
if he wished. Somehow, none of this appears in this article.
@NEWS = Now, because it has become the agreed wish of the three
candidates originally invited, St. Mark's is changing it to an
all candidates meeting on Sept. 3.
@NEWS = This letter is an invitation to participate in this
meeting to all other properly registered candidates and assurance
that they will receive a friendly welcome and a fair hearing.
@NEWS = Each candidate, with the order chosen by lot, will be
allowed up to 7 minutes to present what he considers important
issues and allowed 2 minutes to comment on issues raised by other
candidates.
@NEWS = Duncan MacLean

800830
@PAPER = Hamilton Spectator
@HEADLINE = Church meeting open after all
@NEWS = It's going to be an all-candidates affair at St. Mark's
Anglican Church after all. Rev. Duncan MacLean said yesterday
that all six candidates in Hamilton West by-election will be
invited to a candidates' meeting Wednesday afternoon.

@PAPER = Hamilton Spectator
@HEADLINE = Candidates argue over arms issue
@NEWS = "In the style that has come to mark him as the by-
election's most flamboyant candidate, Mr. Turmel at one point
stood up and in one of his raised hands held a Bible and in the
other held an advanced engineering mathematics textbook."

800903We
@PAPER = Hamilton West Journal
@HEADLINE = Candidates meet face to face
@NEWS = Because of interest rates, Mr. Turmel said "Economists
are the only bunch of engineers who count crooked. All other
sciences count straight, but economists count with interest,
making them count exponentially.
@NEWS = The key to the engineer's strategy for the nuclear arms
race is to stop paying the men currently working on our
extinction and diverting those resources to production. North-
South report says that if only .5% of the $450 billion spent on
arms is spent on farm equipment, could feed the whole world.
@NEWS = Economics is the science of sin and only by reverting to
an interest-free society can we solve our problems of war,
inflation and unemployment.

800904Th
@PAPER = Hamilton Spectator Letter, Allan M. Bazinet
@NEWS = John Turmel may still be upset, but it is not true he was
denied an opportunity to speak at the Aug. 20 candidates' meeting
sponsored by Hamilton United Gay Societies(HUGS).
@NEWS = Up to the afternoon of Aug. 20, the Liberal, PC, NDP,
were the only candidates who had filed nomination papers. All
three had been invited to attend and a format was agreed upon
with their representatives. Mrs. Isbester chose not to attend.
@NEWS = When Mr. Turmel showed up at the meeting, uninvited, our
members voted to let him speak after we had run through the
format agreed on with the other two candidates. Mr. Turmel left
the meeting shortly after this decision was communicated to him.
@NEWS = Allan M. Bazinet, President

@NEWS = Editor, Hamilton Spectator
@NEWS = In Mr. Allan M. Bazinet's letter to the editor of Sept.
4, he states that I was not denied the chance to speak at the
Hamilton United Gay Societies candidates meeting on Aug. 20. He
says that he had checked early that afternoon to see if there had
been any other candidates registered. I would have been
registered the day before had it not been for Mr. David Jones, of
Deloitte, Haskins & Sells accounting office, who after having
twice agreed to handle my candidates' financial return for only
the $250 paid by the Government, reneged on the deal at the last
moment and tried to get more money out of me, probably thinking
that he had me on the hook and that I would agree to pay just to
get registered within the space of one day. It was for this
reason that it took two days and not one for me to get
registered, and I might add, with only 10 minutes to spare in
order to make their meeting. I couldn't tell Mr. Bazinet that I
was an official candidate until I was officially registered.
@NEWS = Since he had originally planned for there to be three
candidates, I wonder why he couldn't have used the original
format and include me when one of the other three candidates
didn't show up. The format chosen gave the other candidates 15
minutes to each present their views. Then they would take part in
a question and answer session. After it was all over, I would
have been given my chance to speak.
@NEWS = As I told him, it didn't seem fair, and if I couldn't be
treated equally, then I wouldn't stay. So, he's right when he
says that I was not denied the chance to speak. My complaint was
that I was denied the FAIR chance to speak. It must have taken
complex deliberations to come up with such a complex time sharing
formula when all he'd have had to ask the group was whether I
could take the place of the candidate that didn't show and stay
with the same format.
@NEWS = Again today, at the Hamilton Collegiate Institute, the
minor candidates were not invited to participate in the meeting.
When we protested, Mr. Russell, the principal said that we had
been invited for a session tomorrow. I have not yet received an
invitation to tomorrow's meeting and I'd bet that I don't because
I believe that the meeting was planned on the spur of the moment
in order to diffuse the issue today. I will go tomorrow and
apologize if I do receive the invitation.
@NEWS = He also tried to imply that I had not been registered in
time to be invited. I pointed out that I had registered with 5
days to spare and shouldn't be held responsible for his not
having checked after that date.
@NEWS = Here again was another chance for the major candidates to
present a united candidates front. Had they backed us up in our
demand for fair treatment, I'm sure that we would have had our
say. Again, they showed no leadership, that quality in an
individual who sees the opportunity to take the initiation and
get something constructive done. Their excuse that it was out of
their control implies only that they do not know how to take
control and shouldn't be trying to get the leader jobs in the
first place. Had I been an invited speaker, I would have
pressured for fair and equal treatment of all. Are the voters
looking to send a back-bencher or a leader to Ottawa.

