A capital offense in Canada
As an American who immigrated to Canada a couple years ago, I was curious to read your story about efforts to protect the Rocky Mountain Front on our side of the border (HCN, 10/8/01: Whoa! Canada!). While I thought the article was generally fairly good, there were two obvious errors of fact that need correcting, and call into question other facts cited in the article which could cause some readers to question the author's authority. First, the capital of Alberta is Edmonton, not Calgary, as mentioned in the paragraph in the section labeled "Provincial lands." Is this another example of American ignorance of some basic Canadian geography?
Second, in the section labeled "Wildlife in retreat," the author mentions that the premier declared a three-year ban on grizzly hunting. While that is true, the ban was lifted after the so-called Liberal Party came to power in last May's B.C. provincial election. Now the fight over grizzly protection begins anew. You can read the official press release online by going to www.env.gov.bc.ca/main/newsrel/fisc0102/july/nr159.htm. Despite these errors of fact, I think the article will help illuminate Americans to the issues of wilderness conservation in Canada, and I hope you will do other stories on your northern neighbors in the future.
Jeff Graham
Vancouver, British Columbia
