Re : The Myth Of Quebecistan, Andre Pratte, Aug. 16.

Andre Pratte’s column took issue with Barbara Kay’s portrait of Quebec and Quebecers as having a "fat streak of anti-Semitism" and being anti-American. Pratte’s column is rife with non sequiturs and flawed logic.

Pratte argues that Quebecers can’t be anti-American because they "travel in huge numbers to the United States" and adore "American music." Does he really believe that only those with pro-American beliefs consume U.S. products and visit the States ? Just look at the young Arabs who burn American flags in the demonstrations throughout the Middle East. More often than not, they’re wearing Nike clothes. And how about all those U.S.-educated Arab terrorists ? Just like Arab terrorists who attend Harvard and MIT, anti-American Quebecers who rally against the U.S. aren’t principled enough to forgo the American products they love so much. Listening to American music and taking American cruises don’t make them pro-American ; these activities just make them hypocrites.

Another flaw in Pratte’s column is that he asks how Quebec can be a "nest of anti-Semitism" when more than a third of Canada’s Jews "live and prosper there." The two things are entirely unrelated. While it’s true that 83,000 Jews live and (mostly) prosper in Quebec today, it’s also true that over 600,000 Jews lived and were even more prosperous in 1930s Germany, and that certainly didn’t stop anti-Semitism from developing into a full-fledged genocide there.

After living in Quebec for four years, I can tell you that tolerance and diversity are not strong in the province. In fact, spending a single day on Concordia University’s campus will teach anyone that, when it comes to a picture of Quebec, Barbara Kay’s troublesome portrait is, sadly, more accurate than Mr. Pratte’s rosy depiction.

Elana Setton, Ottawa.