- Please do what you can to spread the message that folks who are having a tough time don’t have to suffer alone – #sendupthecount – more here on Facebook and here at milnet.ca (Disclosure: I’m a moderator at Milnet.ca)
- One of the things to expect to be discussed in the House of Commons as it gears up again this week “…. The apparent suicides of eight Canadian Forces members over the past two months have left many politicians, military commanders and average Canadians wondering what more can be done to help those suffering mental injuries. The issue will become all the more important given the official end of Canada’s role in the Afghan mission in March, and deep defence spending cuts ….”
- More on the CF’s “share your mental health success story video” project “Faced with a string of suicides, and accusations of being ineffective in its treatment of mentally damaged soldiers, the Canadian military is planning to make a movie to counter what they say is an unfair image. A memo sent across the military system earlier this week lays out a plan to find volunteers who have “success stories” to tell. Volunteers should have had agreeable experiences with the military’s mental health system and be “comfortable speaking publicly.” The memo urges recipients to share this “crucial information” quickly because the push to find volunteers is urgent. Production on the “success story” video is set to begin before the end of February ….”
- “The Public Service Alliance of Canada is speaking out against the coming closures of Saskatoon’s Veterans Affairs office at the end of January. The group says veterans in Northern Saskatchewan will be left without the face-to-face services they deserve. Marianne Haldun, the Alliance’s Regional Vice President, says that she understands the government’s need to conserve funds, but maintains that Veterans Affairs is not the place to cut ….”
- “Canada’s veterans ombudsman and the Royal Canadian Legion are calling on the Harper government to say once and for all whether it will retroactively compensate ex-soldiers whose pensions and benefits were unfairly clawed back. Veterans Affairs Canada has been silent about whether it will follow National Defence and reimburse those whose earnings loss benefits, income supplements and war veterans allowance cheques were improperly docked ….”
- Russia/Olympics “The government is warning Canadians to carefully consider whether to attend the Winter Olympics that begin in Sochi, Russia in two weeks after Islamist terrorists in the North Caucasus threatened to attack the event. In an advisory late Friday, Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney and the ministers of state of foreign affairs and sport said the Games were an “attractive” terrorist target and that airports and border crossings were “particularly vulnerable.” The extraordinary travel advisory said the “most likely threat” to the event was Imarat Kavkaz, an umbrella group for various armed factions fighting to impose their harsh version of Islamic law in the North Caucasus region east of Sochi. The group’s leader, Doku Umarov, released a video last July that called on his followers to attack the Olympics, the ministers said. That was followed last week by a second video threatening the games by the terror group Ansar al-Sunna ….” – more from the Public Safety Minister (and others) here, from the Foreign Affairs warning for Russia as a whole here and other media here and here
- Ukraine PM worries about fracas there “Prime Minister Stephen Harper will call for an emergency debate on the turmoil in Ukraine when Parliament resumes next week. “We understand that this violence is occurring because the majority of the population is very worried about the steps taken by their government that very much remind them of their anti-democratic and Soviet past,” Harper told reporters on his plane returning from Jordan on Saturday. “The government of Canada very much shares the concern of the majority of the Ukrainian people,”when it comes to the “growing political conflict and violence,” he said in a statement ….” – more on the PM’s statement here, and on the fracas itself here (Google News) and here (EMM Monitor)
- Khadr Boy A few support events planned for B.C., Alberta and Ontario
- One U.S. blogger’s concerns about Canada keeping an eye on what anti-frackers may be up to “Another depressing story of government-corporate corrupt cooperation, especially involving intelligence and law enforcement agencies. An image of fascism in motion. This section of the article refers to Canadian activities of said agencies ….”
- “The federal government is defending its secretive eavesdropping agency in a lawsuit filed by a British Columbia-based civil liberties group, insisting its spying activities are legal and essential to protecting Canadians. The government filed a statement of defence this week in a lawsuit launched by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, which maintains much of the intelligence-gathering activity of Communications Security Establishment Canada, or CSEC, violates the rights of Canadians ….” – more from the Lux Ex Umbra blog here
- “RCMP have a new drone patrolling the skies of P.E.I. to get aerial perspectives on crashes and perhaps help with search and rescues. The miniature helicopter caries a camera and operates by remote control. The unmanned aerial vehicle, as it’s officially known, was custom-built for $18,000 for Saskatchewan RCMP. They gave it to Island police for free. “The helicopter is carrying a Canon stock camera, like you’d buy at Future Shop or Staples. It’s plugged into a live, encrypted, down link,” RCMP spokesman Greg McCormick explained. “It’s a multi-rotor helicopter. There are six blades. It’s made of carbon fibre.” It fits in the back of a police cruiser and can be deployed in minutes ….”
MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – January 26, 2014
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