Letters to the editor.(Letter to the Editor)

Segregation causes division

Re: "Ottawa funds more bilingualism," (Democracy, April 14). New Brunswick, the only bilingual province in Canada, has descended into racism by buying 21 new buses (probably made by Bombardier) to protect its French-speaking children from being polluted by English-speaking bus drivers. This reminds me of the racial segregation black people suffered in the southern U.S. The blacks sat in the back of the bus, but in Canada we just buy more buses so we can all sit in the front.

Our French government in Ottawa has awarded $751 million extra for the French language, but only $135 million to help the torn nation of Iraq. After 30 years and around $40 billion spent on bilingualism, little progress has been made. Former Quebec premier Bernard Landry said "the loss of a language or a culture is a loss not only for the country but for all humanity." My reply to this is that if a language is good enough, it will survive on its own.

Dot Fuhrman

Kelowna, B.C.

They don't represent us

Re: "Canada's parliamentary crying game is a national travesty," (Inside Straight, April 14). A few weeks ago, it was whispered that some Liberal backbenchers were opposed to throwing more money at the completely ineffective gun registry. But the whisperers must have been mistaken, since no Liberals turned up to vote against the recent $59-million spending bill. Is that what we elected them for?