What a relief to know the $5.3 million in taxpayers' money used to upgrade a tiny, little-used rural airport in Charlevoix was in no way a favour to the family of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's son-in-law. True, the amount was vastly more than was spent on remote airports in other provinces. True, the Desmarais clan, hugely wealthy and influential, has a $40-million estate nearby. But tourism is important to the region, federal officials assert, and so there's nothing improper about the spending.

. . . . here's our proposal, offered in a spirit of helpfulness:

Why doesn't Ottawa pass a law requiring the Desmarais clan to open their estate, a couple days a week and for one full month in the summer, for tourists to visit? Something similar works fairly well for stately homes in England.

Who knows? Perhaps the Desmarais family would take such a step voluntarily. Doing that, as a gesture of noblesse oblige, would instantly erase the slightest public suspicion, utterly erroneous but lingering, nonetheless, this airport project was the most revolting kind of special treatment. We look forward to hearing from them.