800905Fr
@PAPER = Hamilton Spectator
@HEADLINE = Meeting ends in an uproar
@NEWS = Both Mr. McLean and John Turmel had shown up for the
meeting and got involved in a heated argument with school
officials when told they could not speak. They would be given
time to speak today. "Only you and the homosexuals have not
allowed me to speak," Turmel shouted at school principal Jim
Russell.
@NEWS = Mr. Turmel left but Mr. McLean stayed and made
increasingly disruptive attempts to speak. In addition to being
hooted down by students, he was told several times "to shut up
and sit down" by history teacher Mr. Evans who, after the
meeting, said the two fringe candidates were excluded because
there was not enough time available to hear all candidates. "You
can't jam that many into an hour," he said.

800906Sa
@PAPER = Hamilton Spectator
@HEADLINE = Turmel gets his say
@NEWS = Hamilton Collegiate Institute gave Turmel a chance to
speak to students as promised.

800909Tu
@PAPER = Hamilton Spectator
@HEADLINE = John keeps trying to win converts
@NEWS = John Turmel kept campaigning even after the polls closed.
He kept trying to win converts to the interest-free banking
system. He got 77 votes. Don McLean received 99 and Libertarian
Chris Sorensen 110.

800918
@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen, Tim Harper
@HEADLINE = Bank of Canada a gaming house? Stop interest lawsuit
@NEWS = Gerald Bouey's caper may be over. John Turmel, the Ottawa
man who spends his time gambling, running for election and
planning to rid the country of inflation and unemployment, is
asking the Supreme Court of Ontario to order that the governor of
the Bank of Canada stop charging interest.
@NEWS = Turmel, claims in an affidavit that Bouey is keeping a
common gaming house, illegal under the Criminal Code. He likens
interest to a fee for the use of chips (money) in a game
(industrial activity). His bid for a restraining order will be
heard by a Supreme Court judge in Ottawa Sept. 29. Bouey's office
said today the notice of motion has been received.
@NEWS = If the prospect of a set-to before the Supreme Court
excites no one else, it at least excites Turmel. "Oh boy, oh boy,
oh boy, this is going to be the move of my career," he said
Wednesday. "That 1 1/2 hours is going to be the best performance
of my life."
@NEWS = A Supreme Court official in Toronto said anyone can get a
hearing for more or less any cause for just $15 to cover the cost
of paperwork. Giving ordinary citizens a way of bypassing
officialdom is another way of saying justice is accessible to
everyone, he said. But few "eccentric" requests are granted. And
there are financial risks: The court may make an applicant pay
his adversary's legal costs and the adversary may be able to sue
for libel or slander.
@NEWS = Turmel said he should have gone the legal route rather
than the political route a long time ago. In his last foray into
politics, he polled 87 votes in a by-election earlier this month
in Hamilton West. He said his system, in which only existing
money can be paid as a fee, should earn him a Nobel Economics
prize. But he's not sure he would accept unless the prize was
retired making him the final recipient.

