A4 - Sunday, September 18, 1983 - North Shore News madness. Apart from the imperial Trudeau himself, it is metric conversion that produces the easiest fits of fury on the part of people I talk to. Occasionally, I run into someone who tries to come on with the old _ it’s-only- rational argument to justify $5 billion in wasted tax money to shove centimetres several inches down our throats. The Grits might think they can dump Pierre and save their butts by resurrecting somebody cosmetic like John Turner, but the albatross of litres and kilomajigs isn’t go- ing tO gO away. I would go so far as to say that one of the reasons the VICTORIA -- While criticism of the provincial government’s restraint bill grows, the government has indicated it has no plans to back down. Provincial Secretary Jim Chabot and the government are going into negotiations with the BC OLLAWA The Soveet government has refused a Canadian claim = for damages on behalf of the famihes of 10 Canadians killed when Korean Aur Lincs Might 007 was shot down The note oudining the Canadian demands was BEIRUT One of six fighter planes in the lebanese amu force has been shot down as battles continuc in that country The plane was down shat sktrmushes crashed Ttie teported to he oan condition during and the sea Priday inte pulart poor was roscucd by an Armenian warship Province takes hard union line Soviets refuse Canadian claim Lebanese plane downed by foes strictly personal by Bob Hunter Metric bell tolls ONE OF THE REASONS the Liberals are going to be thrown out of office when the next federal elec- tion rolls inexorably around is, of course, metric New Democrats are sagging so badly in the polls is the fact that, unlike the Tories, they have failed to grasp the degree to which metrification has infuriated the average Canadian at a gut level. Take me, a mild-mannered journalist who generally loves all things space-age. By rights, I should be a prime candidate to accept the idea of metrification. In fact, | recently bought a metric conversion electronic calculator. Does this mean that Consumer Affairs Minister Andre QOuetlet and his minions at the Metric Commission have won? Not a chance! | use my cal- any culator to. translate Employees Union, which start Oct. 3, determined to amalgamate many of the legislative aspects of the restraint program into a few contract Chabot's tole ain the negotiavions will mark the first time the cabinet has been that closely involved in the process delivered to the Soviet em bassy last week and telurped to the © anadian Bovernment this week NX Canadian official dismissed the Soviet move ay “a omecaningtless gesture’ and sand © ana dians atlcmpts wall CODEINE The taercest fighting of the growing war os reported around Souk cl Chast whieh overbooks Amertoan Marine tions af the Berrut airport Lebanese troops have seo far hetd off a five chay at pros tack from Muslim Driuse troops. supported by Syma, and strengthening PL© torces in the atca metric figures | run into back to gallons and feet and miles. At its heart, the only rela- tionship that the metric issue really has with numbers is the number of Liberal MPs clut- tering up the House of Com- mons. Verily, may they be decimated! A while ago, one of the Vancouver dailies carried a stupid front page story claim- ing that the metric rebellion had ‘‘died with a sigh.”’ Bullfeathers! The Liberal dikrar that we shall all henceforth think in kilograms was an order-in- council, and by their very Nature orders-in-council run against the grain of demo- cracy. Certainly, Parliament never approved metrification. J get quite thoroughly fed up with the argument that people who oppose metrifica- UW Day Tuesday TUESDAY IS United Way Day in West Vancouver. Mayor Derrick Hum- phreys, making the _ pro- clamation, urged all residents to support the campaign. “It is one of the most im-- portant charitable drives on the North American cont- nent,’’ he said. Pacific Books 1135 Lonsdaioe N Van 980-2121 tion are ‘‘rednecks.’’ As | understand the term, a red- neck is an idiot with no tole- rance who tries to force everybody around him to do things his way. Obviously, the real red- necks in this matter are Ouellet and his metric goon squad, pushing mandatory conversion on us. Up your kilo, Andre! The moment metrification is approved by Parliament, I'll go outside, salute the flag, and = start converting. Until then, I'll die uncon- verted and insist on being buried six feet deep. It’s not just Canadians, by the way, who have a built-in resistance to switching their entire method of calculating around at the whim of a handful of mandarins. In Australia, for instance, even though metrification began in 1970, only 31 per cent of high school students know their height in centi- metres. In Japan, where metrification began in 1885, the ‘‘sun’’ (inch) and “*‘shaku’’ (foot) are still used by ordinary people. The Metric Commission of Canada is reported to be planning to disband in about two years when it will have ‘‘finished its work,’”’ accord- ing to Ouellet. I’ve got news for the consumer affairs minister — the commission’s work is a long, long, long way from being finished. It’s the Liberals who are finished. Their days are numbered — no matter what kind of measurement you use. ‘‘DO IT YOURSELF”’ or HAVE IT DONE Uni-stone AND EXPOSED AGGREGATE CONCRETE PAVERS Aiso stepping stones, planters, curbs, bicycle stands. 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