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The Citizen, 1987-02-04, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1987. Opinion The whole truth please Canada Post is supposed to be in the communications business, but when it comes to letting people know just what is really in its corporate business plan, it isn t doing much communicating. Michel Cote, the minister responsible for Canada Post and the people in the upper echelons of the post office seem to have learned how to play the political shell games. When it comes to letting us know just what they are planning to dismantle it’s strictly “now you see it, now you don’t’’. On Thursday of last week, for instance, Mr. Cote reassured his own backbenchers by telling the House of Commons: The post office ... advises me they have no intention of closing any rural post offices.’’ But by the time he got outside the House and was questioned by reporters he changed the wording slightly and changed the meaning a whole lot. “I know what I meant,” he said. “For the time being, the corporation advises me that there will be no closing of any rural post offices .. or any change in service.” He also acknowledged there has been no change in the business plan provision that allows Canada Post to close a rural post office with only 90 days notice. Once again the post office seems to be trying to mislead members of Parliament as well as the public. According to a report from an Ottawa-based columnist in a national daily, even MPs haven’t been able to get copies of the business plan but only got copies of the press kit Canada Post issued. Commenting to the Kincardine Independent last week on the possibilities of closure of the Ripley and Tiverton post offices, Huron-Bruce M.P. Murray Cardiff is quoted as saying “We have demanded that we get better clarification” on just what the policy is toward closing of post offices in smaller centres. Some clarification from Mr. Cote. This would seem to be a calculated policy on the part of Canada Post. It leaves no real target for organized opposition to shoot at. People in Tiverton and Ripley, for instance, are up in arms, over the potential loss of their post offices. Bruce-Grey M.P. Gary Gurbin has had his office swamped with letters over the Tiverton situation. Yet a spokesman for Canada Post said the two post offices aren’t under review at this time. Based on information gleaned by the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association (CPAA) the Blyth Post Office staff has been trying to make people aware that post offices like the one in Blyth (and likely the one in Brussels as well) would be on the list of those to be “franchised” or even closed. Yet the post office is able to undercut that argument because it has not made its policy clear. For instance Perth M.P.P. Harry Brightwell stated in a recent press release “present rumours which originated with post office staff concerning closure of rural post offices are based on information that was proposed in response to a government committee’s examination of a long-term plan. Much of that information is now outdated.” All of which leaves people of rural areas in much the same situation as an army fighting a guerilla rebellion: you can’t fight what you can’t see. For one thing, people find it hard to believe that the government would really consider closing 1,700 post offices and “franchising’ ’ 3,500 more across the country, (according to the CPAA Bulletin, even many post office staffers can’t believe it). For another, nobody knows just what post offices may be affected and just what “franchising” means. One thing is clear, however. If Canada Post is so afraid to let us know what is actually going on that even MP’s on the government side of the house are kept in the dark, if Mr. Cote has to be so misleading, it doesn’t look good. Cuts in rural post offices can only emphasize the concentration of business in major centres, because what industry or business would want to move to a smaller centre without adequate postal service? One way or another, this affects us all. We need to put the heat on Canada Post and the government to make sure we get the real facts. People who care should write letters to MPs or newspapers, or do anything they can to get action. The shell game has gone on too long already. [Published by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. ] Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. Published weekly in Brussels, Ontario P.O.Box152 P.O. Box 429, Brussels, Ont. Blyth, Ont. NOG 1 HO N0M1H0 887-9114 523-4792 Subscription price: $15.00; $35.00 foreign. Advertising and news deadline: Monday 2p.m. In Brussels; 4p.m. in Blyth Editor and Publisher: Keith Roulston Advertising Manager: Beverley A. Brown Production and Office Manager: Jill Roulston Second Class Mail Registration No. 6968 Beauty in simple things 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 Flint was com­ plaining to Ward Black this morning that council has to do something about the high cost of living in town, what with taxes and hydro and even water and sewer costs. “ I mean it used to be that the one thing you could do free in this country is to go to the bathroom but now I feel like there’s one of those pay toilets where you have to put a quarter in every time nature calls.” Billie Bean suggested maybe Julia was just looking at it all wrong. As an entrepreneur she needs to see how a debit can be turned into a credit, he said. “Now take that lady down in Detroit, she was using her head ... and maybe other parts of the body. She’s selling urine samples to people who are afraid they can’t pass drug tests. So far she’s sold 1,000 samples at $49.95 each.” Well, said Hank Stokes, at least she shouldn’t have to worry about being so poor she doesn’t have a pot to pee in. TUESDAY: Tim O’Grady was asking Mabel this morning if she’d ever had anything happen in her Grill like they had in that McDon­ ald’s Restaurant in Florida where the kids complained about slow service and started throwing food around and finally punched out the manager. “Well,” said Mabel, “first of all, nobody ever complains about slow service in here, second, my food’s too good to throw around and third, (she picked up an iron skillet) do you think anybody would ever try to punch me out.” Everybody hastily agreed. WEDNESDAY: Tim was asking Julia this morning what she thought of the army getting its first woman general. Julia figured the way things have been going for the armed forces, things can only improve. Billie Bean said he wasn’t too sure it would help the army at all. It used to be that a boy growing up got bossed around by his mother so he left home as soon as he could and got married then found he got bossed around by his wife so he figured the one place he was safe was to join the armed forces. Now even there he’ll get bossed around by a woman so what's the sense of joining the army. THURSDAY: Ward said he was looking at the map in the paper of the fishing territory that France was claiming around St. Pierre and Miquelon off Newfoundland. The map hardly even shows these little Gossip Gossip is such an evil thing. It travels fast on its silent wing. Never getting any less, Itputs many an innocent soul to test. Gossip usually starts with “1 think” It travels so fast it raises a stink. That can be smelled in every corner of town, For some innocent person to try to live down. So why start something that isn’t true, specks of islands but it shows this huge 200-mile territory that goes within a couple of miles of Cape Breton Island and Newfoundland. If they’re going to take the fish, you’d think they might as well take the people too, Hank says. If they take away the fishing everybody down there will be on unemploy­ ment. Let the French take the whole thing and they can pay the unemployment bills. FRIDAY: It takes all kinds of occasions to bring on a shopping spree but, Julia said. Imelda Marcos came up with a new one. When there was a revolt of some army officers back in the Philli- pines, Imelda went shopping in Hawaii so she would have the proper clothes for her triumphant return to Manilla. Seeing as she had to leave behind 3,000 pairs of shoes. Julia says, maybe it was the shoe store owners who are the biggest supporters of a return of the Marcos family. Just think what a blow it must have been to the merchants when they left. Someday it may even happen to you. So never try to give gossip a boost Nine times out of ten it comes home to roost. If some one tells some gossip to you. And you have your doubts that it could be true, Just put it silently away. You’ll have done your good deed for the day. “The Wise Old Owl”