MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – December 8, 2012

• F-35 Tug o’ War (1)  The latest from the flood o’ information:  Liberals call on Defence Minister to resign, lotsa questions (here, here and here) in the House of Commons yesterday and ceasefire.ca calls for more information to be made public.
• In the midst of the flood of F-35 fracas, lookit what Canada announced at around 5:15pm yesterday.  Coincidence?  You be the judge.
• Syria  “Canada joined the international community Thursday in warning of “serious consequences” if the Syrian government uses chemical weapons against rebel forces and civilians.  The warning came amid signs Russia may be backing off its support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, and as a report emerged in France that some NATO members are preparing a military attack against Assad’s chemical-weapon stockpiles.  Asked about the French report of a Western strike, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Canada has been “actively talking” with its allies about Syria, but he would not confirm that an attack is in the works, or whether Canada would be involved ….”
  
• “The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence …. issued the following statement regarding amendments to the Canadian Forces Accidental Dismemberment Insurance Plan:  “Our government continues to build on our record of caring for our ill and injured military personnel. We are also committed to providing the best possible care and support to members who have suffered from injury sustained while serving our country.  “Reserve Force Personnel in both full-time and part-time service are essential to Canadian Armed Forces operational effectiveness at home and abroad. Under the amended Accidental Dismemberment Insurance Plan, all Reserve Force Personnel, including members of the Cadet Organizations Administrative and Training Service, Canadian Rangers and Officer Cadets in the Reserve Entry Training Plan, are now entitled to the same compensation as their Regular Force counterparts for accidental dismemberment, loss of use of a limb, or the loss of sight, speech or hearing, which is attributable to military service.  Changes were also made to the timeline for which members could submit a claim under the Accidental Dismemberment Insurance Plan from within 90 days of the injury to 365 days ….” - more from the only question the Minister got to answer in Question Period here.
  
• “On behalf of the honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, Senator Vernon White will join family members of Canadian Veterans who participated in the Battle of Hong Kong in a wreath-laying ceremony to mark the 71st anniversary of the Battle of Hong Kong (later this morning in Ottawa)….” - more on what the Minister has to say about the anniversary here.
• The RCAF Info-machine on what 408 Squadron has been up to since Afghanistan.
• Way Up North  One young officer’s story about being in Alert  “I was posted to 8 Wing Trenton, Ont., in July of 2012.  A month and a half after my arrival I was offered a chance to go to Canadian Forces Station Alert in Nunavut as the station’s supply and logistics officer. I jumped at the opportunity to explore the most northerly permanently inhabited settlement on the globe.  The position is a great professional development opportunity that any junior officer in the Canadian Forces should strive to experience. The supply and logistics officer is in charge of supply and traffic and you can imagine how important this task is to the survival and continued existence of a station as isolated as this one.  At parallel 82° 29’ 58’’ north latitude and 62° 20’ 05’’ west longitude, Alert is situated at the far tip of Ellesmere Island. Russia is closer to Alert than Ottawa, and on a clear day the mountains of Greenland can be seen on the other side of the Lincoln Sea ….”
• “An Edmonton soldier has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting an American woman staying at a downtown Halifax hotel two years ago.  Andrew Norman Wilson, a 23-year-old combat engineer stationed at CFB Edmonton, was supposed to go on trial Friday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax on charges of sexual assault, aggravated assault, forcible confinement, unlawfully being in a dwelling and choking a person.  Instead, Wilson pleaded guilty to the sexual assault charge. The other charges against him will remain on the file until he is sentenced and it is expected they will be withdrawn at that time ….”
  
• “The government’s labelling of an Egyptian man as a terrorist threat to Canada’s national security is based on flimsy evidence tainted by torture, Federal Court heard Friday.  In closing submissions, lawyer Johanne Doyon accused Canada’s spy service of unethical tunnel vision in its 12-year quest to have Mohamed Mahjoub deported ….” - more on this one here.

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