DON'T SEND POT-GROWER BACK

I found myself quite affected by the front-page article on the case of Renee
Boje ("American faces 10 years in jail for tending plants," Oct 7).

I grew up in the United States and moved to Canada in 1969 because of the
war in Vietnam. It was the enlightened policy of the Trudeau government at
the time not to ask the draft or military status of young American males
wishing to immigrate to Canada. This highlights the basic goodness and
tolerance of Canadians, and this country's historical independence from
American policy.

I am appalled by what I read in this article about the injustice in the
judicial and prison system of the country where I grew up. I would be deeply
disappointed if the government of my adopted country veered from its
historical position of tolerance and independence and failed to do the right
thing in this case.

I would urge federal Justice Minister Anne McLellan to allow Renee Boje to
stay in Canada. The alternative is to condemn a young woman, who seems to
have done nothing wrong, to years of meaningless imprisonment within a
brutal system.

Kenneth Webb, Ottawa