MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – November 20, 2012
- “Four of Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships from the Atlantic Fleet will be participating in a joint international exercise with the United States Navy from November 19 to December 14, off the East Coasts of Canada and United States called Task Group Exercise 6-12 …. The Royal Canadian Navy will work with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to combine the Task Group Exercise with the NORAD Air Defence Exercise Amalgam Dart to further enhance interoperability and effectiveness between the Royal Canadian Navy and NORAD. The high tempo training will provide valuable experience to our sailors in a wide range of at-sea evolutions, to include navigation and seamanship, helicopter operations, and warfare exercises. Furthermore, Amalgam Dart will provide an excellent opportunity to train in ship-to-air and air-to-air defence ….”
- No sign of the briefing note, so no word on what else may have been in there “National Defence quietly examined the idea of designating more positions within the military as “safety sensitive” in order to catch and punish soldiers for illegal drug use. Internal documents show the Canadian Army was particularly concerned. Over four-year period, commanders in charge of troops in Canada’s central and western regions lobbied separately to draw up expanded lists of jobs that would be subject to the enhanced screening. A spokeswoman for National Defence says the director of military career administration has not made any changes, and the drug-screening program has not been expanded but is subject to continuing review. Concern about possible drug use among troops over the last few years extended to the top, where the chief of defence staff, now-retired general Walt Natynczyk, “stated that he is receptive to requests to designate other positions or occupations as safety sensitive,” said a Nov. 14, 2011, briefing note, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act. The Forces considered expanding the number of jobs subject to enhanced drug screening in 2007, but was halted because it couldn’t justify the invasion of privacy ….”
- Not often I agree with rabble.ca, but the guy makes a point here re: how VAC money is being spent “…. It’s funny with this government. The war dead are the heroes. They can rest in peace knowing we remember and honour them. The survivors are not so sure.”
- “Americans like Canadians a lot and vice versa, but the U.S. perceives Britain as its closest ally, according to a new survey that also suggests Canucks are a distrustful bunch when it comes to other countries. The Abacus Data survey of 1,068 Canadians and 1,012 Americans provides some insights into Canada’s relationship with its largest trading partner and how both countries feel about other countries. On the issue of trust, 50% of Canadian respondents said they trust Britain the most compared to 37% who picked the U.S. The Americans surveyed ranked Canada and Britain even. When asked which country is most important to their economy, 71% of Canadian respondents picked the U.S., followed by China at 16% and India at 4%. Americans picked China (33%) followed by Canada (29%) and Britain (12%). “Canadians and Americans share concerns about China,” Abacus CEO David Coletto said. “But both see China as being a key part of both countries’ economic future.” ….”
- “Beijing’s representative in Ottawa says Chinese firms are not involved in foreign espionage and he challenges anyone who says otherwise to produce evidence or keep quiet, in a rare interview airing Saturday on CBC Radio’s The House. Zhang Junsai, China’s ambassador to Canada, tells host Evan Solomon, “I can assure you that our companies working in other countries are strictly doing business according to the local laws.” “If you really have the evidence, come [out] with it. If not… shut up,” Zhang says in no uncertain terms ….” – more on this from Mark Collins.