800930
@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen, Lewis Seale
@HEADLINE = Gambler asks court to ban loan interest
@NEWS = John Turmel had his day in court Monday and came equipped
with a blackboard, a felt covered table with sunken chamber for
poker chips, a plastic ship and a tomato. Turmel was there to ask
for a restraining order forbidding the BoC to charge interest on
loans. Justice T.P. Callon listened quietly to Turmel's 50 minute
presentation on how to end unemployment and inflation by banning
interest and then reserved judgment.
@NEWS = Turmel used to tomato to illustrate production and the
blackboard for the charts and formulas to show how he believes
interest makes the rich become richer and the poor become poorer.
The chips were to dramatize his point that anything can be used
as a medium of exchange but they were also a reminder of his
claim that bank Governor Gerald Bouey is keeping a common gaming
house.
@NEWS = His arguments followed Social Credit lines and he said
later he would seek that party's leadership at its November
convention in Calgary. He also plans to run for mayor of Ottawa.

801002
@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen
@HEADLINE = Gambler loses bid to outlaw interest
@NEWS = John Turmel said Thursday the SCO has turned down his bid
for an order forbidding the Bank of Canada to charge interest.
Citing the gambling provisions in the Criminal Code, Turmel
likens interest to a fee charged for the use of chips (money) in
a game (industrial activity) and charges that it leads to
"genocidal inflation and unemployment. Mr. Justice T.P. Callon
ruled he did not have jurisdiction in the case, Mr. Turmel
reported.
@NEWS = Turmel describes himself as a professional gambler but he
is also a perennial candidate for political office as he preaches
his Social Credit views on money. He said Thursday that he has
not given up on the courts and would consult a lawyer about
further moves he could make.

801003
@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen
@HEADLINE = Now it's a charge of murder
@NEWS = The Ontario Supreme Court has turned down John Turmel's
bid for an order forbidding the Bank of Canada to charge interest
so Turmel has decided to charge the bank with murder. He said
today he would be filing with the court clerk today a request for
a writ of mandamus to force the Crown attorney to proceed with
two charges against the Bank of Canada, genocide and keeping a
common gaming house.
@NEWS = Citing the gambling provisions of the Criminal Code,
Turmel likens interest to a fee charged for the use of chips
(money) in a game (industrial activity). Turmel asked the SCO
last Monday to "cease and desist the genocidal banking practice
of interest and switch to a pure service charge."

801007Tu
@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen
@HEADLINE = Turmel puts his point across
picture
@NEWS = Candidate for mayor, John Turmel, wearing a hard hat and
armed with a placard, outlined part of his platform Monday to a
group of Nigerians standing on the steps of the Peace Tower.
The sign said "Why didn't Pierre, Joe and Ed support Turmel's
Supreme Court motion for no-interest housing? Can 700,000
homeowners be wrong?"

800320
@PAPER = Montreal Gazette, David Evans
@HEADLINE = Rivals for mayor's job in Ottawa drop rhetoric for
serious issues
Big picture of us captioned "John Turmel, Marion Dewar and Pat
Nicol share a joke at an all-candidate meeting in Ottawa."
@NEWS = Often, the spotlight at the sparsely attended meeting
sponsored by the Women's Interest Group of Ottawa was stolen from
both women by ubiquitous political candidate and professional
gambler John Turmel who is running for mayor to give the voters a
chance to "approve interest-free mortgages" and a new economic
system. Turmel, who has an all-purpose sign urging electors to
vote for him for "M.P., M.P.P., or mayor: is running a concurrent
independent campaign in the current by-election for the
provincial riding of Carleton.

