In response

Dear editor,
I must have struck a nerve with Mr. Elliott with my thoughts on how Stephane Dion came up as the surprise winner of the recent Liberal leadership race.
I am not a prejudicial person by any means, but Canada has had a prime minister from the province of Quebec for the last 39 years—broken only by Joe Clark’s six-month stay, Kim Campbell’s 15 minutes, and John Turner’s five minutes.
The nine other provinces lust for a leader who comes from their own province.
Maybe Mr. Elliott can give me the answer to this question, which is: “Are the Quebec politicians more intelligent than from the other provinces, or have they more power to obtain this highest position?”
What got me upset was Mr. Elliott’s accusation of me not being a Canadian. Now how does Jack rate the standard of a responsible Canadian? The way I look at this, the Canadian citizen is made in three parts: pure Canadian (being aboriginals), the true Canadian (being born in Canada), and the immigrants who have registered as Canadian citizens.
According to Jack Elliott’s “Hooterville,” there is a school there endorsed in three different languages: English, French, and aboriginal. These are the top three while the fourth is the multicultural nationalities (which, I guess, would be classed as the lower Canadian citizens).
As well, the unveiled gush of bile I was accused of is no comparison to Mr. Elliott’s bizarre stories when he did some writing of his own in the Times.
Yes, Jack, I made a mistake with Champlain instead of Montcalm, to which I apologize to the readers. But I guess a person is entitled to a mistake; of course, you haven’t made any of your own.
Signed,
Michael Baranowski
Nestor Falls, Ont.