MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 12 June 12

• While the government (CF included) is looking for ways to do more with less, what’s up next?  MORE “Royal” designations!
  
• Letter to the editor:  Time for Canada’s wounded warriors to speak up as a group  “…. We respect and grieve for those families who didn’t have a son or daughter return home safely. At the same time, our government must be measured and assessed by its commitment to those who did return but not as complete as when they left for their tour(s) of duty. The government has failed immeasurably. Our soldiers deserve a government committed to the provision of a comprehensive, knowledgeable and consistent program of medical and professional support. Regrettably, this is not occurring. To this point, the military and government have been insulated from the wrath of an organized confrontation as stories have been of an individual nature and sporadically covered in the media. Many of us have been in-undated with the challenges of securing on-going support for our family members. Most of us are fearful of going public because of the distinct possibility of unjust retribution to our family member by the military. As time progresses, more and more of us are connecting and sharing our horror stories about the lack of respect, the lack of dignity and the lack of commitment bestowed by this government on these wounded soldiers. Hopefully, the day of reckoning is close by when we can establish a national forum for veterans and their families to expose the military and government for their lack of transparency, for their failure in providing the appropriate and necessary support to Canada’s soldiers and their unwavering pledge to ensuring that there won’t be another “ultimate sacrifice” on our soil because of its lack of action ….”
• “The Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, today announced new measures as part of the “Cutting Red Tape for Veterans” initiative to improve service to Veterans, Canadian Forces members and their families. With the new measures, Veterans will no longer have to submit receipts to receive the financial support they need to cover travel expenses incurred for medical appointments …. In fiscal year 2011-2012, Veterans Affairs Canada paid approximately $18 million to Veterans for health-related travel expenses. Each month, the Department processes approximately 5,500 health-related travel claims with an average reimbursement of $274. Under the old system, Veterans had to mail or drop off their receipts for the cost of travelling for treatment or medical assessments. Effective immediately, Veterans will no longer need to submit receipts with their travel claim ….” - more from the House of Commons here.  If this person posting to Army.ca is correct, though, it may not cover ALL vets – happy to be wrong and corrected.
• Royal Canadian Legion offering $ for homeless vets (as long as Legion branches raise the other 1/2)  “The Royal Canadian Legion has announced a new national initiative to help homeless veterans called Leave the Streets Behind. “We have dedicated half a million dollars to the (provincial) commands to either expand or put in place programs across the country,” says Dominion president Pat Varga. Varga, who is from Saskatchewan, made the announcement Monday at the Royal Canadian Legion’s 44th Dominion Convention which is being held in Halifax. Four provincial commands including Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command already have programs to provide help to homeless veterans. “The program was started by Ontario Command in Toronto through the missions in Toronto. Nova Scotia has picked it up, Alberta is working on it. B.C. has a program as well,” she said in an interview. The new funds will be used for immediate assistance for veterans and to connect them to long-term support from community agencies and Veterans Affairs. Legion provincial commands are also expected to raise $500,000 for the homeless veterans initiative. “Most of the dollars will be on a matching basis, so in the end it is a million dollars that will go towards helping the homeless and near homeless across our country,” Varga said ….”
• Meanwhile, Veterans Affairs is holding focus groups later this month on what people think about their brochures and public information.
• Defence Minister on budget paperwork spending discrepancies:  You’ll see soon enough where the money’s being spent  “Ms. Christine Moore (Abitibi—Témiscamingue, NDP): Mr. Speaker, at a time when the Conservatives are stealing money from the unemployed and seniors by cutting employment insurance and old age security, spending at the Department of National Defence has increased by $4 billion over the past year. The President of the Treasury Board had asked all departments to reduce their spending, but the Minister of National Defence took the opportunity to increase spending, despite the F-35 fiasco, which does not even factor into this equation. How does the Minister of National Defence, with his creative accounting, explain going over budget by $4 billion? Hon. Peter MacKay (Minister of National Defence, CPC): Mr. Speaker, what I do know is that the Department of National Defence has enjoyed a billion-dollar increase in our budget, thanks to the support of the Minister of Finance and our Prime Minister. That has allowed us to embark on new procurements. It has allowed us to put new programming in place to support our men and women in uniform. The department’s spending is reported through public accounts that are tabled in the fall. The public accounts will reflect those year-by-year adjustments.”
