Dear Editor,

The news reports of late do little to enhance pride in being a Canadian. There is that shameful admission that our Medicare system lags behind those of Europe in being able to see a physician or a specialist and that our waits for admission to a hospital in these matters are the longest in the civilized world.

The one bright spot was that our cancer treatment in B.C. is excellent.

Another degrading story is that of the recent spy case in which a Canadian naval officer was detected passing along secrets to the Russians for the payment of $3,000 per month.

And who sniffed this out? It was not our intelligence community, but the American CIA.

Other reports besmirching our reputation involved our inadequacy in determining whether our meat products were safe for the public. They weren't, and it wasn't Canadian health inspection that discovered this, but once more, it was the Americans.

Usually ignored by the press are the continuing reports of English speakers in Quebec being subjected to harassment for the use of their language, and the fact that Quebecers now fill 62 per cent of all positions in federal government positions. Vive le Canada!

Mike Harvey, Langley