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For the first time in history, the Trudeau government is using closure to shut down the House of Commons. This has never been attempted even in the centuriesâ€"old history of the British Parliament. Our Parliament is to be muzzled at a time when so many issues need to be adâ€" dressed: e price rises in June were 12.8 per cent higher than one year ago; the highest rate of inflation since World War II price controls were phased out â€" no Parliament to press the government for some action. e all food for home consumption was up 2.1 per cent in June, and up 13 per cent from a year ago â€" no comment from the governâ€" ment. 5 e Bank of Canada rates of interest reâ€" mained at their punitively high levels over 19 per cent â€" no government response. e persistent questioning about the role played by cabinet ministers and other government officials in the uranium cartel has proven so embarrassing to the governâ€" ment, that they can only try to duck and stonewall â€" the government may have broken the law. e the bitterly cynical events surrounding When council made the decision not to, members well knew at that point that a vote could be forced anyway because of the number of signatures gathered in a petition. They opted to spend $15,000 on a costly plebiscite. And incidentally, if council is so concerned about the $1,000 or so that it will cost to conduct the recount, we might point out that it could have saved the taxpayers about $15,000 by putting the fluoride question on the ballot in the last municipal election. Surely, there is no question that any actions of the antiâ€"fluoride lobby caused what the judge determined were possibly incorrect procedures or discrepancies in the conducting of the plebiscite. _ And it appears that somewhere along the line, innocently or not, the city botched the organization of the plebiscite, if only for not explaining things better to various returning officers and poll clerks. We feel the onus is on the city to clarify what is a justifiable confusion in the public‘s mind as to the exact outcome of the plebiscite, even if the final result is not reversed. nonictinds X The ruling that allowed the recount wasn‘t given willyâ€"nilly. The court had to find, through sworn affidavits and testimony, that there were reasonable grounds for questioning the accuracy of the final tally. The issue at hand has nothing to do with whether one is for or against fluoridation. It‘s about fairness and a sense of jusâ€" tice. City council shouldn‘t be asking for a judicial ruling that would make a group of private citizens liable for costs involved in the recount of the June 8 fluoridation plebiscite, scheduled for Friday. PAGE 6 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, JULY 22 4881 City should pay WALTER McLEAN _ published every Wednesday by Fairway Press. a division of Kitchenerâ€"Waterloo Record Ltd.. owner 225 Fairway R#d S_. Kitchener. Ont. address correspondence to Waterioo office 92 King St South, Waterioo. Ont . telephone 886â€"2830 Weterioo Chromicle office is located on2nd rioor of the OW Sports buiding opposite Waterioo Square Parking on King Street or in Waterioo Square Open Monday to Friday 9 00 a m to 5 00 p m * subscriptions $14 a year in Canada $16 a year in Ur.ted States and Foreign Countries the upâ€"coming byâ€"election in the Toronto riding of Spadina. e the continuing impasse in the energy talks between Ottawa and the province of Alberta; after 18 months, the two sides have only managed to agree on when to meet again â€" the resulting shutâ€"down of such megaâ€"projects as the one at Cold Lake puts Canadian selfâ€"sufficiency in oil even further away. « e instead of increasing the energyâ€"wise passenger rail system, the government is announcing the discontinuation of 20 Via Rail routes in order to save money.... e and last, but hardly least, with the country in its third week without postal service, it was the Postmasterâ€"General himself, Hon. Andre Ouellet, who inâ€" troduced the government‘s closure motion to shut down the House! My colleagues and I in the Official Opposition had delayed Parliament‘s sumâ€" mer recess so that means of ending the postal deadlock could be discussed. This process resulted in the naming of a mediator, Quebec Provincial Justice Alan Gold, who was acceptable to both sides. However, the Postmasterâ€"General Publisher Raditear establishea 1854 Paul Winkier Bill Karges _ Phil Jatszovac Parliament shut down ‘brought the House down‘ anyway. Many Canadians wonder why our sociâ€" ety has been plagued by so many postal strikes. It may be helpful to review some of the facts. Since the Post Office unions were given the right to strike in 1966 by the Pearson governmant, Canadian postal service has been interrupted by a series of labor disputes. There have been five strikes in the past six years alone. The present Trudeau governmant decided to ‘play tough‘ during this year‘s negotiations. The cost of such a rigid bargaining position leaves the Canadian public as the big loser. ‘ Regular mail delivery is an important â€" the Post Office becomes a Crown corporaâ€" service for millions of individual Canaâ€" â€"tion to teach CUPW ‘a lesson‘. The reason dians: pensioners, farmers, small busiâ€" â€" a lesson is needed at all, is that the nessmen, and those living in remote areas. government has refused to designate the Coupled with the recent decline in the mails as an essential service (in other reliability and efficiency of our postal~ words, to refuse postal workers the right to service, this latest confrontation between â€" sStrike). the government and CUPW is clearly not Now, of course, the government has in the country‘s best interests. dissolved Parliament before a settlement The local farming community in Waterâ€" loo Riding, and those in agricuiture right across the country, have had their essenâ€" Finance Minister MacEachen and Treaâ€" sury Board President Johnston have decided to use this last postal strike before the Post Office becomes a Crown corporaâ€" tion to teach CUPW ‘a lesson‘. The reason a lesson is needed at all, is that the government has refused to designate the mails as an essential service (in other Now, of course, the government has dissolved Parliament before a settlement is reached. They were worried that the negotiations would be threatened by the spectre of backâ€"toâ€"work legislation...! tial cashâ€"flows interrupted by the delay of hogâ€"stabilization and milkâ€"quota cheques. Area Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade are appalled at the length of time the government is allowing the country to go without mail service. Small businessâ€" men tell me that without being able to send and receive invoices, debts rise while the capital to clear them is caught in the mail. Oné meat processing plant in our area told me that they estimated their losses due to the mail strike were in the order of $35,000 each week.