• Way Up North  More calls for Canada to work more closely with Russia  “…. Canada and Russia have ownership over most of the Arctic’s coastline. Canada’s winning play can only be to press this symmetry in order to cooperate and collude with Russia for mutual Arctic advantage. As such, Canada’s two principal interests vis-à-vis Russia this century ought to be as follows: first, to lock Russia into processes or interactions in, or negotiations on, the Arctic that are unlikely to issue in a Russian resort to military force; and second, to, on occasion, opportunistically align itself with Russia in order to advance critical national objectives in the Arctic. A key example of such opportunistic Canada-Russia alignment would be in the service of international recognition of the Northwest Passage – by far the key Arctic enjeu for Canada – as part of Canadian internal waters. As Michael Byers argued in his Feature article “Toward a Canada-Russia Axis in the Arctic” in GB’s Winter 2012 issue, Russia’s claim to the Northern Sea Route as part of its internal waters (according to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea) is, in many respects, a mirror-image of Canada’s Northwest Passage claim. Both claims are also challenged by, first and foremost, the US, which sees both straits as ‘international straits.’ Byers’ counterintuitive policy conjecture is that if Canada were to formally recognize Russia’s claim to the Northern Sea Route, and Russia, at the same time, Canada’s claim to the Northwest Passage, then the legal-cum-symbolic effect would, in the net, be geopolitically significant. Russian recognition could well pave the way for similar recognition of the Canadian claim by a number of other important countries – at least important non-maritime countries, and perhaps even China – just as Canadian recognition would give Western respectability to Russia’s claim ….”
• Afghanistan (1)  “Canadian troops quietly stopped handing captured Taliban fighters over to Afghan authorities in mid-2011, almost six months before the Harper government publicly acknowledged the change to the controversial policy. It was an order by NATO’s southern command in Afghanistan that ultimately ended the politically incendiary practice. The halt to transfers happened just as the Canadian combat mission in Kandahar drew to a close and U.S. forces took full control of the restive province. NATO, in a sweeping July 2011 directive, ordered all units to cease handovers to not only the notorious Afghan intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security, but also the Afghan National Police and Afghan Border Police ….”
• Afghanistan (1)  Building dental “bridges” (so to speak) with Afghan troops - more on one dental surgeon’s story here.
• Just what Canada’s military needs at a time of shrinking budgets:  MORE Royal titles – an interesting discussion on the idea at Army.ca
• Way Up North (1)  June 3:  The Guardian (UK) , covering this study, reports: “Arctic military rivalry could herald a 21st-century cold war.“  June 6:  MILNEWS.ca shares this with you.  June 11:  the Postmedia News chain shares this with you.
• Way Up North (2)  June 9:  Canadian Arctic expert discusses how Canada, Russia can work together on the Northwest Passage.  June 9:  MILNEWS.ca shares this with you.  June 11:  the Postmedia News chain shares this with you.
• Southern Ontario Reservists headed to the Baltics for a training exercise  “Approximately 45 reserve soldiers from 31 Canadian Brigade Group, the army units in south-western Ontario, will participate in a multi-national exercise scheduled for June 10 – 22, 2012, at multiple training areas in Estonia and Latvia. Exercise Saber Strike 2012 is a U.S. Army Europe-led event involving approximately 2,000 personnel from eight countries. This, the second year of the Saber Strike exercise program, is part of an ongoing cooperative training effort primarily focused on the three nations of the Baltic States: Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. This exercise prepares participants to operate successfully in a joint, multinational, integrated environment with support from civil and governmental agencies in a host-nation …. Exercise Saber Strike 2012 will consist of situational training exercises and a field training exercise taking place at the Adazi training area, Latvia. A command post exercise will be conducted at various sites in Estonia, including one near Tapa. The exercise includes military participation from Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Latvia, Lithuania, the United Kingdom and the United States ….”
• Some Canadians apparently also training with the Americans on Exercise Golden Coyote  “The South Dakota National Guard’s 28th annual Golden Coyote training exercise is underway in Rapid City and the southern Black Hills, with more than 2,200 service members participating from across the country and the world. The two-week training exercise, which began June 9 and continues until the 23, allows military forces to conduct combat support and combat service support missions in a realistic training environment and provide valuable services to the public. Created in the mid-1980s with the cooperation of the National Forest Service and Custer State Park, the exercise provides relevant training opportunities in support of overseas contingency operations and homeland defense. Golden Coyote has developed into one of the nation’s top training opportunities for National Guard, reserve and active-duty forces, as well as military personnel from foreign countries …. Units can also participate in combat patrols, fire arms training and reacting to improvised explosive devices …. Participating units also complete various projects that help improve the forest and local communities. Local residents receive numerous benefits of the many engineering projects being conducted during the training exercise. Units will be repairing roadways, providing reclamation of hazardous wilderness areas and hauling cut timber from the forest …. This year’s exercise also includes members from the United Kingdom, Denmark, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Suriname ….”
