MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – May 20, 2013

• Afghanistan (1)  “A team of 15 Canadian soldiers has been dispatched to Kandahar on a month-long assignment to assess whether dozens of military containers are still seaworthy enough to be brought home.  More than 375 shipping containers full of military supplies remain stranded at Kandahar Airfield nearly 18 months after Canada’s withdrawal from the war-torn province, and almost two years since combat operations ceased.  National Defence says the material is considered low priority and that all high-value and sensitive equipment has been returned to Canada.  A spokeswoman for the country’s operational command, Capt. Jennifer Stadnyk, said certification of as many as 150 of the containers has expired and the technical assistance team will have to access whether they can still meet the standards set out by international shipping companies.  Defence sources said if the containers don’t pass, the military will have to find a way to dispose of the material.  The seemingly endless delay in repatriation of the containers, which were supposed to travel overland, was brought on by the extended closure of the Afghan border with Pakistan ….”
• Afghanistan (2a)  “Since I last wrote, we hosted “The Mother of all Visits”. That’s when the new US Secretary of Defence, the Honourable Chuck Hagel (and Sergeant (Retired), US Army, as he signed himself in the guest book), visited the Kabul Military Training Centre (KMTC).  As a former soldier, he was particularly interested in Afghan National Army (ANA) Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) training and was briefed, by the Afghan instructors themselves, on KMTCs Battle Staff NCO course (which trains NCOs to work in deployed Tactical Operations Centres, or TOCs), and the ANA Sergeant-Major Academy (SMA), home to the ANAs premiere NCO training course.  Secretary Hagel came away with a good understanding of ANA NCO training…as well as a Royal Canadian Artillery coin, courtesy of yours truly. Security, as you’d imagine, was tight, but working with the ANA – we had very good plan in place ….”
• Afghanistan (2b)  “As an advisor with the NATO training mission in Afghanistan, I advise personnel at the Afghan National Army Regional Military Hospital as a mentor in intensive care.  Since 2007, successive American and Canadian teams have been going there to train and advise the staff of this hospital, and as a member of the last advisory team I am in a unique position to describe all the work being done there.  I was able to witness their effectiveness only a few days after my arrival. One of my first visits to that hospital took place the day following a suicide attack several kilometres from our position in which a dozen people were injured.  I expected to see the worst: an emergency room in turmoil, an operating room with overworked surgeons, an intensive care unit operating at full tilt to stabilize potentially critical patients.  To my great surprise, however, I saw nothing of the sort: the emergency room and operating room were deserted, one member of the maintenance staff finished mopping the floor while another restocked the cupboards ….”
• Afghanistan (3) “…. NATO nations should move quickly to define the Alliance’s role in Afghanistan after the end of its combat mission next year and legislators should begin to prepare public opinion for a long and costly operation to fund Afghan forces following the transition, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly heard Sunday ….”
• Mali  “NATO has a fleeting opportunity to come to the aid of strife-torn Mali, parliamentarians from NATO nations and experts warned Sunday. Possible measures to help stabilize Mali included officer training in the ill-equipped army and providing air transport as the rainy season hampers the deployment of troops to insurgent areas in the north, members of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly were informed during the Assembly’s spring session in Luxembourg ….”
• Way Up North  “Why everyone wants a piece of the Arctic:  In temperature and politics, the Arctic has never been hotter. As other nations try to get in on the action, Canada is gearing up for a fight ….“
• “Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney is preparing to lead a delegation to South Korea next week, despite bloodcurdling threats by North Korea against its neighbour.  Blaney and a group of 36 veterans of the Korean War are to leave this weekend for a commemorative tour of battlefields and cemeteries.  He says Foreign Affairs is keeping a close eye on the Korean peninsula, where North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has been threatening nuclear war against South Korea and the United States.  Blaney adds that the South Korean government hasn’t raised any red flags over the trip.  The five-day visit commemorates Canada’s contribution to the 1950-53 Korean War ….”
• “On behalf of the Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister for La Francophonie, the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State (Western Economic Diversification) and Member of Parliament for Blackstrap, paid tribute (Saturday) to Canada’s Veterans by participating in a ceremonial puck drop at the Memorial Cup tournament in Saskatoon ….”
• Wanted:  someone “…. To provide deployed logistics support services to IROQUOIS, HALIFAX, PROTECTEUR, KINGSTON, VICTORIA and miscellaneous classes of naval vessels assigned to Maritime Forces Atlantic, Maritime Forces Pacific, and assigned support staff, deployed within the geographical areas described below. Services are to be provided on an as and when required basis ….”
  
• Wanted:  “…. The Contractor is required to provide the Department of National Defence with commercial off-the-shelf Deployable Climate Control Shelters System (DCCSS). The DCCSS must be a modular shelter system consisting of individual small and large sized shelters, interconnecting pieces and the necessary supporting systems. Each shelter must be equipped with an independent heating, cooling and lighting system. The shelters have to be delivered to four delivery points located within 300 km from Ottawa, Ont ….”
• Wanted:  “….  the contractor will perform a review on existing literature on automatic target cueing (ATC) in visible and infrared spectrum methodologies and technologies based on imagery. Based on the requirement, to perform studies and analysis to determine the feasibility of performing highly accurate ATC in visible and infrared spectrum in military operations. The military operations are (i) ATC in small arm operations at standoff distance up to 600m; and (ii) short range ATC at standoff distance below 100m ….”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – May 15, 2013

• I’m back.
• “The federal search and rescue system is back under the microscope after three military helicopters were unable to help rescue an Innu Nation leader who went into the water in Labrador on Wednesday because they were grounded for repairs.  This comes one week after an auditor general’s report warned federal search and rescue (SAR) capabilities are at the break-i n g point, and after Newfound-land and Labrador’s emergency services minister said the feds weren’t doing enough.  Former Innu Nation grand chief Joseph Riche was hunting with three other men on Park Lake about 80 kilometres southeast of Happy Valley-Goose Bay on Wednesday evening when the canoe he was in overturned, spilling him into the water.  The Happy Valley-Goose Bay RCMP detachment was called, which kicked off a series of events that included National Defence being called upon to assist.  But while there were three Griffon helicopters at nearby Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay, which CFB Goose Bay spokes-man Capt. Dave Bowen estimated as being about a 40-minute flight from Park Lake, all three were grounded for repairs.  Bowen said one was going through a midterm refit, the second was undergoing modifications, and the third had been deemed unsafe to fly only a few days earlier because of a cracked windshield ….”
• Shortly after the AG’s report…. “The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Lead Minister for Search and Rescue, today welcomed new funding for the Newfoundland and Labrador Search and Rescue Association as part of an $8.1 million federal investment in search and rescue prevention and response in Canada, through the Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund ….”
• Liberal Senator:  “If Defence Minister Peter MacKay sometimes appears to be sleepwalking when addressing problems within Canada’s military infrastructure, I can assure you he has been incredibly active.  MacKay has been busy perfecting a strategy called “the Nod-and-Dodge Defence.” It has nothing to do with defending the country and everything to do with defending himself.  The minister’s black belt mastery of Nod-and-Dodge was front and centre earlier this month, as he defended the federal government’s continued neglect of Canada’s search and rescue capacity.  Effective search and rescue (SAR) is vital in a country with a huge expanse of rough, remote terrain and frigid waters. About 20,000 people a year in Canada depend on quick and capable responses — from foundering fishermen to lost children, from downed pilots to missing boaters to avalanche survivors ….”
  