801015We
@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen, Dennis Foley
@HEADLINE = Judge's advice: go home
Picture of me from when I had been attacked by Ray Tapp.
@NEWS = John Turmel was ingloriously shot down in Ontario Supreme
Court as he attempted to push his fight against the Bank of
Canada through the courts. Turmel was asking the court to force
the Crown attorney to charge the federal bank with advocating
genocide and keeping a common gaming house. He contends that the
bank's interest rates are strangling people. An earlier motion
was dismissed without reasons after a judge patiently listened to
Turmel's theories for 50 minutes.
@NEWS = As the second hearing opened, Richard Mosley, who had the
task of opposing the motion, asked that it be postponed. Mr.
Justice Mayer Lerner ignored the request saying the matter
wouldn't take long and then asked Turmel if he was a lawyer. When
Turmel said he was not, the judge said "Oh, just a concerned
citizen."
@NEWS = Lerner the repeatedly asked if Turmel had any basis in
law for making the motion, interrupting every time Turmel tried
to digress into his theories. "I've read your papers and there's
no merit in them. Motion denied." the judge said bluntly. (No
jurisdiction) Turmel then asked the judge where he could go next
implying a continuation of his legal battle. "Home" the judge
succinctly replied.

801023Th
@PAPER = Le Droit
@NEWS = Le Droit mentioned that I was the target of raves and
criticisms. One complimented me for being the life of the meeting
and the other accused me of ridiculing our institutions. "Turmel
criticized the press for not having sufficiently covering his
interest-free mortgage idea."

@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen
@NEWS = And with a little ring-side comic relief from
professional gambler John and perennial candidate John Turmel. In
response to a question about community health clinics, Turmel
said the need for medical facilities could be substantially
reduced if people ate more roughage and less white bread. (
before Lakeside Gardens?) John Turmel said the city should
introduce a money-less economy and open its own bank that would
provide interest-free banking by computer. One woman said Turmel
made no sense to her and he was making a mockery of the political
system at a time when it should be taken in deadly earnest.

801023Th
@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen
@HEADLINE = Mayoral debate on TV
@NEWS = It probably wouldn't beat a Ronald Reagan-Jimmy Carter
debate in the ratings department, but Ottawa's two front-runners
for mayor will be squaring off before the television lights on
Nov. 3.
@NEWS = The 20 minute debate between Marion Dewar and former
Controller Pat Nicol will be broadcast live by CJOH television as
part of its regular 6 p.m. newscast. Although the other mayoral
candidates, John Turmel and Alphonse Lapointe, were not invited
to participate in the debate, filmed profiles of them will be run
on the same program following the main event.
@NEWS = "If it's anything like the previous ones, we'll allow an
opening statement of about a minute and then we'll get into
questions," CJOH managing editor Al Mackay said Friday, adding
that anchorman Max Keeping will serve as moderator.
@NEWS = "We hope to get the two candidates debating among
themselves with a minimum of intervention." Mackay said "The name
of the game here is to let the voters see the candidates, not let
the voters see the moderator."
@NEWS = When asked why Turmel and Lapointe were not invited to
participate, Mackay said only that Dewar and Nicol are the "main
candidates."

801027Mo
@PAPER = Le Droit, Germain Dion
@HEADLINE = Some spice in the race: John Turmel candidate for
mayor
@NEWS = John Turmel is the first whimsical candidate for mayor.
In his public appearances, he repeats left and right that he has
the trick to assure interest free housing loans. He speaks of
computers like others talk of their last car.
@NEWS = His arrival on the municipal scene hasn't, however, come
up roses. One lady publicly accused him of "ridiculing our
institutions." Another, with a less aggressive tone, reproached
him for lightly making a travesty of the thoughts of "the fire of
the great Real Caouette," because Mr. Turmel, from a creditiste
family from Rouyn, admits having been recently influenced by
social credit theory.
@NEWS = "People who accuse me of not being serious do not want to
understand that the whole economic system is flawed," he answers.
@NEWS = Up to now, Mr. Turmel has run in the 1979 federal
election in Ottawa West, in the 1980 federal election in Ottawa
Centre, "where John Evans won," against Fabien Roy in Frontenac,
and now he's running for mayor of Ottawa. He is also going to run
in the upcoming Carleton Ontario by-election.
@NEWS = A REGRET
@NEWS = "I have only one regret: not being able to run
municipally, provincially and federally at the same time," he
confided while excusing his slightly-hesitant French "because my
parents moved to Hamilton when I was four months old."
@NEWS = He says he has a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering
(computers) from Carleton University.

