MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – February 11, 2014

• 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)
• Budget 2014 (1)  Here’s the entire budget package – all 427 pages of it – if you’re interested in details I haven’t covered here.  Feel free to share whatever else catches your eye via comments
  
• Budget 2014 (2a)  Some highlights from the document itself (this one on page 232)  “…. Economic Action Plan 2014 proposes to recognize the historic titles and rank designations of the Canadian Armed Forces in the National Defence Act – The Government of Canada has honoured the proud history of the Canadian Armed Forces by restoring the titles of the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force, as well as traditional rank designations for our men and women in uniform. In recognition of Canada’s military traditions and heritage, the Government proposes to amend the National Defence Act to enshrine these titles and designations in law ….”
• Budget 2014 (2b) On not cutting spending on big things that are needed, but moving it down the road (page 263)  “…. The Government is moving $3.1 billion in National Defence funding for major capital procurements to future years in which key purchases will be made ….”
• Budget 2014 (2c) Some vet stuff (pages 231-233)  “…. Economic Action Plan 2014 proposes $108.2 million over three years, starting in 2013–14, to expand eligibility for the Funeral and Burial Program to ensure that modern-day veterans of modest means have access to a dignified funeral and burial …. The Government is proposing changes to the Public Service Employment Act and the Public Service Employment Regulations to enhance employment opportunities in the federal public service for veterans …. Economic Action Plan 2014 proposes funding of $2.1 million in 2014–15 to improve My VAC Account, a web-based tool that provides information and access to Veterans Affairs Canada’s services, and allows veterans and their families to do routine business with the Department ….”
  
• Budget 2014 (2d) On Afghanistan (page 231)  “…. The Canadian mission in Afghanistan has been the most significant Canadian military engagement since the Korean War and the fifth most costly military conflict in our nation’s history in terms of lives lost.  The Government is committed to recognizing the historic significance of this military engagement and the enormous personal sacrifices made by the thousands of Canadian Armed Forces personnel and dedicated public servants and civilians ….”
  
• Budget 2014 (3)  CBC.ca’s take  “The Defence Department was effectively stripped today of more than $3 billion it had planned to spend on major new military purchases in the near future, in what amounts to the second major spanking it’s faced in as many weeks.  In its latest budget, the Conservative government announced it will reclaim the $3.1 billion in cash it had planned to allocate to the military over the coming years but restore it four years hence, so the gear can be bought then.  “To ensure that funding for vital National Defence equipment is available for planned requirements, the government is shifting $3.1 billion of National Defence funding for major capital procurements to future years in which key purchases will be made,” the budget said.  The budget cut will have the effect of preventing the military from buying some gear for which it had lobbied long and hard to win approval ….”
• Budget 2014 (4)  Toronto Star‘s take  “Federal Conservatives are boosting their financial support to ensure dignified funeral services for veterans, pledging to give priority hiring to military personnel in the public service, and plan to commemorate Canada’s long and costly mission in Afghanistan ….”
  
• Budget 2014 (5)  Pacifist disarmers at ceasefire.ca:  STILL too much spent on defence! (with an e-mail newsletter here saying exactly that) – more on what ceasefire.ca likes in general here and here, with what it wants specifically here (6 page pdf of specifically what Stephen & Co. want for defence – cutting the budget to pre-9/11 levels, changes in “force structure and essential capabilities,” and move the money to “other priorities”)
• Budget 2014 (6)  More from media (via Google News) here
  
• Meanwhile, “Canada’s famed Snowbirds aerobatic flying team has been forced to cancel all shows in the United States because of budget cuts.  Snowbirds spokesman Capt. Thomas Edelson says the number of flying hours were cut for the squadron based in Moose Jaw, Sask., so the four U.S. shows were cancelled.  Edelson says the team enjoys going south of the border, but Canadian audiences have to be the priority ….”  You already read that here almost ten days ago, remember?
• “Veterans’ advocates are urging restraint as the federal Conservative government prepares to spend what could be hundreds of millions of dollars to commemorate the First and Second World Wars starting later this year.  The Veterans Ombudsman’s office and the Royal Canadian Legion say it is important and necessary for the government to mark Canada’s contributions and sacrifice during both conflicts, which included such defining moments as Vimy Ridge and Dieppe.  But they oppose extravagant displays of pomp and ceremony at a time when they say many Canadian veterans are not getting the services and support they so desperately need ….”
• Lookit who gets a chance to talk Thursday about where the CF’s going  “General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), will provide an address outlining the current state and priorities of Canada’s Armed Forces, at the next Signature Lecture at The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI).  “The State of the Canadian Armed Forces and Its Priorities,” will take place on Thursday, February 13 ….”
• Remember Bill C-217, the federal Private Members Bill calling for tougher punishment of folks found guilty of defacing or damaging cenotaphs or other memorials?  The Senate’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs committee will be holding hearings into the proposed law today and tomorrow.
  
• From the Shipfax blog  “HMCS Athabaskan made an impressive sight as it dodged through sunny breaks entering Halifax this afternoon. The ultra sleek looking ship appears to be emerging from an extended refit with surprisingly little material on her masts ….”
  
• Way Up North  “Rankin Inlet, a community in Canada’s eastern Arctic territory of  Nunavut, will be the temporary home to approximately 350 soldiers as the Canadian Armed Forces unfolds its new Arctic field training, known as Exercise Trillium Response.  The 4th Canadian Division/Joint Task Force Central and the 31 Canadian Brigade Group from Ontario will be honing their winter warfare and cold weather survival skills over the course of 10 days.  A small group landed in Rankin Inlet Saturday to set up camp and prepare for the soldiers’ arrival. The remainder of the soldiers will arrive next Saturday ….”
  
• Afghanistan  “Canada is sounding the alarm about a proposed law in Afghanistan, amid signs the clock is already being turned back on hard-fought rights for Afghan women and girls ….”
  
• Khadr Boy  January 19, 2014  “Lawyer Dennis Edney says his client Omar Khadr will not be transferred to a federal medium-security prison, following a report he said misquoted him.  Edney said that there is no immediate plan to move Khadr out of the maximum-security prison in Edmonton, where he is currently being held. But Edney says he’s been told his client may eventually be moved to the Bowden Institution, a federal medium-security prison located in Innisfail, Alta ….”
• Khadr Boy  February 11, 2014  “Last Friday, February 7, Omar Khadr was moved to the medium-security prison, Bowden Institution and Annex. The transfer is a step closer to justice and freedom, as he can finally earn his parole that allows his reintegration into society ….”