• Afghanistan  Australia’s CDS is in Brussels talking about the future of the AFG mission – wonder if our’s is too?
• Mali  “Canada will contribute an additional $10 million to help stabilization efforts in Mali.  The new funds were announced as international donors prepare to meet this week in Brussels on how to rebuild the North African state.  Mali fell into turmoil after a 2012 coup led to Islamic fighters taking over wide swaths of the north, prompting an international military force to intervene ….”  More from the info-machine here.
• Syria (1)  “A coalition of aid groups launched a public campaign Tuesday to raise money for Syrian refugees, saying demand for assistance far outpaces global government donations.  The Humanitarian Coalition said they believe Canadians want to support the estimated 6.8 million people affected by the ongoing civil war in Syria, but don’t know how.  The Syrian-Canadian community has exhausted its resources to assist family members and churches and unions have tried to help as well, said Robert Fox, executive director for Oxfam Canada ….”
• Syria (2)  “Why we need to stay far, far away from Syria“
  
• “Does A New Supreme Court Ruling Put Idle No More Protesters In Peril?”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – April 11, 2013

• Afghanistan  “A planned cut to the danger pay of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan is under review after the prime minister’s office intervened.  National Defence officials recently scaled down the risk level for the armed forces serving in the war-torn country — and subsequent hardship pay by a reported $500 a month.  Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s spokesman Andrew MacDougall said Wednesday the government asked the officials to head back to the drawing board and “consider all the factors” before imposing the pay chop ….” – more here and here (including a switch in message)
• Ooopsie …. “A military judge is questioning why a navy non-commissioned officer who was facing a court martial for charges involving dishonesty was transferred to a top-secret intelligence unit in Halifax, violating the military’s own security rules.  In 2011, Petty Officer 1st Class D.W. Morton convinced a colleague to take a mandatory fitness test in his name. Members in the Canadian Forces need to maintain no less than a pass in order to be eligible for promotion.  “Your motive for these offences was for personal gain,” court documents from the case said.  Despite the charges and the military’s own regulations, which forbid navy non-commissioned officers from being transferred while facing a court martial, Morton was posted in December 2012 to HMCS Trinity, an intelligence facility base that depends on officers being trustworthy ….”
• RCAF Info-machine:  flyers back since first week of March  “The crews of two CP-140 Aurora long-range patrol aircraft returned last month from Exercise Proud Manta, the world’s largest anti-submarine warfare exercise. Held off the coast of Sicily, Italy, the exercise ran from February 23 until March 6.  The exercise involved 16 aircraft, eight surface ships and four submarines from 10 NATO countries.  The Auroras and four crews came from 407 Long Range Squadron, located at 19 Wing Comox, British Columbia, and from 404 Long Range Patrol and Training Squadron and 405 Long Range Patrol Squadron, both located at 14 Wing, Greenwood, Nova Scotia.  A CC-177 Globemaster III from 429 Transport Squadron, located at 8 Wing Trenton, Ontario, also deployed. In total, more than 100 Royal Canadian Air Force participated in the exercise, which was based at Sigonella Naval Base in Italy ….”
• Editorial  “…. With three coasts to patrol and a world full of complex problems, Canada needs a modern navy that can work with its allies to protect its interests and ensure the seas remain free based on the rules of international law.”
  
• North Korea  More calls for Canada to reconsider ballistic missile defence
  
• WW1 (1)  “It’s fascinating to see controversy stirred up over an old blog post by NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice in which he called World War I “a purely capitalist war” and lamented how, at the Battle of Vimy Ridge on April 9, 1917, “thousands of poor wretches were slaughtered to take possession of a hill.”  Conservatives, led by Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney, have expressed outrage and demanded Boulerice apologize. So far, he hasn’t. For the record, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair had already released a statement praising the legendary efforts of Canadians soldiers in the landmark battle ….” – more here
  
• WWI (2)  “NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice refuses to retreat from a blog post that praises communists and slags the First World War as a “capitalist” conflict.  Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney has demanded Boulerice apologize for the 2007 post that came to light on Tuesday on the 96th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.  Boulerice offered no defence of his comments, but he did shoot back at Blaney on Wednesday.  “I think Mr. Blaney yesterday, it was the last day to engage in partisan politics and to try and score points like that, with old stories,” said Boulerice in Montreal. “He is the minister who is making the largest cuts in support programs for disable veterans.” ….”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – April 10, 2013

• Afghanistan (1)  “The federal government is reducing danger pay for Canadian military personnel who are currently serving in Afghanistan on training missions, saying that the country is not as dangerous as it used to be, according to Radio-Canada.  Starting in mid-April, the cut in danger pay will result in a loss of about $500 a month.  The current tour ends in late summer, meaning this decision is coming half way through their tour ….” – discussion of the change over at Milnet.ca here
• Afghanistan (2)  Joshua Baker, 1985-2010, R.I.P.  “Prosecutors are seeking a harsher sentence for a veteran Canadian Forces reservist convicted in a deadly Afghanistan training accident.  Darryl Watts was found guilty in December of unlawfully causing bodily harm and negligent performance of military duty, but not guilty of manslaughter. He was demoted two ranks to lieutenant from major and given a severe reprimand.  Watts filed an appeal of both his sentence and conviction last month.  But the director of military prosecutions has filed a cross-appeal in the case. The prosecution had requested jail time for Watts during sentencing arguments as well as his dismissal with disgrace from the Canadian Forces.  “Yes, the Crown will be asking the Court Martial Appeal Court to substitute a greater punishment in lieu of the sentence imposed by the court martial,” prosecutor Maj. Tony Tamburro confirmed in an email to The Canadian Press ….”
  
