Manitoba Conservative MP Vic Toews has confirmed he authorized a newsletter last month that slammed Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff for comments he made about Ukrainians more than a decade ago.

The newsletter highlights comments Ignatieff wrote in his 1993 book Blood and Belonging, a meditation on the positive and negative manifestations of nationalism. It quotes Ignatieff as saying Ukrainian independence reminds him of phony Cossacks, whining instruments and nasty anti-Semites.

Ignatieff said at a luncheon at the Canadian Club of Winnipeg Thursday he was writing about stereotypes that existed at the time, and he respects and honours Ukrainian people for their role in building Canada.

"If Vic Toews wants to set me against the Ukrainian community, he will not succeed," Ignatieff said, adding that Toews took the comments out of context.

But Toews said the context does not justify what Ignatieff wrote about the Ukrainian community.

"There are some pretty troubling comments that were made," said Toews. "Referring to Ukrainians as little Russians and questioning the propriety of Ukrainian independence and nationalism. These are not comments that were taken out of context. He has a lot of explaining to do."

The newsletter was delivered last month to people in Toews's riding of Provencher, which covers Lac du Bonnet, Steinbach, Altona, Pinawa and several other communities. The riding has a population of about 90,000.