In June 1971, I was 16 years old, finishing Grade 12, and primarily concerned with the auditions being held for the Ontario Youth Choir. I read the Ottawa Citizen sporadically, but television news made little impression on me. That all changed with the publication of the Pentagon Papers and the ensuing burglary at the office of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist, which were widely reported in Canada.

My family were, shall we say, basically cooperative with whoever was in charge. I was certainly brought up to believe that the government did its best and told us as much of the truth as it was safe for us to know, and that the American government was equally trustworthy. I did not really understand much of what I read in the paper and heard in the CBC news coverage, but the part that sank in was the part where the U.S. government had committed a massive breach of trust that went on for years, and then agreed to criminal acts to cover up that breach of trust.

And another skeptic was born, right then and there.