Using the power of the internet, a rural Ontario publisher and a Toronto-based writer/editor (and former USWA National Office employee) have joined forces with a cross-country network of investigative reporters and correspondents to bring a national citizen and consumer rights forum into the homes of Canadian workers. The Straight Goods, a new web-based magazine, was launched in late January - just in time to cut through the hype of RRSP and tax season.

When readers log on to www.straightgoods.com, they will encounter a collection of articles, facts and fun intended to help people save money and protect themselves. "We think people are getting too much spin and too little straight goods about stuff that matters in their daily lives," says publisher Ish Theilheimer. "At tax time in particular, people come under enormous pressure from the investment and advertising industries. It's hard to figure it all out."

The Straight Goods promises to "save you money, protect your rights, and untangle spin." The site combines investigative journalism, correspondent reports from across Canada, gleanings of the best from across the Web, and forums on relevant and controversial issues, as well as commentary and satire. "We intend to provide information in a way that will be useful as well as fun and entertaining," says editor Susan Sperling, adding that The Straight Goods will also feature ongoing contests offering weekly cash prizes for the best consumer tip or story.

Working people in Canada have a right to know what they're getting when they part with their hard-earned dollars, whether that money is spent on taxes, consumer purchases or investments in their future. In its launch phase, The Straight Goods will focus primarily on tax and investment-related issues, in order to safely guide taxpayers through the RRSP maze. It will rate the best ethical funds and will expose some major tax loopholes that benefit the wealthy at the expense of ordinary Canadians. The site will also do some muckraking on such worker and consumer issues as e-jobs, wrongful termination, unethical dentistry -- Theilheimer says that ethical dentists helped him save six thousand dollars in unnecessary surgery -- and internet dating. Theilheimer and editor Susan Sperling plan to refresh the site frequently and publish an electronic newsletter to people who sign up as trial members.

Theilheimer is a citizen activist who has been writing and editing for provincial and national publications for 15 years, as well as doing consulting in community economic development, environment, NDP politics, and social policy. Sperling is a Toronto-based writer/editor with a background in labour studies and a decade of experience in the labour movement.

As The Straight Goods grows, the team will update the website daily and interpret breaking news from their unique perspective. With the companion information service, The Straight Goods will deliver reliable, essential and information citizens just can't get elsewhere about issues that hit them in the pocketbook or affect their health, their environment and their rights.

"This can be a powerful tool for people who do not blindly trust official information sources. If you like to save money, beat the system, be in control of your own life and take action on your beliefs, you'll fee at home at our site," Theilheimer says. "We're trying to use the power of the Internet to help people inform others about things that affect them as consumers and citizens," he says. "We're also trying to build a huge network of active, informed citizens. And we think we can have a lot of fun with it too."