• Afghanistan (3)  “Children and their parents are better able to play a healthy and active role in their community and contribute to the long-term economic growth of Afghanistan thanks to investments in health by the Harper Government. (Yesterday) Chris Alexander, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Defence, on behalf of the Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of International Cooperation, announced a new partnership with Save the Children that will help provide critical nutrition supplements to pregnant and nursing mothers, and children in their first years of life ….”
• Video (1)  A BC student’s video of what the new, young veteran is all about
• Video (2)  Another video including a Canadian soldier highlighting the scars we never see
• “The 139-year-old Royal Military College of Canada’s authority is under siege, and the school’s leaders are powerless to protect it.  Professors’ promotions have been frozen, programs are being scaled back, and dozens of academic jobs are in jeopardy – all at the hands of a federal government asserting control over the school as it grapples with dramatic fiscal shortfalls.  Those moves at the RMC, the country’s only federally run university, have spurred growing concerns that its academic quality could be under threat, and that a climate of cutbacks might drive the school back toward its technical roots. The measures have also revealed fault lines in the governance of the school, which has tried to reconcile academic independence with federal oversight for decades …. a new report, to be released Tuesday, argues RMC’s leaders have had their power to shape its academic experience slowly stripped away.  The report, penned by an independent panel of three accomplished RMC alumni, says civil servants are running the school more like a government department than a university, damaging morale and making it harder to attract and keep leading academics from civilian universities ….”
  
• Mark Collins on “The Military and Canadian Identity”
• RCAF Info-machine on new online learning system
• Twitter warning from DFAIT:  “#Terrorists are reportedly planning to kidnap Westerners in #Sudan, probably in #Khartoum“ – more here
• Norh Korea  “Is it time for Canada to join the U.S. in a continental ballistic missile defence (BMD) program? ….” – more here
  
• “As Canada develops its own economic pivot towards the countries of the Asia-Pacific, it’s also going to have to develop a coherent security policy toward the region.  It’s going to need imaginative thinking and focus to develop a policy tailored to deepening our trade and investment ties while simultaneously addressing the security needs of those with whom we want to do business.  Canadians are not strategically-inclined by nature; geography has conspired to align our security interests with those of the United States.  But we’re going to have to change our thinking and get serious about the kind of role we want to play in the world’s fastest-growing neighborhood. If we don’t, we will quickly find ourselves marginalized in what many are now calling “the Pacific century.” ….”
• “The 150th anniversary of a military unit involved in many high-profile Canadian missions has been recognized by Canada Post with the launch of a new commemorative stamp. The Princess of Wales’ Own Regiment, which formed in Kingston, Ont., pre-dates Confederation with its creation in 1863 and continues to play an active role in the Canadian Forces.  “The Regiment’s contributions dating back to the 1860s through to the recent Canadian mission in Afghanistan are truly commendable,” says the Honourable Steven Fletcher, Minister of State (Transport). “This resilient element of our military history deserves this recognition for its efforts over the last 150 years to help make Canada the best country in the world in which to live.”  The Regiment’s first deployment came in 1866 when it was sent to the Niagara region to deter Fenian attacks from the United States and its members have served as part of the Canadian Forces in every major conflict since ….” – you can take a closer look at the stamp here
  
• “Message from His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, on the Occasion of Vimy Ridge Day”
• “Harper Government Remembers the Battle of Vimy Ridge”
  
• “Harper Government Marks the 96th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge”
• “Liberal Statement on the Anniversary of Vimy Ridge”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – April 9, 2013

• Mark Collins on why columnists say people become bad guys
• Afghanistan  “Following World Health Day, celebrated on April 7, Parliamentary Secretary Chris Alexander will, on behalf of the Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of International Cooperation, announce a health-related project for women and children in Afghanistan ….” this afternoon
• Promotions announced – congrats to all
• More from the RCAF Info-machine on how the RCAF is helping protect Iceland
• “April 30 is the deadline for Aboriginal youth to apply for the Bold Eagle Program.  Every year, the program takes 92 Aboriginal youth from western Canada and Ontario into a Canadian Forces summer training program in Wainwright, Alberta. The program involves a cultural component, learning from First Nations elders, and then a standard military basic training. The training includes military knowledge, weapons handling, navigation with map and compass, first aid, drill, outdoor field craft and survival skills.  “The whole purpose behind the program is to give them a summer employment opportunity where they can complete the army reserve basic training,” said Bold Eagle Coordinator Major Nolan Kemp, “at the same time have the cultural support built in, and at the end of it, leave with some money in their pocket, friendships, and a better resume for the future for whatever they want to pursue.”  Maj. Kemp said that 50 to 60 percent of the graduates of the program go on to find employment with the Canadian Forces, either full-or-part-time, but that it’s not the point of the program ….”
  
• “His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, will tour Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Borden for the first time since his installation, on Wednesday, April 10, 2013, from 11 a.m to 2 p.m …. During his visit to CFB Borden, His Excellency will inspect the honour guard and receive the “Royal Salute”, after which he will embark on an aerial tour of the base on board a CH-146 Griffon helicopter. The flight will allow the Governor General to see the base in its entirety, as well as observe the capabilities of 400 Tactical Helicopter Squadron and a demonstration by the Canadian Forces Fire and CBRN Academy. His Excellency will then visit the Multi-faith Facility to speak with padres and proceed to Dyte Hall where he will observe interactive displays from base units and lodger units located within the geographical boundaries of the base. He will conclude the day with a tour of the Canadian Forces Military Police Academy ….”
  
• Africa  “The Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute released a report …. “West African Canaries in the Gold Mine: Investment Outlook and Challenges for Burkina Faso & Mali” …. A new report from Chris Roberts, President of African Access Consulting, argues that there are three probable scenarios that both Burkina Faso and Mali will face in the future. In the worst case scenario Mali experiences a “half-hearted, delayed, and ultimately unsuccessful international effort to consolidate the successes of the French-led northern liberation, increasing local and regional instability.” ….” – more in the report here
• “On behalf of the Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister for La Francophonie, the Honourable Gordon O’Connor, Minister of State and Chief Government Whip, will join His Excellency Philippe Zeller, Ambassador of France to Canada, at a wreath-laying ceremony to mark the 96th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Veterans, youth and members of the Canadian Armed Forces will also be in attendance ….” today

