MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – December 3, 2012
- Joshua Baker, 1985-2010, R.I.P. “The fate of a Calgary reservist who is accused of overseeing an unsafe training range exercise in Afghanistan is now in the hands of a military jury. Maj. Darryl Watts, 44, of the King’s Own Calgary Regiment was the platoon commander for the soldiers that were training on a command detonated weapon called the C-19 on Feb. 12, 2010 at the Kan Kala range. Cpl. Josh Baker died in the blast and four others were injured. Watts is accused of negligence in the planning and execution of the range. He is facing six charges. They include manslaughter, breach of duty, unlawfully causing bodily harm and negligent performance of a military duty. The prosecution argued he was the platoon commander and was negligent in ensuring soldiers’ safety. Watts’s defence countered that he was untrained on the device and trusted his qualified second-in-command to run that exercise. A panel of five officers is now deliberating, much like a jury would in a civilian criminal court case ….” – more here and here.
- No sign of the letter being shared, so no sign of what else was there “The head of the Canadian Army has requested that a group soldiers who could be deployed at the drop of a hat be identified if they fail a drug test. Those troops currently remain anonymous since it’s an invasion of privacy to reveal the names in test results, a policy the army brass wants changed immediately because he says it poses a major safety concern that could result in injury or death. “If a . . . task force member was under the influence of an illicit drug while on duty, I am convinced that this unauthorized use would create a high risk to the safety of themselves, other soldier and the civilian population,” said Lt.-Gen. Peter Devlin, commander of the Canadian Army. Devlin’s warning is contained in an Oct. 29 letter obtained by CTV News ….”
- Layoffs coming to major southern Ontario base? “The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) has announced that 120 cleaning staff of Koprash Inc., who work at Canadian Forces Base Borden, will lose their jobs effective Dec. 31. “The news is devastating,” said Sharon DeSousa, of the public service alliance. “Yet, these workers and their families aren’t the only ones affected. “There are hundreds of small- and medium-sized businesses that will be affected by the loss of spending power through these layoffs.” Cutbacks by the Conservative government are pin-pointed as the reason behind many of the PSAC job cuts, the alliance noted on their website. Alliance members work in food inspection, old age security and environmental protection services as well as promoting First Nations and Inuit health and preserving parks and historic sites ….”
- CBC columnist: “…. Yes, we do need an army that can handle combat in crisis zones when necessary, but we also need one that can also use the sophisticated, patient and humane skills required for robust peacekeeping in a world that badly requires such help. The UN very much wants Canada to return. But one can only imagine the embarrassing back-flips our military boosters will have to perform before our current government says it is time we volunteered again for more UN duty.”
- “The Canadian government blocked on Friday a proposed shallow gas infill development project in Alberta proposed by Cenovus Energy Inc. Cenovus wanted to drill up to 1,275 new shallow gas wells at Canadian Forces Base Suffield National Wildlife Area over a three-year period, but federal Environment Minister Peter Kent told reporters: “The environmental impacts are simply too great.” A government statement said the Cenovus project would essentially have doubled the existing 1,154 gas wells installed there before the area was declared a national wildlife area ….”
- Oopsie…. “Electronic records detailing the planned overhaul of Canadian naval intelligence — created when admitted Russian spy Jeffrey Delisle was at the height of his treachery — were deleted from a National Defence data base. Two PowerPoint slide presentations, aimed at explaining the overhaul to intelligence analysts on both the east and west coasts, were reported destroyed when copies were requested earlier this year by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act. Military officials described the deletions as a clerical error. But when the news agency asked why both the electronic and paper copies had been expunged, and whether that violated access-to-information law, the navy eventually reversed itself and claimed some copies of the presentations had survived in email accounts of officers serving overseas. The confusion over the handling of the records alarms defence and intelligence experts ….”
- Middle East “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thanked Prime Minister Stephen Harper for Canada’s vote at the United Nations this week against recognizing a Palestinian state. Mr. Harper tweeted on Saturday that he spoke to Mr. Netanyahu and that he “thanked Canada for its friendship and principled position this week at the UN.” ….”
- “Angered the Canadian military was in Afghanistan, Saad Gaya and Saad Khalid joined a terrorist group that plotted truck bombings in downtown Toronto. Caught in 2006, they are now imprisoned for terrorism. But not necessarily for much longer. Gaya became eligible for unescorted temporary absences in September, while Khalid will be eligible next week, which has some asking questions about what the government has been doing to help convicted extremists like them abandon their violent beliefs. From the guilty pleas and convictions of the Toronto 18 ringleaders to the return of Omar Khadr from Guantanamo Bay, Canada is experiencing a bulge in the number of prisoners behind bars for terrorism-related offences ….”
