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The Citizen, 1988-06-08, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 1988. Opinion Honesty's the best policy Canada Post President Donald Lander sent out press releases and advertising this week to counter what Mr. Lander terms as “misinformation regarding Canada Post’s plans for rural Canada ... spread across the country causing uncertainty among our customers.’’ Mr. Lander should certainly know all about misinformation since Canada Post seems to specialize in it. Apparently afraid of the reaction of the public if it really knew post office plans, Canada Post has been doing a fast shuffle with the facts for a couple of years now. Now, timed to try to discredit the Rural Dignity trip across Canada to protest Canada Post’s plans for rural post offices, the blizzard of manipulative phrases and half-truths has reached new heights. “Building on a century-old relationship with the private sector, Canada Post is opening retail postal outlets in partnership with local businesses that are already established in the community and are open longer hours than corporately run post offices,’’ Mr. Lander says. Takeaway the clever public relations wording and it means that the post office you know today will be replaced with a post office in the corner of somebody’s store. Canada Post has been reluctant to admit this in the past. For a considerable length of time it talked of franchising but always made it sound as if it would be somebody else’s post office but ours. But an internal document obtained by The Citizen stated plainly: “Over the next 10 years or more, Canada Post will be putting most of its retail services in the hands of the private sector.’’ While many people have been content to think that only post offices in little hamlets are involved, this statement and the recent closure of the post office in Tillsonburg have shown that virtually all post offices will be affected. “Over the next several years Canada Post will be increasing - not decreasing - the number of postal outlets in rural and urban Canada ... In rural Canada this means an increase from 5000 to over 7000 outlets’’, Mr. Lander says. Yes Mr. Lander but if you were a resident of Blyth or Brussels would you really like to give up your full-time post office staff in a real post office building in favour of even two post offices stuck away in the corner of somebody’s store where the people sold you stamps between doing other jobs in the store? What’s more, since the post office has been drastically cutting the salaries of post masters in small communities like Ethel in favour of a commission that amounts to maybe one-fifth of the income, what store can really afford to give up space and time for this half-hearted postal service? Why can’tCanada Post just be honest and let people have all the facts so they can judge for themselves what kind of postal service they want and what price they are willing to pay. While operating rural post offices is only a small part of the post office losses, there might be a case Canada Post could make in honestly pointing out the money that will be saved. If Canada Post doesn’t have to keep a post office in Blyth or Brussels (or Clinton or Wingham for that matter), if it can get away with paying people one-fifth what they presently pay, then obviously it will save a bundle. But people have the right to know that common sense says that store clerks doing the job part time can’t know as much about our increasingly complicated postal system as full time staff. We will go from having a professional post office to an amateur post office. In this whole misinformation battle, Harvie Andre, federal Consumer Affairs Minister, who’s in charge of the post office, doesn’t help the situation. In an interview in Saturday’s Toronto Star Mr. Andre verbally shakes his head, pleading that he and Canada Post are just misunderstood. “I’m fighting a losing battle,’’ he says, “but that’s the only alternative. ” He claims that the people battling against super mailboxes and the Rural Dignity group are funded by postal unions, as if self-interest of postal workers can explain the genuine backlash across the country to Canada Post’s plans. If Mr. Andre and Mr. Lander believe in democracy, let them treat Canadians like adults, not little children'who must be tricked into doing what’s good for them. Let them spell out what . they have in mind and let them tell us what the alternatives are. Let Canadians decide just what kind of postal service they want and if they are so concerned about balanced budgets that they’ll put up with a diminished service. Give us the facts, sirs, just the facts. The Citizen P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. MOM 1H0 Phone 523-4792 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 Cruisin' down the river Mabel’s Grill There are people who will tell you that the important decisions in town are made down at the town hall. People in the know, however know that the real debates, the real wisdom reside down at Mabel s Grill where the greatest minds in the town [if not in the country] gather for morning coffee break, otherwise known as the Round Table Debating and Fili­ bustering Society. Since not just everyone can partake of these deliberations we will report the activities from time to time. MONDAY: Julia was complaining this morning about the heat. She said she could hardly sleep last night for the heat. Ward said we should be grateful for the heat. It’s an economic stimulus. People get hot so they buy air conditioners. People get hot so they buy cottages. People get hot so they buy swimming pools. This country gets double the economic benefits that places with only one season get. We have to pay a bundle to keep warm in the winter, then pay a bundle to keep cool in the summer. At least, Hank Stokes said, you don’t have to pay a tax for the heat inthesummerlikeyoudoonthe fuel oil in the winter. Don’t count on it, Tim O’Grady said. Between Michael Wilson and Bob Nixon, one of them is probably working on it right now. Now that, said Julia, would really make her hot. WEDNESDAY: It’s nice that Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gor­ bachev are getting along better, Billie Bean was saying, but once they’ve got their two countries at peace, maybe they could get their wives at peace too. While they’re shaking hands and signing treaties the two women seem to be starting a new cold war. Maybe Nancy’s astrologer told herit’sabad time to try to make new friends, Julia suggested. Maybe in the interests of world peace the next summit should be a stag event, Hank suggested. At least, Ward said, the next weapons control treaty they work on might be to defang Nancy and clip Raisa’s long fingernails. THURSDAY: It’s hard to know which is stupider sometimes, Ward was saying, all these blasted polls or the people who answer them. He was talking about the latest Gallup Poll that showed 77 per cent of the people questioned in Ontario were against the increase in the sales tax from seven to eight percent. The question, he said, wasn’t how many were against the taxincreasebutwho were these idiotic 23 per cent who liked having theirtaxes raised. They must sleep -on beds of nails just to keep their lives from being too comfortable. “Heck, if they asked my dog he’d be sensible enough to vote against the tax increase.’’ Yeh, Tim O’Grady said, but he’s a brainwashed conservative dog. Give that dog a chance to vote and he might do something even more stupid and help put Brian Mulron­ ey back in next election. THURSDAY: Hank Stokes was talking about the big dispute at that Indian reserve outside Montreal where the Mounties raided and took away $500,000 worth of American cigarettes the Indians wanted to sell at cut-rate prices to Canadians. He couldn’t blame the Indians, Hank said. They didn’t have a lot going for them so this was the one chance to earn a few good bucks. Julia said it sounded like revenge to her. The Indians were going to get back at the whites for all their abuses by selling them more ways to catch cancer. Hanks said he thought the Indians had got revenge right from the start. The whites gave the Indians booze and the Indians gave the whites tobacco and they’ve both been killing people ever since. Yeh, said Ward, and the tax man has been smiling all the way to the bank. Contest winner named April Gross, RR 1, Auburn is the winner this week of the Big Value draw. April spotted the Big Value symbol in the Dickson’s Auto Repair ad on page 10 of last week’s Citizen. She wins a $25 voucher for lawn furniture from Belgrave Co-op. This week’s prize is $25 gift certificate from Oldfield Pro Hard­ ware. The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario, by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $17.00/yr. ($38.00 Foreign): Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. Advertising Deadlines. Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4pm.- Blyth. We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright. Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. Editor & Publisher, Keith Roulston Advertising Manager, DaveWilliams Production Manager, Jill Roulston Second Class Mail Registration No. 6968