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – April 8, 2013

• Algeria (1)  Seems like guy #3 is, indeed, in jail (and off the hook, a bit, for the Algerian attack)  “Aaron Yoon, a London, Ont., man who went overseas with two high school friends who later perished participating in a militant attack on an Algerian gas plant, has told CBC News he is shocked to hear his friends were killed.  Yoon, who is about 24, was arrested in Mauritania in December 2011 on charges of belonging to an illegal organization. He was sentenced to two years in prison in the summer of 2012.  It appears Yoon had no role in the Algerian gas plant attack by militants linked with al-Qaeda in January of this year, in which his two former classmates, Ali Medlej and Xris Katsiroubas, were among the dozens killed. Yoon was already behind bars in Mauritania when the attack happened.  Before his arrest, Yoon attended a religious school in Mauritania, reportedly with Americans and Europeans, studying the Qur’an. Yoon, was raised a Catholic, but converted to Islam a year before graduating from London South Secondary School.  Speaking by cellphone with the CBC’s Adrienne Arsenault, Yoon said he didn’t know Medlej and Katsiroubas had been killed, saying that he lost touch with them about two years ago ….”
• Algeria (2)  “Doubt is being cast on a young Canadian man’s claim that the federal government is not helping him try to get out of jail in the West African nation of Mauritania.  Sources familiar with the file tell CBC News that Aaron Yoon has been visited nine times by either Canada’s Honorary Consul based in Mauritania or by consular officials based in Rabat, Morocco.  A spokesperson for Diane Ablonczy, Canada’s minister of state for foreign affairs, wrote in a statement that “Canadian officials continue to provide assistance to the individual as they would for any Canadian detained abroad.” The assistance does not signify a belief in Yoon’s guilt or innocence, read the statement.  The sources say Yoon repeatedly urged officials not to contact his family in Canada to advise them of his situation. The government is required by the Privacy Act to abide by that kind of request ….”
• Algeria (3)  Column:  “You could call them the 519 Caliphate, after their area code. Or perhaps the Middlesex County Mujahedeen. We don’t know what the three London, Ont., high-school students branded themselves, but it appears that Aaron Yoon, Ali Medlej and Xris Katsiroubas were probably the latest in a long history of young Canadians to travel overseas to take part in a foreign struggle ….”
  
• Algeria (4)  Column:  “….  Religion is but one of several factors galvanizing mostly alienated youth to militancy, according to studies by security services in Canada, the U.S. and across Europe. Often their inspiration was no farther than a click away on the Internet. Their biggest motivation has been revenge for the occupation of Muslim lands and the killing of civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.  Constantly looking for culprits under prayer carpets is racist, Islamophobic and, more crucially, counterproductive. It feeds the jihadist narrative that the West is at war with Muslims — something that terrorist groups use as a recruitment tool.”
• How Terrorists are Made (1)  “The allure of fighting for a cause steeped in religious obligation is one of the reasons why more and more North American youth are choosing to join terrorist organizations overseas, says Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, a Canadian man who says he once fought alongside Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Somalia ….”
• How Terrorists are Made (2)  “Terrorists using social media – they were, unfortunately, among the early adopters.  Still, it’s not often that a wanted terrorist – especially one whose name is on the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted Terrorists list – would agree to take part in a live blog moderated by the Global News special investigation program 16×9 on Friday ….”
• Syria  “Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird (yesterday) announced that Canada is providing real leadership to help address the effects of raging crisis in Syria. Canada is extending credit of up to $2 million to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The Canadian contribution will make possible the investigation announced recently by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon into alleged chemical weapons use in Syria ….” - more here
• North Korea (1)  “Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird …. issued the following statement:  “In another series of dangerous actions and rhetoric, North Korea continues to threaten regional and global security. These acts serve as a reminder of why North Korea is among the most isolated regimes in the world.  While the North Korean people starve, precious resources are used for military weapons and the country’s nuclear program. We call on the leadership in North Korea to reverse this dangerous course and start attending to the urgent needs of its people, who have continued to suffer under repressive regimes.  The United Nations Security Council has taken strong and unequivocal actions with the virtually unanimous support of the international community, serving clear notice to the rogue regime in Pyongyang ….” “
• North Korea (2)  “As nuclear-armed North Korea continues to threaten war, a former Canadian diplomat says it is time for Canada to reconsider its decision to not join a ballistic missile defence program.  “You can’t be sure whether something aimed at the United States isn’t going to strike Canada. Our interest is in protecting Canadians, ” Colin Robertson said in an interview on the Global News program The West Block with Tom Clark.  Robertson’s call comes as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un began mobilizing long range missiles and cleared his army to launch a nuclear attack on North America. Diplomats in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang have also received warning that their safety will not be guaranteed past Wednesday and have been urged to leave ….”
• One of the other places the troops are working  “The 1,700 km stretch of Haitian coastline is dotted with numerous islands, making surveillance difficult and gives smugglers and criminal groups an advantage for carrying out their illegal activities. They pose a real threat to the country’s stability and the establishment of a credible and effective law enforcement agency. To combat this, training and mentoring are underway for the Haitian National Police (HNP) so that it can fight criminal activity throughout its territory, as part of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) ….”  - more on Canada’s OP Hamlet in Haiti here
• Well done CSOR!  “The fifth Warrior Competition concluded (28 Mar 13), with the Jordanian teams winning nine awards.  Organised by the Jordan Armed Forces and the King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Centre (KASOTC), the four-day international competition, included 35 teams from 18 Arab and foreign countries …. The Canadian Special Operations Regiment team leader said the competition was “fun”, with the team winning five awards and third place in the overall results ….” - more on the competition here
• “When Sylvain Chartrand was captured in Bosnia while in the military, when he was suffering from post-traumatic stress, the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Veterans Hospital was a welcome haven. But veterans like Chartrand and about 14,000 others in the Montreal area worry about what’s going to happen when the hospital passes from federal to provincial hands in less than six months.  “We need places where they have multi-disciplinary health care professionals who work together for the benefit of the veteran,” Chartrand said during a demonstration in front of the hospital Saturday afternoon.  The biggest concern for people who use the hospital is whether the province can maintain the level of care that it enjoyed under federal stewardship. The hospital has consistently ranked among Canada’s best, and is the last of 18 veterans hospitals to have gone from federal to provincial management.  Workers and patients want answers now, as to whether the province plans on retaining the hospital’s standards ….” - more here
• “The Mounties have been called in to investigate allegations that a long-time veterans advocate continues to be harassed, even after he won a human-rights case against a federal review panel.  The RCMP probe was initiated at the request of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, which is carrying out a separate review of fresh allegations by Harold Leduc.  Leduc is the outspoken former warrant officer who created a political storm last year when he claimed members and management of the Veterans Review and Appeal Board leaked private information about his post traumatic stress diagnosis.  He alleged the leak was made in order to discredit his decisions at the board, which takes a second look at the rejected benefits claims of ex-soldiers.  The human rights commission had previously ordered the veterans board to pay Leduc $4,000, including legal costs, for harassment he’d suffered from other agency members.  But he claims the harassment did not cease, even though his position with the board was not renewed last fall ….”
  
• “Relax folks: those “loaded” U.S. nuclear missiles being shipped around Vancouver Island by train aren’t real and are just movie props.  In fact, they were used for Gareth Edward’s reboot of the Godzilla movie franchise, filmed on Vancouver Island in late March, just as tensions are on the rise with North Korea.  At one point, the fake nukes were strapped to a train car and appeared to be headed towards the Canadian Forces test ranges in Nanoose Bay, B.C.  Godzilla publicist Ernie Malik says the props were likely made in B.C., as the entire film was expected to be shot in this province, and were used in one scene.  Canadian Forces spokesman Kevin Carle says the military doesn’t have nuclear weapons and has not received any complaints about the props ….”
  

