MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 5 July 12

• “There is another delay in the case against a Canadian naval intelligence officer accused of spying. Sub-Lt. Jeffrey Delisle is charged with communicating information to a foreign entity that could harm national interests. Delisle’s lawyer, Mike Taylor, has requested more time to review documents, of which he said there are thousands …. The defence has requested several delays since Delisle’s arrest. “I received some disclosure that I just haven’t had a chance to go through,” Mike Taylor said. “I received a lengthy report and some documents that pertain to the search warrant that was issued and I need a chance to look at those and then talk to Mr. Delisle about them and figure out what we’re going to do next.” He said his client is in good spirits, understands the delays and wants the case to move forward. The next scheduled court date for Delisile is July 17.”  More from the trial’s hometown paper here.
• Meanwhile, “…. Michel Juneau-Katsuya, a career operative with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and an expert in espionage and security-related issues, told QMI Agency he doesn’t think Delisle’s case will go to trial. “It is of no interest to Canadian national security to have him going to trial and to expose publicly what happened and how it happened,” Juneau-Katsuya said. Both our allies and our enemies are watching closely, he said, to see how Canada deals with the damage that could have done. The Russians, to whom Delisle is accused of passing military secrets, may want to find out where things went wrong, “so they can improve their technique and improve their strategy next time,” he said. The military made a mistake in sending the case to civilian criminal court rather than military court martial, which would have remained sealed, he said ….”
• Cabinet shuffle moves Associate Minister of Defence out (to take the place of now-out-the-cabinet-door Bev Oda), Quebec MP in as Associate Minister of Defence, PMO tells CBC no other changes coming (therefore, MacKay stays, contrary to other unnamed sources’ speculation).
• Minister MacKay chats up British Secretary of State for Defence  “…. The meeting provided an opportunity to reinforce Canada’s strong defence relationship with the United Kingdom (UK) and to discuss defence and security issues of mutual interest ….”
• What’s Canada Buying?  Someone to build an aircraft arrestor system at Greenwood, (herbal) death from above in Gagetown, someone to get rid of some no-longer-needed 155 mm cluster shells and someone to build a new HQ building for the Canadian Rangers in Borden.
• What’s Canada (still not) Buying (yet)?  On that pesky CH-148 Cyclone deal – more on the delays here, how the company is facing some hefty fines here, Mark Collins’ take here, and another blogger’s chronology of the whole mess here.
• One guy’s opinion of the Cyclone fracas  “If Canada ever establishes a comedy hall of fame, to showcase the country’s unique and offbeat sense of humour, there should be a special wing set aside for the Sea Kings helicopter saga. In terms of comedy, the Sea King is hard to beat: wackier than Jim Carrey, nuttier than Mike Myers, longer lasting than Lorne Michaels and as original and unpredictable as Dan Aykroyd and the entire cast of SCTV. In its own weird way, it even has a sort of John Candy-like loveability. If we ever do succeed in retiring the things, we can’t simply junk them. It would be a national shame, like Harold Ballard chucking out Foster Hewitt’s gondola. If there’s to be no hall of fame, we should at least bronze a couple of them and position them in a permanent place on Parliament Hill ….”
• No more signing bonuses for YOU!  “The Department of National Defence is no longer offering signing bonuses to recruits with special skills, a move criticized by a defence expert as being part of federal government cutbacks. In a statement to CBC News, a department spokeswoman said recruitment allowances were no longer required because the Canadian Forces had “fulfilled recruitment goals years ahead of schedule.” “Recruiting allowances are used when required. The requirement is based on a manning forecast produced every year to identify military occupations that are deemed under strength,” said the statement. “The manning forecast for this year indicates that there are currently no under strength military occupations.” ….” – you can read the CF order rescinding the bonuses here (via Army.ca)