Don’t import U.S. ‘birther’ tactics

Hurray! Canada has its own “birther” issue. Maryam Monsef, who seems to have been born in Iran rather than Afghanistan, has been called upon by Tony Clement (the gazebo-loving Conservative wastrel and possible Donald Trump wannabe) to withdraw from cabinet pending an investigation into her birth. Is he serious? Let’s hope Canada can withstand the shrill cries of American hysteria coming from Clement and his friends. Perhaps the potential leader of the Conservatives should focus on issues of substance rather than the dark echoes from an irrational U.S. Republican presidential campaign. Kurt F. Jensen, Ottawa