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The Citizen, 2004-07-29, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 29, 2004. PAGE 5 Other Views Muddle our middle name B y the time you read these words, Steve Thoburn could be in jail. But probably not. After all, he was convicted of his heinous crime 'way back in the year 2.000 and despite the might and majesty of a hugely disapproving government, he's still walking free. Truth is. the government is just a teensy bit afraid of Steve Thoburn. And well they might be, for this is a man who despite grave threats and dire promises of doom and perdition from the highest levels of authority, blissfully went ahead and...sold bananas. Correction: Steve Thoburn sold bananas by the pound. And that's not allowed in the country Steve Thoburn calls home — which by the way. is not Nigeria or North Korea or some other fly-blown Third World tin pot dictatorship. Steve Thoburn is an Englishman — a greengrocer in Sunderland, to be precise. This makes him a citizen of the state that came up with the dictum 'a man's home is his castle'. But it also means he belongs to a member country of the European Common Market. And in the• ECM, pounds and ounces are verboten. Sounds, well, Hitleresque, but the fact is, anytime a customer in Britain asks for goods in pounds and ounces, and the shopkeeper fails to measure the goods out in their metric equivalent, said shopkeeper is committing a criminal offence and is liable to jail time. What complicates the problem is that every day that simple law is ignored, flouted and trampled in the Albion dust about 10 million times. Brits are quite happy with their pounds and ounces, their fathoms and furlongs, their pecks and pints and quarts. Ninety per cent of them strenuously oppose the idea of converting Ontario's Liberal government is boasting that a 'planned new drinking law will make the province more civilized. but is being far from gentlemanly in its campaign to sell it. The Liberals have lavished high praise on their legislation that would allow restaurants ' that want to do so, to permit diners to bring their own wine, which will seem a minor innovation to most. Premier Dalton McGuinty called it "very civilized" and even a coming of age for the province. Consumer Minister Jim Watson said it will modernize drinking habits. Others see it as more of an attempt to divert attention from the Liberals' problem of being unable to pay for election promises, after being left a huge deficit, and to capitalize on news media's fondness for stories about more opportunities to pop corks, It also follows a pattern of Liberal gimmicks attempting to look modern and trendy, particularly one when they won government in 1985 and their only promise the public noticed was to allow beer and wine to be sold in small grocery stores. which they never fulfilled anyway. The Liberals' campaign to market their plan has soured like a bottle of $5 plonk with the cork, left off. Watson tried to build an image that it will be harmless because Quebec, Alberta and New Brunswick permit it. But it turns out only a few hundred among the many thousands of restaurants in - these provinces have opted to join it, suggesting it might not become widespread enough in Ontario to have anywhere near the civilizing effect the Liberals grandly predict. McGuinty and Watson also held out the lip- tq metric. This is why the government tiptoes around Steve Thoburn and his old-time measuring scale. If they send him to jail, they'll have to do the same thing to virtually every shopkeeper in the country. And Mister Thoburn? He's no Jesse James. He's not 'even a Robin Hood. He -is, in the country Adam Smith called 'a nation of shopkeepers' — a shopkeeper. He's just trying to satisfy the folks who buy his produce. Here's how he puts it: "I object so strongly to this interference in the way I serve my customers just because of a law passed in another country by people we did not elect that I shall continue to sell in pounds and ounces if my customers want it. If I am prosecuted again, 1 will not pay any fine and they can put me in prison." Don't know why the Brits don't just ask Canada for guidance. After all we've had the metric system since 1970. when Ottawa made it official. We've got 34 years of hands-on metric experience over here. That's why today we live in a country where, on your driver's licence, your height is described in centimeters, but on a police APB it's in feet and inches. That's why we get to buy gas in litres for cars that are rated in miles per gallon. And live in houses that are measured in licking prospect diners will be able to drink cheaply, because restaurants now charge large markups on wine. and pictured them as gougers. McGuinty said everyone wants to save money on wine. Restaurants turn out to have other reasons to oppose diners bringing their own booze. Courts hold them responsible for actions of people who drink on their premises and they would have more difficulty knowing what diners drink and how much if they bring their own bottles. Restaurants also are well-known as among the most financially precarious businesses and would need to impose hefty corkage charges on those bringing their own wine to remain profitable, so McGuinty is optimistiC in claiming he would make drinking cheaper. And if he feels so strongly about making wine cheaper, anyway, why did he increase tax on it substantially in his May budget? Watson, desperate for support for his plan from restaurants, keeps quoting the Greater Toronto Hotel Association as feeling it is "progressive" and hauled its spokesperson to a news conference to launch it in one of the few restaurants that has any kind words about it. But the hotel group represents only a few restaurants in hotels and the vast bulk are in square feet, built on lots measured in square metres and erected with two-by-fours held together with three-inch nails. My favourite morsel of metric measurement? The