801030Th
@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen
@NEWS = John Turmel has decided to add an even more controversial
plank to his platform: polygamy. Turmel wants laws changed to
allow a man and a woman to have more than one spouse as a means
of protecting children from the strain of marriage break-up.
Although Turmel recognized the government has jurisdiction over
laws regarding polygamy, he said it is still a legitimate part
of his campaign. "If I'm mayor, I can change what the
municipality has jurisdiction over," he said.

@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen, Lewis Seale
@HEADLINE = Meeting sheds little new light on civic issues
@NEWS = John Turmel's plans for social credit style financing if
he is elected mayor produced the only fireworks. After some
laughter, Turmel lashed back "Most of you people got out of high
school and stopped thinking right there," he said.

@PAPER = Carleton U. Charlatan, Jacquie Miller
@HEADLINE = Turmel gambling on Social Credit
@NEWS = Amen with the Engineer
@NEWS = We simply turn the interest rate to zero and switch to a
pure service charge... it's like a casino bank. Every chip issued
has a basis.
@NEWS = People in Uganda are starving while the food in our
fields is rotting.
@NEWS = Money limitations are mental limitations.
@NEWS = Ludicrous sight of carpenters sitting in front of their
trees with their hammers and chain saws because the banker says
there is no money. Ants run their economy better than we do
because they don't have any bankers saying it's impossible to get
things done.
@NEWS = Caricature of me with a die on my head.

801103Mo
@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen
@HEADLINE = Turmel: a gamble on polygamy
picture caption "Turmel: he's serious"
@NEWS = Professional gambler John Turmel knows he won't be
elected mayor when Ottawans go to the polls but wants
@HEADLINE = Dewar and Nicol discuss issues in weekend Citizen
@NEWS = What do Pat Nicol and Mayor Marion Dewar think about the
main issues in the municipal election campaign? To find out, pick
up a copy of the Citizen this weekend. You'll find two full pages
of coverage of special press conferences we held with the two
main contenders. In lively sessions, they faced questions from a
panel of Citizen editorial employees and spoke frankly of their
views.

801108Sa
@PAPER = Montreal Gazette, David Evans
@HEADLINE = Perennial candidate banks on cash scheme: `Engineer'
has it figured, Ottawa's John Turmel is gambling for votes - any
votes
@NEWS = OTTAWA -- Long shots don't discourage John Turmel.
@NEWS = The 29 year-old "professional gambler" is fast-talking
his way through his fifth and sixth elections this month,
undeterred by four defeats in federal contests in the last 18
months.
@NEWS = Most people probably would decide to look for a new
pastime, but Turmel just switches to different levels of
government - and doubles the action.
@NEWS = He's campaigning simultaneously to become Ottawa's mayor
and to win a provincial legislature seat in the Carleton riding
by-election.
@NEWS = Turmel is not your average candidate.
@NEWS = While mayoralty candidate Pat Nicol, Alphonse Lapointe
and incumbent Marion Dewar talk about the need for economic
diversification. Turmel offers his supporters interest-free loans
from a new "Bank of Ottawa".
@NEWS = Clad in a white hard-hat he calls himself "The Engineer"
and dazzles voters with a pastiche of Social Credit arguments and
bizarre mathematical formulas delivered at a speed which would
make many a midway huckster green with envy.
@NEWS = Even between elections his crusades drab headlines in
Ottawa.
@NEWS = Recently he had tried to persuade the Supreme Court of
Canada to convict the Bank of Canada for running a common gaming
house because it charges interest on loans.
@NEWS = Gaming house laws are a subject close to his heart: He
has been convicted twice for violating them by operating a casino
and has long argued that they should be repealed.
@NEWS = Turmel has enlivened the thus far lackluster campaign in
which only Dewar and Nicol are given a chance of winning.
@NEWS = A candidate who wants to give children their own
interest-free credit cards on demand and plans to have the entire
world switched to service-charge bank loans in five months is
hard to ignore.
@NEWS = And even harder to vote for on election day.
@NEWS = In an effort to reduce his campaign expenses he uses a
sign urging voters to "Elect John Turmel for MP, MPP and mayor."
@NEWS = He said yesterday that even if his mayoral campaign ends
in victory Monday, he will carry through in his battle in the
provincial by-election in suburban Carleton.
@NEWS = The seat was left vacant when former consumer and
commercial relations minister Sidney Handleman retired.
@NEWS = Turmel said he will only need the 10 days between and two
contests to set up the Bank of Ottawa and then move on to the
provincial scene.
@NEWS = In Carleton, he is challenging Liberal Al Loney,
Conservative Bob Mitchell and New Democrat Judy Wasylycia-Leis.
@NEWS = Asked whether his crusade to abolish interest is a hoax
or whether he is just crazy, Turmel insists that he is deadly
serious.
@NEWS = He urges confused listeners to ask their eight-year old
child to explain the simple mathematics.
@NEWS = Even by Turmel's standards, the Ottawa mayoralty campaign
has been unconventional.
@NEWS = He is blaming an impostor for informing the media that he
supports polygamy and that he has accepted defeat five days
before the vote.
@NEWS = Ottawa voters will choose their mayor and 15 alderman
Monday.
@NEWS = The serious campaign has been dominated by the economic
issue, with incumbent Dewar insisting she has made many decisions
that will boost economic activity.
@NEWS = Challenger Nicol has insisted that council under Dewar's
leadership has put too much emphasis on social programs at the
expense of the economic activity which pays for them.