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – April 5, 2013

• Federal Court of Canada approves deal for veterans’ owed benefits – more from the Info-machine here, the Minister here and media here
• Meanwhile, “As many as 1,000 military personnel forced to leave the Canadian Forces each year because of medical problems aren’t getting the help they need to make the jump to civilian life, a new report says.  Veterans ombudsman Guy Parent wants “urgent” action by the Conservative government to improve financial help, vocational training and family support offered to veterans.  When the federal government brought in the so-called new veterans charter in 2006, it was meant to be a “living document” that would be updated as needed. Yet, in the last seven years, there has been only one update, in 2011, Parent said.  “Dissatisfaction and misunderstanding” continues among veterans, Parent said in a report released Thursday ….”
• “On behalf of the Honorable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister for La Francophonie, Parliamentary Secretary Eve Adams will join Her Excellency Ms. Quentin Bryce AC CVO, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, (today) at a wreath-laying ceremony at the National War Memorial, to pay tribute to Canadian Veterans and Canadian Armed Forces personnel ….”
  
• Hat tip to Mark over at The 3Ds Blog for spotting/sharing this one  “…. RECOVERING OUR HONOUR is a four-part documentary series that asks how we can bridge the growing divide between civil society and the military. Filmed in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., this thought-provoking series airs in ichannel’s prime time idocs slot the week of April 8 ….”
• More (from the Info-machine) on HMCS Toronto’s recent huge drug nab
• “On any given day, one-third of Canadian Tire’s inventory is on a ship bound for our shores.  That’s why people on the prairies, who wonder what difference Canada’s $35 billion shipbuilding and procurement plan will make here, might turn their thoughts to the value of peaceful shipping lanes, says the Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy.  “I’m not sure how many Canadians fully appreciate how much that prosperity and economic development and wealth we generate is a function of what happens at sea and the offshore,” said Vice-Admiral Paul Maddison, who spoke to Saskatoon business people Wednesday.  “In this just-in-time, information-enabled global economy, 90 per cent of it, by volume, floats,” he said.  Saskatchewan’s growing, commodities-based economy, with potash, uranium, oil and grains, has a necessary connection to Canada’s ports, he said.  “Navies are first and foremost about economics.” ….”
  
• “Canadian Forces personnel have determined that a live military bomb found on an acreage near the village of Barons (Alberta) is a 11 and one-half pound practice bomb from the 1940′s.  Sgt. R. Dewsbery of the Picture Butte RCMP says the owner of the acreage called police Wednesday afternoon when he found the bomb buried in the ground under some grass.  Picture Butte RCMP went to the acreage and confirmed that the item was a live military bomb.  The RCMP Explosives Disposal Unit was then called in as were Canadian Forces personnel from Suffield Military Base near Medicine Hat.  Military personnel examined the device and confirmed it was a practice bomb that was primarily dropped from aircraft.  The bomb was retrieved by Canadian Forces members and taken to Suffield Military Base where it will be safely detonated ….” - more here
  
• Algeria  “RCMP have confirmed that the remains of two young men from London, Ont., named Ali Medlej and Xris Katsiroubas were found at the site of a deadly attack on an Algerian gas plant.  RCMP Supt. Marc Richer made the announcement at a news conference in Ottawa on Thursday afternoon, adding that the police force is “seeking the assistance of the public” to find out more about the events leading up to the men going overseas.  CBC News had previously revealed the identities of the two high school friends, who are believed to have travelled to the North African country to join al-Qaeda and international militants who staged a deadly attack on a gas plant there in January.  A third man from London named Aaron Yoon, who is about 24, travelled with the pair to North Africa and is currently in jail in Mauritania, which neighbours Algeria. He appears to have had no role in the gas plant attack.  Mauritania’s ambassador to Canada, Ahmed Ould Teguedi, told CBC’s Melissa Kent that Yoon has been detained in Nouakchott, Mauritania, “for some time.”  Teguedi also said a representative from the Canadian Embassy in Rabat, Morocco, travelled to Mauritania to meet with Yoon after he was detained.  The RCMP is saying little about their investigation. Richer said it has been underway for “a number of months.” ….” – more here
  
• “The idea of Canadian help to secure Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal against terrorist theft has been put into the deep freeze by the Harper government.  A briefing prepared for Canada’s top military commander in 2011 outlined how the Foreign Affairs Department was examining the notion, under an anti-proliferation program established in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.  But a Foreign Affairs spokesman says there’s no agreement to improve security around Islamabad’s estimated 110 nuclear warheads, nor any consideration of one ….”
• “The U.S. ambassador to Canada says a European Union like arrangement where citizens can freely cross national borders is not in the cards on this side of the Atlantic.  David Jacobson says each European country has had to partially surrender sovereignty and he doesn’t think the U.S. or Canada would be willing to do that.  Jacobson made the comments while speaking to students at Simon Fraser University in Surrey, B.C. ….”
  
• “The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday it is preparing a vaccine for a new strain of avian flu linked to 14 cases and five deaths in China.  The U.S. agency said it is preparing the vaccine as a precaution.  Canadian and U.S. health authorities both say they are monitoring the new H7N9 strain.  The new strain, which has only been found in China, is not able to spread from person to person, a key trait that scientists look for when assessing the pandemic potential of flu viruses.  On its website, the CDC said it is following the situation closely and co-ordinating with domestic and international partners.  Similarly, the Public Health Agency of Canada said it has a medical expert based in Beijing who is liaising with Chinese infectious disease prevention authorities on the outbreak.  “The Agency is also continually monitoring information on avian influenza H7N9 in poultry, as well as human cases in China and is working closely with its national and international partners, including the World Health Organization, to track all types of flu activity in Canada and around the world,” the Public Health Agency of Canada said in an email ….”
  
• Historian on a movie PM Harper & Co. should see before defending Israel as firmly as they do – more on the flick in question here.
  

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – April 4, 2013

• Think tank report:  time for Canada to focus its foreign military training work  “…. (LGen (Ret’d) Mike) Jeffery argues that the primary goal of foreign military training is to “raise the effectiveness and capacity of military forces so that receiving nations may achieve internal stability.” For many nations, the report argues, this development of a professional military is a “central pillar of nation building.” Canada’s military assistance, provided under the Military Cooperation Programme, has been largely successful, Jeffery argues, because of its “consistent application of support over time.” However, “its weakness is in spreading training over too many recipients (to date over 70 nations), thereby diffusing its effectiveness.” ….” – more in the report (11 page PDF) here
• Afghanistan  More updates from folks in uniform  “On 20 February 2013, the Kabul Military Training Centre (KMTC) reached an important milestone during the 200th parade of graduates from the course for recruits, formally known as Basic Warrior Training (BWT). At the parade 1,400 Afghan National Army (ANA) recruits received diplomas and have now been assigned to other military formations to fill positions in weapons or support trades, or even leadership roles based on their potential. This event might seem insignificant, but it has important implications for Afghans as well as the Canadian, Australian, British, Jordanian, Turkish and French military personnel involved in the training of the ANA at KMTC ….”  By the way, are the media waiting to head to Afghanistan for the last ROTO only?  Story not worth telling if nobody is getting shot at?
• “The Royal Canadian Mint is proud to announce that proceeds from the sales of its Highway of Heroes silver commemorative coin has raised $100,000 each for the Afghanistan Repatriation Memorial Fund (AMRF) and the Military Families Fund (MFF). The donations were presented (yesterday) at a special ceremony at the Afghanistan Repatriation Memorial ….”
• North Korea (1)  Former diplomat on the latest nuke threats from North Korea  “Canadian prime ministers have three files with a permanent place on their desks: national security, national unity and the U.S. relationship. When those files intersect, they require special attention.  Sooner rather than later, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is going to reconsider the Canadian decision to stay out of Ballistic Missile Defence ….”
  
