Nothing gentle about famous Canadians

Re True portrait love, June 27 I found Don Dixon’s photo essay on famous Canadians entertaining, but I wonder how much of the commentary was tailored to downplay the grit inherent to these great individuals in favour of the soft stereotype we train our children to aspire to.

A case in point is Dr. Tak Mak, with whom I am familiar as a Canadian scientist. The Tak Mak known and respected by the Canadian research community is a fierce competitor and individualist who would put any Harvard professor to shame.

Canadian science is in crisis because we continue to sell to Canadian youth a culture of compromise and conciliation rather than one of grit and competitiveness. Let’s give our youth a portrait of the real Canada: the True North Strong and Free that can compete with any nation and win. Sachdev Sidhu, the Donnelly Centre, University of Toronto