• Senator calling for better CF search and rescue assets  “…. This government supposedly has a “Canada First” philosophy when it comes to our military. What could be more “Canada First” than putting the resources and systems into place whereby life-and-death emergencies get responded to, rather than brushed off because there are inadequate resources or it is somebody else’s jurisdiction? ….”
• F-35 Tug o’ War (1)  “The Harper government is planning to delay the release of its latest estimates on the per-jet cost of its new fighter planes because it has decided the figures need to be independently verified first. This means it could be October before Canadians receive new details on the price of the controversial stealth jets, which the auditor-general has predicted could cost $25-billion. The Department of National Defence had been preparing to stage a media briefing in the next few weeks to detail what it believes each F-35 Lightning II jet would cost Canada. But the plan ran into resistance within government as officials questioned the utility of releasing a new per-plane estimate before Ottawa commissioned an independent review of the entire jet procurement program ….”
• F-35 Tug o’ War (2)  What, me worry?  “The Canadian government is ignoring U.S. warnings that a flood of bogus military parts from China has been discovered in American-made fighter jets, transport planes, missiles and other weapons, potentially putting the lives of Armed Forces personnel at risk. A 14-month U.S. Congressional investigation uncovered 1,800 cases of counterfeit electronic components for American military equipment, in total involving over one million bogus parts …. Julian Fantino, Canada’s associate defence minister, shrugs off the U.S. alarm bells. “At this point in time, other than continuing to be vigilant, we don’t have any particular concerns in this country,” Fantino tells CBC News ….”
• What’s Canada Buying (1a)  Public Works Minister:  I’m sure the Big Honkin’ Ship’s be built on time, on budget  “Mr. Speaker, our government is very proud of the fact that we have committed to building our ships here in Canada for the Navy and Coast Guard. We know that our national shipbuilding strategy means long-term jobs and investment in the shipbuilding industry and will create more than 75 million person-hours of work for the Canadian shipbuilding industry. This is a long-term industrial strategy. I have every confidence that Irving and Seaspan will work with the Coast Guard and the Navy to implement these projects on time and on budget. For our part, we will be providing oversight.”
• What’s Canada Buying? (1b)  Big Honkin’ Ship contractor not worried at this point  “Seaspan Marine Corp.’s chief executive is confident that the federal government remains committed to its construction plan on the West Coast for new non-combat vessels, despite questions about the future of the national shipbuilding program. “We still plan on cutting steel on that first vessel in the summer of 2013. So, no reduction in scope, no reduction in scale, no reduction in size, no late deliveries,” Jonathan Whitworth said from Ottawa on Monday. “There is no change in what we see or have heard.” Whitworth and other Seaspan officials were in Ottawa to meet with deputy ministers in Public Works, the Canadian Coast Guard, Industry Canada and the Department of National Defence. At that meeting, Whitworth said, he was assured that the non-combat vessel program was on track. “Right now, I’m not worried,” he said. “I’ve got lots of things to focus and worry on, but the federal government cancelling or delaying the orders, I’ve got to tell you, is not one of them.” ….”
• What’s Canada Buying? (2)  “L-3 MAS, with its partner Avianor Inc., announced today that it has been awarded a contract from the Canadian government to provide complete in-service support (ISS) services for the Department of National Defence (DND) CC-150 ‘Polaris’ Airbus fleet …. The CC-150 Polaris fleet is used by the government for such high-profile missions as VVIP transportation and strategic air-to-air refuelling, as well as passenger, freight and medical transportation. As the prime contractor, L-3 MAS will provide overall program management, material management and engineering support services, as well as line maintenance support at CFB Trenton. Avianor will provide heavy maintenance and component maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services from its Mirabel facility.”
• What’s Canada Buying? (3)  More on CAE’s winfall  “CAE has won a series of military contracts worth over $110 million that will see the company develop a suite of fixed wing training devices and continue to provide in-service support for Canada’s CF-18 fleet. “Our customer base continues to grow as defence forces expand their use of synthetic training in order to reduce cost,” said Gene Colabatistto, CAE’s group president of military products, training and services. “CAE’s advanced simulation solutions offer the ability to practice and rehearse dangerous mission scenarios safely.” The contract to provide a suite of fixed wing Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) aircraft simulators and training devices is part of an overall solution to meet the future aircrew training requirements of an undisclosed customer. CAE will design and manufacture a number of full-mission simulators that will each feature a high-fidelity replica of the cockpit surrounded by an 11-foot front projection dome display. In addition, CAE will also provide integrated procedures trainers, an egress training device, an ejection seat training device, and a range of brief/debrief systems. The in-service support for the CF-18 fleet is a one-year contract renewal, with CAE providing avionics software upgrades, integrated logistics support and data management services. CAE has been performing systems engineering support services for the CF-18 fleet for more than 25 years.” – more here and here
• What’s Canada Buying? (4)  Someone to “construct two new reinforced concrete monuments for CF-18 and CT-133 aircraft at 4 Wing Cold Lake, AB“
• Analyst: What’s the NDP got for a defence policy?  “Tom Mulcair has plenty of work ahead of him as he seeks to establish himself as a credible leader of the Official Opposition and develop new policies. Perhaps nowhere will the NDP’s vision, creativity and discipline be tested more than in foreign and defence policy ….”
