Greg and Tammy Peterson in USMA 11905 listed some letters that they received in response to some of tneirs. In particular >Alan E. Johnston, >President, Measurement Canada, wrote: >The mandatory implementation of the metric system in these three sectors >raised the possibility that freedom of choice for Canadians would be >unduly restricted. For this reason, a moratorium on the enforcement of >these regulations was declared in 1983 by the then Minister of Consumer >and Corporate Affairs. Since then, the policy has been to let the >marketplace set the pace of conversion rather than force its use by >regulation. Please note that this policy not only applies to Saskatchewan, >but to all of Canada. This is a whitewash. In November 1983 two service stations were prosecuted by the Liberal government for selling gasoline by the gallon. The government suspended the regulations requiring metric-only pricing.. In November 1984 the court decided in favor of the government and the regulations, but by this time the Conservatives had regained power and left the regulations suspended. Gasoline is now sold everywhere by the litre because the price by the litre is 4.5 times smaller than the price by the gallon. Loose food is everywhere sold by the pound because the pound price is 2,2 times smaller than the kilogram price. Nevertheless many delikatessens sell by 100 grams. I think most consumers couldn't care less what units are used for pricing. Joseph B. Reid 17 Glebe Road West Toronto M5P 1C8 Tel. 416 486-6071
