MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – October 26, 2012
- Coming up in today’s MILNEWS.ca’s “What’s Canada Buying?”: MORE consultants sought to look into the CF-18 replacement process….
- Monday morning’s the CDS’s last day at work “His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, will preside over the Change of Command ceremony which will see command of the Canadian Forces transfer from General Walt Natynczyk to Lieutenant-General Tom Lawson ….” If you’re in Ottawa, don’t be surprised by the big booms that day, too.
- Afghanistan (1) Afghan teachers learning in Canada
- Afghanistan (2) Stand by for the “blood for oil” crowds to complain “A spokesman for Afghanistan’s Mining Ministry, Jawad Omer, has told RFE/RL that the Canadian company Terraseis has located a large oil field in the northwestern part of the country. “This area is situated between the Khan Charbagh and Aqeena border districts, where technical research has been conducted,” Omer said. The site is in Faryab Province, near the border with Turkmenistan. Omer said more exploration would be done to get an accurate assessment of the size of the oil field ….”
- Defence Minister in the House of Commons, when asked about the letter from the PM saying “cut more”:
- Mark Collins to those who want Canada involved in Mali: “…. All I can say is be very careful what one gets into, and how deeply–see below for all sorts of uncertainties. And with so many other players involved how necessary would any Canadian military participation be? ….”
- Veterans Affairs Minister in the House of Commons on possible staff cuts, office closures: “Mr. Speaker, I hope the member has clearly read the Auditor General’s report because what he said in his report is that he acknowledges that we have taken the right steps to cut red tape. That is what he said. He said, “Are you agreeing to cut red tape and cut lengthy processes?” That is what we are doing. That is why we brought forward the plain language initiative, to communicate clearly with our veterans. It is also why we brought forward the veterans benefit browser that is on the web. A member can go there ….”
- Also, funeral directors say a few more bucks could be found for vets’ funerals “Canadian funeral directors say they’re routinely subsidizing the burials of this country’s most impoverished war veterans because the federal government pays so little for the service. Veterans Affairs Canada provides eligible veterans with up to $3,600 for funeral services through the Last Post Fund. But that amount — it has remained unchanged for more than a decade — now covers only about half the cost of a veteran’s funeral, according to the Funeral Service Association of Canada. “It’s mostly the members of our association, or the families themselves, that are making up the difference,” said Phil Fredette, the association’s government relations chair. Depending on the province, Fredette said, it now costs between $6,500 and $9,000 to provide the funeral services mandated under the Veterans Affairs Canada Funeral and Burial Program. Among other things, the program requires funeral directors to bury war veterans in wooden caskets of a specified quality. Some provinces, Fredette said, now pay as much or more for funeral services through social assistance ….”
- The Minister’s excuse on funeral costs? Its the Liberals’ fault! “…. the best thing anyone can do here as members of this House to help veterans would be to stand up and support the concrete measures the Conservative government is bringing forward to help our veterans. Unfortunately, we regularly see the NDP refuse to support our veterans, when it comes to programs aimed at improving their quality of life as well as programs we are putting in place to provide them with services. We will continue to defend our veterans and work with associations …. We have been standing up for veterans, and the one thing I can assure the member we will not do is cut the funeral and burial program, as the Liberals did. We will stand by our veterans.”
- Meanwhile, the VAC Minister’s sidekick is set to honour WW2 Sicily vets in Toronto.
- That time of year again “His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, and patron of The Royal Canadian Legion, received the symbolic first poppy of the 2012 National Poppy Campaign from Comrade Gordon Moore, Dominion President of The Royal Canadian Legion. Her Excellency Sharon Johnston also received a poppy from Vice-Admiral (ret’d) Larry Murray, the organization’s Grand President. The ceremony was held at Rideau Hall on Wednesday, October 24, 2012 ….”
- Meanwhile, in the House, no dice on moving forward a Private Member’s Bill to make it harder on folks found guilty of damaging war memorials. Could this, from a Conservative MP, be why the NDP and Liberals didn’t seem to support it? “…. The government moved an amendment at committee, which was accepted, to adjust the maximum penalty under indictment from five years to ten years. This is a technical amendment to keep the bill in line with the rest of the Criminal Code section on mischief. It was suggested by officials of the Minister of Justice and I am grateful for his intervention and support. It must be pointed out that both opposition parties voted against the government’s amendment and against the bill itself at committee. That says to me that they are not interested in seeking to deter individuals from damaging our most honoured places ….”
- Stand By for Navy Appreciation Day next Tuesday!
- “A military judge has found a former army cadet instructor guilty of three sex-related charges. The judge found Capt. Daniel Moriarity guilty on two counts of sexual exploitation and one count each of sexual assault at Moriarity’s court martial hearing at CFB Esquimalt on Monday. The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS) charged Moriarity in February after he committed crimes against two teenaged cadets at the Lt.-Gen. E.C. Ashton Armoury in Saanich and the Vernon Army Cadet Summer Training Centre. The incidents occurred between 2008 and 2011″ – sentencing is set for 31 Oct 12.
- Update on the proposed Combating Terrorism Act: It’s passed Second Reading in the House of Commons & makes it to Committee (specifically, the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security).
- War of 1812 (1) “Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Thursday) participated in a ceremony at Rideau Hall honouring the major contributions of Aboriginal peoples during the War of 1812. During the ceremony, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, presented commemorative War of 1812 banners and medals to representatives of 48 First Nations and Métis communities with a heritage linked to the war of 1812. Also present were John Duncan, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, and General Walter Natynczyk, Chief of the Defence Staff …. During the War, more than 10,000 First Nations and Métis warriors from the Great Lakes region and the St. Lawrence Valley participated in nearly every major battle, including Fort Mackinac, Detroit, the battles of Fort George, Stoney Creek and Beaver Dams, Crysler’s Farm and Lundy’s Lane. According to several British commanders, these important battles were won in large part because of the participation of their Aboriginal allies ….” – more from the GG/Commander-in-Chief here, and from the Aboriginal Affairs Minister here.
- War of 1812 (2) One First Nation leader doesn’t see things the same way as the government “While they were once allies during the War of 1812, First Nations and the Crown now find themselves as adversaries on the battlefield of Canada, according to Serpent River First Nation Chief Isadore Day, who spoke during a special ceremony honouring the contribution of Indigenous warriors in the pre-confederation battle against the Americans …. “There was a history of surrounding the great battle called the War of 1812 where our people would offer as gifts to you weapons, our weapons, our war clubs, in peace and alliance,” said Day, whose community is in Ontario. “We cannot do this at this point in history. It is now you that we struggle against, the Crown, in many cases, and the federal government. It is you we now fight in order to eliminate poverty and pain in our people.” ….”