wind chill factor, which is now officially measured in watts per square metre. Yeah; that's useable. My grocery store has two scales: one in kilos, the other in pounds and ounces. And good luck finding anyone on staff who can tell you whether 250 grams will be enough for the quarter pound of butter your cake recipe calls for. In my experience, the grocery clerks are just as confused as...well, I am. Three decades on and what we have is a mish-mash of weights and measures and millions of Canucks not quite sure just how far the next town is or how much that sack of potatoes weighs or how to brag about the fish we just caught ("Look, Maw — a.42 centimetre Largemouth! Must run about one-point•seven- five kilos!") I know the argument for metric: it's simpler and makes international trading easier. Well that might be true if we'd actually adopted it — and if our major trading partner, the U.S., used it, which it doesn't. The solution? Hey, who said anything about solution? This is Canada, a country that's half French and half English, half European and half North American, half enthralled with the U.S. and half terrified of it, half winter and half summer... Why shouldn't we have a system of weights and measures that's half metric and half Imperial? We're Canada. eh? Muddle is our middle name. the Ontario Restaurant, Hotel and Motel Association, which opposes diners bringing wine. This restaurant association, and not the hotel association, also was on a government- appointed task force of stakeholders that studied possible changes in liquor laws. Watson claimed he accepted its recommendations, but the task force, which included police, says it told him he should shelve any thoughts about diners bringing wine as not worth consideration at this time and get on with more serious concerns. The Liberals also had the audacity to accuse the opposition parties of preventing their plan being passed by the legislature in time for summer drinking. But the Liberals announced it in March and delayed introducing legislation until a few• days before they recessed for summer, leaving no time for debate. A government also could be tackling more serious consumer problems, including the proliferation of late-night drinking dens in downtown Toronto, which make neighbours' lives miserable, and loan stores that charge several hundred per cent a year in, interest and fees. But these are not glamorous and trendy and the Liberals yearn to sound trendy. Next we may be hearing their news releases sung by Britney Spears. Final Thought To love what you do and feel that it matters, how could anything be more fun'? — Katherine Graham Finally here # Fmany, it's here. The past several weeks have been an insane whirl of work and life. And now, as you read this my holiday has arrived and I am so much more than ready. I don't know if my schedule is busier than everyone else's or if I just really don't have the same amount of steam as the rest of the folks in this world. If this little break hadn't come up I'm almost certain I would have had a meltdown. Yet, while I am obviously delighted to be changing my pace, the summer vacation is going to he a little different this year than in the past. The jury's out on whether it will effectively re-charge my dying batteries. For the past few years, my middle of the year sojourn has been a calm respite by Lake Huron, with little to do alt day but read, eat and drink. To say that such an idle has the right effect for this mind-weary soul is an understatement. Let's face it — who isn't revitalized by the sight of surf, the clear air and aesthetically- pleasing view? Not to mention no demands on time or energy? Unfortunately, this year, career commitments for my husband have meant that our usual summer plans cannot he enjoyed. Actually, as I write this, I am still uncertain as to what-those plans are going to be. I gave some thought to daytripping. The idea of taking in new attractions is appealing. However, as I attempted to schedule the itinerary, my eyes glazed over, my head began to ache and I suddenly craved a hammock in my backyard. Running here, running there just doesn't seem all that restful. Next, I considered visits of several days with loved ones that I don't get to see enough during the year. However, it soon became clear that the list is too long and the vacation too short. This meant prioritizing which I managed to some degree, but then again, as I 'began my plotting and planning, I was struck by the amount of time I would be 'spending on the road. The thought exhausted me, so I took a book and went out onto my deck. Now my husband currently has a considerable drive every day to and from work. So, my third idea for my holidays was that perhaps I could stay in a motel, relax around the pool during the day or take in the local sights, and he would have a shorter drive. Some inquiries and a quick consideration to finances ruled this out as an unnecessary, indulgent bit of extravagance. So depressed was I by now that I decided a little therapy was in order. I took myself outside and tended to some of my flowers. And then it hit me. It would be nice to stay home. Every time I need comfort or solace I usually can find it somewhere around my house and yard. But it also hit me that staying home would be no vacation. The phone would ring, the same demands would be there. I would clean, do laundry, run errands. It just really wouldn't be a holiday, just a break from my day job. and this hedonist needs much more than that. So, as I write, I continue my contemplation. And one thought that has kind of piqued my interest is the notion that I not plan anything - that I wake up each day and decide then what I might do. There will probably be a day trip. there will probably be a visit far afield. There will probably be time at home doing household chores as well as relaxing. Regardless I am sure that whatever I'm doing, I'm probably enjoying it. A trendy bit of legislation?