• North Korea (2)  Columnist:  deja vu all over again?
  
• North Korea (3)  Academic:  does anybody REALLY want a change?
• North Korea (4)  Want to read more?  Check here (Google News) or here (the North Korean info-machine in English)
• Algeria  “Two years before the deadly al-Qaeda linked attack on an Algerian refinery, one of the two Canadian militants who participated in the assault made a farewell tour of London, Ont., and said goodbye to those he knew, CBC News has learned, as more details emerge about the young men.  Where Ali Medlej disappeared to before the deadly attack in January and how he may have been trained to participate in it are not yet known, but CBC News has learned that Medlej and fellow militant Xris Katsiroubas had been searching for a radical path, something they didn’t find in their city’s main mosque or at a youth centre.  One of Medlej’s friends remembers a disturbing conversation with him, in which he said he was wrestling with a spiritual pursuit, but didn’t want to give up girls or drinking. He said Ali told him, “There’s things that I just can’t give up on in my lifestyle, and it’s hard for me to be a practising Muslim, so why don’t I just be a shaheed [martyr] and go straight to heaven instead of all the effort that I can’t seem to do.” ….”
• Way Up North  “The ice in Canada’s western Arctic ripped open in a massive “fracturing event” this spring that spread like a wave across 1,000 kilometres of the Beaufort Sea.  Huge leads of water – some more than 500 kilometres long and as much as 70 kilometres across – opened up from Alaska to Canada’s Arctic islands as the massive ice sheet cracked as it was pushed around by strong winds and currents.  “It took just seven days for the fractures to progress across the entire area from west to east,” said Trudy Wohlleben, senior ice forecaster at the Canadian Ice Service.  She said it was “spectacular” to watch from Ottawa, where she and her colleagues track the ice with satellites.  While ice fracturing is common in the Beaufort, few “events” have sprawled across such a large area so quickly or produced cracks as long and wide as those seen this spring, according to NASA Earth’s Observatory, which features the fractures this week ….”
• Canadian Reserve medics train with American colleagues  “For members of Canadian armed forces taking part in a March joint training exercise at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., an American welcome meant dealing with plenty of trauma.  Three soldiers and one sailor from different Canadian forces medical units traveled to northern California to participate in training, working as members of a U.S. Army field hospital.  “I used to work with the Infantry, so I hope to gain experience with sustaining patients in a hospital setting,” said Canadian army Master Cpl. Joey Huskinson with the 18 Thunder Bay Field Ambulance.   Their presence was immediately noticeable as the training began in early March.  “We welcomed them right in from day one its been like they were a part of us,” said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Timothy A. Strange from Indianapolis, a medic with the 801st Combat support Hospital.  Strange thinks having Canadian military forces train with U.S. forces will help strengthen the relationship.  “Having them train with us in this joint effort is superb,” said Strange. “It brings the nations closer.”  Canadian forces Maj. Christian Borland a nursing officer with the 18 Field Ambulance from Thunder Bay, Ontario, hopes the group learns to be diverse.  “I want them to learn that there is more than one way to accomplish the mission.” “Its not always done the way we do it.” ….”
• A framework for Canadian, American military forces to work together during civil emergencies  “…. The purpose of the Canada-United States Civil Assistance Plan (CAP) is to provide a framework for the military of one nation to provide support to the military of the other nation while in the performance of civil support operations to the primary agency (e.g., floods, forest fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, and effects of a terrorist attack) ….”
  
• Congrats to Postmedia News for sharing the documents!  “A targeted cyber attack on a private company or organization controlling a piece of Canada’s critical infrastructure could leave the federal government on the sidelines, able to offer help but with no guarantee that it would be accepted.  Nor would there be any way for the federal government to force companies to accept its involvement should a targeted hack take down critical infrastructure such as electrical plants, water systems or rail, an issue identified during two cyber exercises last year.  “Not clear what the federal government could actually do. The federal government does not ‘solve’ the problem for the affected entity, only coordination and providing advice. Ultimately, it’s up to the entity to fix the problem,” reads a summary of issues and questions arising from the summer exercise.  “The effected (sic) entity must ask for assistance. Even then, they are not required to accept federal government help and the federal government cannot impose or force the entity to do anything.” ….”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – April 3, 2013

• “Spending on headquarters administration at National Defence was 27 per cent higher in the first half of the last budget year, despite the Harper government’s insistence the department cut overhead, according to the most recent quarterly forecast by the parliamentary budget office.  The figures look at the first six months of the just-completed 2012-13 budget year, and compare actual expenses with previous years.  Prime Minister Stephen Harper repeatedly insisted last year that Defence have “more teeth and less tail,” and reducing the administrative burden should be the department’s No. 1 priority.  Yet the budget office forecast, posted online, shows the reverse is taking shape.  Spending on internal services and property management is forecast to rise, while there are major reductions to surveillance, known as situational awareness, readiness within the army, including training, international operations, and environmental stewardship.  A final tally for the last budget year won’t be available until this August ….”
• “A high-profile Conservative senator has stepped down as chair of the Senate’s defence committee for personal reasons.  Sen. Pamela Wallin will leave the defence committee and will also step down from the subcommittee on veterans affairs.  Wallin’s name was removed from both committee web pages Tuesday.  Her assistant, Mark Fisher, said she had stepped aside “for personal reasons,” to help deal with the illness of a family member ….” – more here
  
