Thank God for Westerners to set we stupid Ottawans straight

In today's Ottawa Citizen, letter writer, Charles Dunlap, currently of Carp, but a proudly "transplanted westerner", says this: "Ottawans, you are a pompous cluster of self-indulgent stuffed shirts".

What, you may ask did we Ottawans do to Mr. Dunlap to deserve this attack?  Did we kill his dog?  Did we put sardines on his manifold?  Did we bar him from entering the Arts Centre or take away his right to use city roads?

Nope,  Our crime is that we believe in Ottawa as the capital of the nation of Canada and like other national capitals around the world, we believe that national institutions should be located in the national capital.  What a crime we Ottawans have inflicted on Mr. Dunlap.

But you know, just thinking about it a bit, Mr. Dunlap may have a point.  It may be only correct that national institutions be spread across the country, but not just to Calgary or Edmonton, as Mr. Dunlap suggests.

I propose that: the National Portrait Gallery be located in Walsh, Alberta; the National Aviation Museum go to Stewart, BC; the Supreme Court move to Churchill, Manitoba; and the National Art Gallery be relocated to Bateman, Saskatchewan.  The latter is actually a ghost town, but the Art Gallery may be able to revive it.  But let's not forget that the Museum of Science and Technology is looking for a new home.  Let's send it to the Gaspe Pennisula to satisfy non-westerners.

You see, Mr. Dunlap, we Ottawans can be accomodating when we are shown the error of our ways.