Western ‘rednecks’ vs. Quebec

Re: Trudeau’s Master Stroke, Conrad Black, March 31. As always, Canada is steeped in the glorious political wrangling between Upper and Lower Canada. Conrad Black speaks with paternal arrogance that Quebec is a prize worth bankrupting the rest of Canada (ROC) for.

He acts as though we’ve finally won the war against the separatists and all that the ROC will have to do is to continue showering them with money. Let’s call it Operation Status Quo. And Pierre Trudeau is to be canonized for spending western Canadian dollars to pay for bilingualism. That will never resonate well with western Canadians, nor will referring to us as “rednecks.” For us, its the National Energy Program and Mr. Trudeau’s hand gesture from a train to the citizens of Salmon Arm, B.C., that will remain his true legacy.

May I suggest that Mr. Black broaden his horizon of Canadian history to include the people, geography, demographics and economic drivers of western Canada? We are not willing vassals of central Canadian elitism.

Tim Dryden, Edmonton.

Every Saturday I read Mr. Black’s column in much the same way as I take Buckley’s when I have a cold. It’s going to taste like heck, but I’m sure it’ll be good for me. In Mr. Black’s case, I know at the very least I am going to learn new words.

The reason for this letter, however, is because of a very common word that he used very condescendingly: “redneck.” I don’t know about the east but here in the west, a big part of the population is made up of what I consider “rednecks.” People that work hard to make their living, but who aren’t heard of much in the media. In some ways, especially here in the west, “Canadian” and “redneck” are the same thing in many ways.

We are a frontier country, a resource-driven economy, with thousands of miles of wilderness looming over us. So call me a “redneck,” but just don’t condescend to me.

Shane Tomkins, Edmonton.