Ma Be wrote in USMA 12185:

>Now, the others would feel annoyed about the presence of metric first, and
>would instinctly, automatically, go for the figure in parenthesis and
>NEVER EVER care about *learning* what the first figure meant!  This is
>exactly the kind of scenario we face here in Canada with pricing by the
>pound.  If regulation were to change tomorrow about this and pound
>pricing, for instance, were to be declared illegal, guess what?  People
>would probably scream bloody murder!!!  That's right, after so many years
>of dual pricing in this country (Canada) we're nowhere near to get "old
>foggies" accustommed or even educated in metric pricing AT ALL!  They
>simply ignore the other pricing and get on with their lives, and that's a
>FACT (unfortunately...)!


Ma Be lives in Alberta, which ideologically is the most American province
in Canada.  Canada's newest political party is the Alliance.  Its ideas are
typically American.  In the federal election, last November, the Alliance
made an almost clean sweep of the four western provinces, but gained only
one seat east of Winnipeg.  I suspect the same ideological split occurs
with regard to the metric system.  Gregory Peterson who lives in
Saskatchewan also complains about the anti-metric sentiment he encounters
there.  In the six eastern provinces we tend to like what distinguishes us
from the USA,  Quebec, with its Frecnh heritage, is theoretically
completely pro-metric.

Incidentally, it it is only loose food that is dual-priced.  The
delikatessens that I know price by 100 g.

Joseph B. Reid
17 Glebe Road West
Toronto    M5P 1C8                       Tel. 416 486-6071

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