Divided We Stand

It should come as no surprise to the travel writers of the Los Angeles Times that just as the United States is divided into 50 states, our neighbor to the north, the Dominion of Canada, is divided into 10 provinces and two territories. It makes a crucial difference to one’s itinerary when booking transportation to specify which province is intended as the destination.

For example: Do you want to go to St. John’s, Newfoundland, or St. John, New Brunswick? Sure, the apostrophe is a clue to the difference, especially when it’s written, but spoken? True, there’s only one Bay Bulls (“Whale-Watching With an Irish Air Off Canada,” July 28) and it’s in Newfoundland, but it’s best to make a habit of specifying the province, anyhow.

NORMAN WILLIAMSON JR.

Claremont