• Latin American air force bosses meet in Ottawa “The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, joined by Lieutenant-General Andre Deschamps, Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), (yesterday) welcomed the air force chiefs and representatives from 18 Western Hemisphere nations, and three observer nations, participating in the 52nd annual Conference of the American Air Chiefs, or CONJEFAMER, in Ottawa …. The location of each year’s CONJEFAMER conference rotates among member nations; this year, the RCAF is hosting the military delegations in Ottawa during the week-long event, from June 10 to 15, 2012 ….”
• Canada’s Public Safety and Justice Ministers on meeting with “communities” to talk about cyber security:  “…. “Over the weekend, Minister Nicholson and I met with the Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security, a body that continues to play an important role in advising us on the impact of national security matters on Canada’s diverse society. This session of the Roundtable focused on cyber space and the efforts our Government is taking to prevent, minimize and address the impact of cyber threats,” said Minister Toews. “Cyber security is a shared responsibility, and we all have a role to play. Communities across Canada can learn how to take action and Get Cyber Safe with the information they need to protect themselves and their families against a wide range of online threats.” “Minister Toews and I were happy to welcome new members to the Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security, who bring with them valuable knowledge and experience. These citizens are leaders in their respective communities and are committed to building safer, more engaged and informed communities,” said Minister Nicholson. “They will be a tremendous asset to the Roundtable and will enrich this ongoing and important dialogue that gives a voice to our communities – Canada’s greatest source of resilience.” ….” – more on the Cross-Cultural Roundtable here
• “The Supreme Court of Canada is hearing an appeal from the first person convicted under Canada’s anti-terror law. Momin Khawaja, a former Ottawa software developer, is serving life in prison with no parole eligibility for 10 years. He was convicted in 2008 of training at a remote camp in Pakistan, providing cash to a group of British extremists, and offences related to building a remote-control device to set off explosions. Khawaja’s appeal is focused on the legal definition of what constitutes “terrorist activity.” His lawyers are arguing that the law is unconstitutional because it violates his right to express political and religious views ….” I’m not a judge, but I think when you let one individual or group express their beliefs through violent action, it’s kinda hard to tell OTHER groups they can’t do the same thing.
• Note to Occupiers in Ottawa  “Would-be Occupiers won’t even get a chance to hammer in a single tent peg this summer. At least, not in Ottawa. Less than 100 days into his first term as chief of police, Charles Bordeleau told the Sun editorial board Friday he’s promising to not only shut down a repeat of the Occupy movement but not even let one get established. “You want to protest, fill your boots,” said Bordeleau. “But they will not occupy any land here in Ottawa.” Cops have learned from last November’s 40-day occupation of Confederation Park ….”
• “After a tumultuous weekend of tension and confrontation between demonstrators and fans of Formula One racing in Montreal, riot police easily outnumbered protesters at Monday’s International Economic Forum of the Americas. Only a handful of protesters were demonstrating outside the downtown hotel where Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney delivered speeches about global economic issues. Protesters were heckling delegates as they arrived Monday morning, and police had set up a security line at the downtown Montreal conference centre where the four days of meetings are being held. Although only about a dozen protesters showed up early Monday, riot police formed a cordon around the hotel. Two nearby mini-buses packed with heavily armoured provincial police suggested cops were prepared for many more ….”
• War of 1812  Writer reminds us not to forget the Aboriginal component of the post-war legacy  “…. Before the War of 1812, indigenous peoples were viewed by Canadian and American alike either as dangerous enemies or as military allies; after the war, they were increasingly viewed as a problem to be resolved through absorption and legislation. The war probably hastened what would have occurred anyway. Nonetheless, whatever victory Canada may justly claim, it is the case that to the indigenous people who fought alongside the British loyalists, as to the later generations who would do the same on European soil, there fell few of the spoils. An emergent outward-facing nation became after 1814 preponderantly inward-looking, the Indian problem thereafter, and to this day, displacing colonial rivalries of the previous centuries.”