801111Tu
@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen, Ken McQueen & Dave Rogers
@HEADLINE = Heavy defeat for Lapointe and Turmel
@NEWS = Losing is not unlike beating your head against the wall -
- if you do it often enough, it stops hurting. Perhaps that's why
perpetual candidates John Turmel and Lapointe hardly seem
shattered by their sound trouncing in the Ottawa mayoralty race.
(after being excluded by most coverage and not including in the
debates) Turmel a professional gambler said he knew after 30
polls that he was no threat to Marion Dewar who won with 49,724
votes. Deftly hurtling his 1927 vote finish to the background, he
has already set his sights on the Nov. 20 provincial by-election
where he is a Social Credit candidate. Two weeks ago he failed to
become interim leader of the Social Credit Party. Turmel said he
could of won $20,000 in bets had he topped the polls at odd of
100 and 400 to 1. His defeat cost him $165. Turmel said Dewar
liked his idea of free bus service and suggested the mayor hire
him as the city engin
@HEADLINE = Dewar and Nicol discuss issues in weekend Citizen
@NEWS = What do Pat Nicol and Mayor Marion Dewar think about the
main issues in the municipal election campaign? To find out, pick
up a copy of the Citizen this weekend. You'll find two full pages
of coverage of special press conferences we held with the two
main contenders. In lively sessions, they faced questions from a
panel of Citizen editorial employees and spoke frankly of their
views.

801111Tu
@PAPER = Ottawa Citizen, Ken McQueen & Dave Rogers
@HEADLINE = Heavy defeat for Lapointe and Turmel
@NEWS = Losing is not unlike beating your head against the wall -
- if you do it often enough, it stops hurting. Perhaps that's why
perpetual candidates John Turmel and Lapointe hardly seem
shattered by their sound trouncing in the Ottawa mayoralty race.
(after being excluded by most coverage and not including in the
debates) Turmel a professional gambler said he knew after 30
polls that he was no threat to Marion Dewar who won with 49,724
votes. Deftly hurtling his 1927 vote finish to the background, he
has already set his sights on the Nov. 20 provincial by-election
where he is a Social Credit candidate. Two weeks ago he failed to
become interim leader of the Social Credit Party. Turmel said he
could of won $20,000 in bets had he topped the polls at odd of
100 and 400 to 1. His defeat cost him $165. Turmel said Dewar
liked his idea of free bus service and suggested the mayor hire
him as the city engineer. "Money is a tool and I just want to fix
it as a engineer" he said. Pat Nicol got 33,181. Al Lapointe got
2,358.

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