• Algeria (1a)  London, Ontario homies ID’ed as terrorists?  “CBC News has learned that two Canadians linked to al-Qaeda and killed while staging a bloody attack on an Algerian gas refinery earlier this year were former high school friends in their early 20s, one from a Greek Orthodox family, and both from a comfortable middle-class London, Ont., neighbourhood.  A special CBC News investigation has confirmed the two al-Qaeda linked militants were Xristos Katsiroubas, 22, and Ali Medlej, who was believed to be about 24 years old at the time of their deaths.  The attack by the two Canadians and 30 other militants linked to al-Qaeda left more than three dozen refinery workers dead, the final 10 of whom were reportedly tied to gas plant piping and killed in a massive bomb blast.  Sources say it is likely Katsiroubas and Medlej intentionally blew themselves up in the blast; one of them could be only identified by DNA testing ….” – more here, here, here, here, here and here.  It didn’t take long for the Greek’s name to show up on his high school’s Wikipedia page.
• Algeria (1b)  “Muslim leaders in London, Ont., say they “unequivocally condemn violent extremism of any kind” following the identification of two young Canadians from the city as participants in a deadly attack in Algeria earlier this year.  Chair of the London Muslim Mosque, Rob Osman, said at a news conference Tuesday that “the Association of London Muslims has and will continue to unequivocally condemn violent extremism of any kind, as this is the opposite to the core teachings of Islam.” …. Munir El-Kassem, imam of the Islamic Centre of Southwest Ontario, also spoke at the news conference, and said that “we as Muslims are as concerned as everybody else.”  El-Kassem said the families of the two suspects were not known to him or his colleagues.  “We condemn these things together, not only as a Muslim community but as members of the community at large,” El-Kassem said. “Faith and terrorism is an oxymoron. They do not exist together.” ….”
• Algeria (2)  “Canada is not the only country to confront the problem of radicalized youth who mount terror attacks at home or abroad, said Conservative Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird.  Baird, on a Middle Eastern tour, spoke to reporters by teleconference from Abu Dhabi Tuesday, the day after CBC revealed the identities of two young London, Ontario adults killed in a January attack on a gas plant in Algeria ….”
• Algeria (3)  “Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says Canada isn’t losing the battle against homegrown terrorism after a CBC News investigation that identified two Canadians involved in a deadly attack in Algeria.  Kenney, speaking in Vancouver Tuesday, said he couldn’t comment directly on the cases because the RCMP are still investigating.  “No, absolutely not,” he said when asked if he was worried Canada is losing the battle.  “I think actually our record is very sound on this. We have seen violence in many western European countries and in the United States being inflicted by people who were radicalized in those countries, many of them born and raised in those Western countries.” ….”
• Algeria (4)  Editorial:  “…. We have a responsibility to the rest of the world …. though, to do our utmost to track the movements of cells within Canada while respecting the letter and spirit of constitutional rights. We have a responsibility to try to prevent Canadians from carrying out attacks in other countries — a moral responsibility, and also a self-interest, because destabilizing forces anywhere can become regional problems, which can become international problems, which can become wars in which Canadians fight and die. And, of course, there is domestic safety to consider, too; homegrown terrorists do not always plan their attacks overseas.”
• Meanwhile, a bit of new Canadian outreach to Muslim countries  “Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird …. announced that Ambassador Arif Lalani will assume new duties as Canada’s first-ever Special Envoy to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) ….  Based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the OIC brings together members from four continents. Canada will engage with them to address issues they face …. Baird announced the appointment while on a bilateral visit to the United Arab Emirates, where Ambassador Lalani is currently posted. He will serve in both capacities concurrently. His appointment as Special Envoy to the OIC is effective immediately.”
  
• North Korea  One prediction, if worse comes to worse  “…. “The US and South Korea will manage on their own – North’s People’s Army would probably last about 3 weeks,” (Dr. Lasha) Tchantouridzé, formerly of the University of Manitoba’s Centre for Defence and Security Studies, told Yahoo! in an email exchange.  “There will be forceful diplomatic efforts from China and Russia (both countries share borders with North Korea and are its main sponsors and allies) the war to remain local, not to allow its internationalization, and to end it quickly.  “However, a sudden attack on the South would produce a lot of destruction and casualties — large urban areas of the South are located rather close to the 38th parallel line — and this will trigger world’s reaction. A new war on the Korean peninsula would trigger a word-wide diplomatic activity, which would be followed by humanitarian and reconstruction efforts. I would expect Canada to participate diplomatically as well as to engage in the post-war reconstruction efforts.” “
  
• Safe travels!  “More than 900 Canadian sailors, airmen and airwomen of the Canadian Armed Forces departed (yesterday) to participate in Exercise Joint Warrior, a joint multinational NATO exercise taking place in the United Kingdom from April 15 to 25. Exercise Joint Warrior is the largest military tactical exercise in Europe and is designed to prepare NATO military forces to work together in a variety of missions from providing humanitarian aid to full-combat operations …. Exercise Joint Warrior is organized by the United Kingdom and will involve the participation of close to 13, 000 military personnel, 55 vessels, and up to 40 aircraft from various NATO nations over a ten-day period. Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMCS) Preserver, Iroquois, and St. John’sdeparted Halifax, N.S. (yesterday) to begin their transit across the Atlantic Ocean and will participate in the exercise later in the month. They are accompanied by Royal Canadian Air Force personnel and aircraft including two CH-124 Sea King helicopters from 12 Wing Shearwater, N.S. on board HMCS Iroquois and HMCS St. John’s. In addition, two CP-140 Aurora aircraft from 14 Wing Greenwood, N.S. and 19 Wing Comox, B.C., will join the ships upon their arrival in the United Kingdom ….”
  
• Way Up North  “Operation Nunalivut 2013, a major sovereignty operation commanded by Joint Task Force (North), will take place in Canada’s High Arctic from April 2-30.  Operation Nunalivut 2013 is one of the major operations conducted every year by the Canadian Armed Forces in Canada’s North. This year it will be held in the northwestern portion of the Arctic Archipelago, extending as far west as Mould Bay, Northwest Territories, and north to Isachsen, Nunavut, with the Task Force Headquarters located in Resolute Bay, Nunavut ….” - more here
  

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – April 2, 2013

• Welcome back!
• “Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Toronto successfully disrupted a massive narcotics shipment in the Indian Ocean as part of counter-terrorism operations with Combined Task Force 150.  On Friday March 29, 2013, HMCS Toronto’s naval boarding party searched a suspect vessel as part of ongoing maritime security operations. During this inspection, the boarding team recovered approximately 500 kilograms of heroin with an estimated street value of more than $100 million. The narcotics were confiscated without incident and will be destroyed ….” - more here, here and here, and more on Combined Task Force 150 here (from the U.S. Info-machine) and Canada’s role in it here (from Canada’s Info-machine)
• Speaking of naval deployments…. “The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, alongside the Canadian Armed Forces marked the conclusion of its first naval deployment of 2013, Operation Caribbe. Operation Caribbe is part of the Government’s continued commitment to combat illicit trafficking in the Caribbean Basin and Eastern Pacific. As part of this commitment, Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMCS) Kingston and Summerside conducted a 36-day deployment while a Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol aircraft flew patrols from January 7th to 19th to help suppress trafficking in international waters …. This is the second time HMCS Kingston has deployed on Operation Caribbe. HMCS Kingston, along with HMCS Goose Bay, conducted surveillance operations in the Western Caribbean from March 2 to April 6, 2012. This deployment marks a number of achievements for the Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels including the embarkation of a United States Coast Guard law enforcement detachment team and the use of the side scan sonar to search for sunken objects associated with counter narcotics trafficking in the Caribbean Basin. Primarily crewed by Naval Reservists, Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels are mainly used for coastal surveillance and patrol ….”
• “René Lévesque was for it. So was the author of Bill 101, Camille Laurin.  Premier Pauline Marois, herself, approved it no less than three times – in 1982, 1985 and 1997 – because it went through the cabinet she was a member of.  In fact, she was the education minister in 1997 who recommended it.  The war over repealing the right of Canadian military personnel to send their children to English schools escalated further (last week) when the opposition accused the Parti Québécois government of marring the memory of the PQ’s founders. And to prove its case, Coalition Avenir Québec MNA Éric Caire’s staff dug into previously confidential cabinet minutes showing the PQ – year after year, starting in Lévesque’s day – has renewed the exemption ….”
  
