Between today the supposed lasting imprint on Canada's character and Confederation, a lot of things happened that Mackay has skipped. Is Mackay poorly-read in Canadian history or is he skipping the details to help grease the skids for this farsighted tribute?

Whatever the case, thousands of college theses have been written studying the nasty effects of MacDonald's "National Policy," his running roughshod over the Metis in central Canada, the insularity he showed towards struggling western farmers, and don't forget, the Indian Act of which he was the chief architect.

I suggest Mr. Mackay open up a high school book on Canadian history. Assuming he's just poorly-read, upon reading such a book's table of contents, he'd be compelled to withdraw his article.