PRINCE.EDWARD.ISLAND (CBC) - Comments by the French prime minister in a speech about the founding of Quebec 400 years ago were ill-informed, says a P.E.I. Mi'kmaq leader who has written asking for an apology.

John Joe Sark, a member of the Mi'kmaq Grand Council, was referring to references by Prime Minister François Fillon to the region landed in by French settlers in 1608 as "lawless" and "populated by Indians." Fillon was speaking in French at a celebration held in Quebec City on July 3.

Sark told CBC News Wednesday those comments show a lack of understanding of native laws and traditions, and of the role First Nations played in helping the French gain a foothold in Canada.

"It's kind of ironic because without the Mi'kmaq and other aboriginal people those guys would never have survived," said Sark.

"We didn't invite them here. You know, we're very kind to them when they came, but I wonder how kind they would have been to us if we went to France, and started exploiting France?"

Sark added that many of the laws followed by First Nations at the time were more humane than laws in many European countries, including France.

In his letter to the French prime minister, Sark said an apology would be in the spirit of peace and friendship that's existed between First Nations and the French for centuries.

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