• “The Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister for La Francophonie, …. released the results of an audit of the Sunnybrook Veterans Centre. The audit assessed the quality of care provided to Veterans and the controls in place to monitor care and address concerns raised by residents or families ….  The audit included 140 interviews with residents and family members, a review of more than 100 files and significant data analysis. To provide independent advice on the audit’s recommendations, Veterans Affairs Canada created an external advisory committee. This committee was chaired by the Veterans Ombudsman and included representatives from organizations involved in Veterans’ issues and individuals with health expertise ….” - more here (from the Vets’ Ombudsman) and here (from The Canadian Press)
• Congrats to DefMin, Mrs. DefMin  “A spokesman for Defence Minister Peter MacKay says the minister’s wife, Nazanin Afshin-Jam, has given birth to a boy — the couple’s first child.  Jay Paxton says Kian Alexander MacKay was born today in Ottawa at 4:52 a.m., weighing eight pounds, two ounces.  The 47-year-old Nova Scotia MP first reported the news on Twitter, thanking people for their prayers and support ….“
• And before the baby’s even sleeping through then night …. “…. is (Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard) Valcourt the old-new MacKay? Is change in the wind in the Conservatives’ East Coast power structure?  The best person to answer that is MacKay himself and he says he’s staying. Yet, he has toiled in Parliament for more than 15 turbulent years, serving in two senior ministries and acting as the Atlantic region’s political overseer. He has paid his dues.  And MacKay is no longer the Maritime minister of everything. From 2006 until 2010, MacKay served either as Foreign or Defence minister as well as minister of ACOA and the Atlantic Gateway.  Keith Ashfield of New Brunswick took over ACOA in 2010 and nobody even talks about the Gateway any more. So MacKay’s role has diminished.  He has also married and any day now will become a father. Parenthood changes people.  Will MacKay still relish the political fight? Perhaps not. And while Valcourt wouldn’t be wise to challenge MacKay directly, it could be that time is on his side. A once-dormant star, and a real conservative at that, might again be rising in the east.”
• “Where to cut” editorial  “…. The government should revisit a 2011 report that said $1 billion in savings could be found through administrative cuts and reorganization. The tail needs to be cut and the teeth sharpened.  The alternative, if current trends continue, is a military that will show up at the next crisis with inadequate equipment and training, or not at all.”
• Algeria  “Have Canadian passport, will travel … and start killing.  That’s the deadly new mantra of select terror organizations around the world as reaffirmed by the RCMP.  The insight came Monday as the barest of details emerged of the involvement of dual Canadian citizens in the al-Qaida-linked Algeria gas plant attack in January.  RCMP spokesman Greg Cox confirmed “a second Canadian has been identified from human remains of alleged terrorists in the attack at the gas plant.”  Previously the force would only say there was one death in Algeria, but declined to say whether the individual was among the militants or victims ….”
  
• North Korea  “Canada is working with its allies to pursue all appropriate actions and sanctions against North Korea in light of the regime’s escalating taunts against its neighbours and the U.S.  Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird was travelling in the Middle East on Saturday and unavailable to comment, but his spokesman said Canada “unequivocally” condemns the actions by North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.  “This latest threat by North Korea is another in a series of dangerous actions that have further isolated it from the international community,” said Rick Roth. “The real tragedy is that while North Korea ramps up its rhetoric and ploughs resources into a missile and nuclear program, its people starve.” ….” – more here‘
• Iraq  “Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird paid an unannounced visit to Iraq …. where he opened a new Canadian diplomatic mission.  Canada wants to expand its engagement with a country that’s become a pivotal force in a troubled region, and doing so requires a Canadian presence in Baghdad, Baird said in a statement.  “With conflict raging in neighbouring Syria, with the ayatollah’s regime relentlessly pursuing sectarian hegemony and nuclear ambitions, and with a NATO ally and economic partner bordering Iraq’s north, today’s opening here in Baghdad expresses Canada’s intention to expand our engagement with a key regional player.”  The new diplomatic office will be an offshoot of Canada’s embassy in Amman, Jordan, and will operate out of the British embassy in Baghdad, Baird said. Canada has not had an ambassador formally accredited to Iraq since 1991, although the embassy in Jordan was tapped to assume responsibility for Iraq in 2005 ….”
• On the interesction of supporting U.S. deserters and the left “…. (Kimberley) Rivera was one of about 50 war resisters who (officially, some are hiding) came to Canada, most moved to Toronto or Vancouver- the two cities where the WRSC has the bulk of their members. It’s no coincidence that both cites are hubs for Canada’s militant left- the WRSC is led by the same community who brought us Occupy, Idle No More, and the violence at the 2010 Olympics and the G20. And, as happens often in militant left fiascos, the people they claimed to support ended-up in a whole lot of pain ….”
  
• Mark Collins on “Cyber Security: Canada to Crack Down on Huawei?” (and who reported that first)
• Happy 89′th birthday RCAF!
  
• “If Romeo Daley was two inches taller, he wouldn’t be alive today.  The Korean War veteran points to a barely visible scar on the top of his head inside his Fort Erie kitchen.  “It’s nice to be short,” he says with a smirk.  The small scar is a reminder of the time a bullet scraped him, almost catching him in between the eyes.  Another scar on his ear is a daily reminder of the time a hand grenade went off in front of him.  “It tore my ear right off. I was treated at an American MASH unit. They did an excellent job sewing my ear back on and doing plastic surgery on my eye,” he says.  And while he’s grateful his life was saved in those two particular instances, his friends weren’t so lucky.  Daley, who served with Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry from 1951 to 1952, had five friends killed in action right beside him.  That’s why when Daley was invited to be a part of the 60th anniversary celebrating the end of the Korean War, he couldn’t pass the opportunity up ….”