Dear editor,
Claire Gilmore’s remarks in Wednesday’s paper leave us wondering what, if anything, she is trying to tell us.
Many of your readers can agree that the proposed treaty with China is a serious matter and one that perhaps we are not quite ready to have decided. But beyond that, there appears to be little real substance in her letter.
Insisting that the agreement is unconstitutional is questionable considering that Canada has similar agreements with 24 other countries, some of them going back more than 20 years.
Yes, the government needs to be very careful in these matters, and (especially with a country like China) more public discussion may have been helpful, but this is hardly an unprecedented event.
In any case, it certainly is not within an MLA’s sphere of influence. An agreement between the federal government and a foreign power is not something that British Columbia’s education minister can prevent.
I hope that Mr. McRae will refuse to be distracted from the work he is already doing and that his constituents (including former students) will learn how to support their politicians rather than to denounce them unreasonably.
Brendon Johnson,
Courtenay
