The European Union and National Defence Policy (State and the European Union)
liberal catnip (Free subscription) | yesterday
Via The TO Star : PORT OF SPAIN–Prime Minister Stephen Harper took a partisan shot at his opposition critics while touring the HMCS Quebec in Trinidad-Tobago Sunday. The Canadian ship and navy officers are helping with security for the Commonwealth summit. Harper, in brief comments to the Canadians, was addressing allegations that Canadian civilian and military leaders ignored warnings of a risk...
CBC.ca (Free subscription) | yesterday
A report commissioned by the Department of National Defence almost a decade ago concluded that St. John's was the best location to station search and rescue helicopters to service the province's offshore oil industry.
Creekside (Free subscription) | 11/30/2009
Shorter Harper : If you point the war crimes finger at me, I'll deflect it at the troops. Faced with mounting condemnation for government ass-covering over Richard Colvin's testimony about Afghan detainees, Harper resorts to an oblique slight-of-tongue blackmail : "There were allegations of Canadian troops involved in torture. We’ve been very clear that's not the case." So who is pointing...
Miami Herald (Free subscription) | 11/29/2009
In one of the worst chapters of their casualty-marred deployment in Afghanistan, Canadian forces earlier this year lost 10 soldiers in 90 days to improvised bombs on one stretch of highway in Kandahar province.
Tracing the Tribe (Free subscription) | 11/29/2009
Does Canada figure in your family quest? Regardless of whether your ancestors were just "passing through" or stayed in Canada, the updates to the Library and Archives of Canada (LAC) may be quite helpful. There are some 12 million new records, in total. Recent updates include: 2,000 digital images added - Board of Guardians database update 104,000 digital images added - Passenger Lists database...
kansascity.com (Free subscription) | 11/29/2009
In one of the worst chapters of their casualty-marred deployment in Afghanistan, Canadian forces earlier this year lost 10 soldiers in 90 days to improvised bombs on one stretch of highway in Kandahar province.
The Torch (Free subscription) | 11/27/2009
... and the Politics of War , the subtitle of General (ret'd) Rick Hillier's memoir , A Soldier First: I recently finished it (almost a page turner, great help from Chris Wattie ). But I rather wish the former CDS had written three distinct books: - Soldiers, politicians and bureaucrats--and Canadians (what the memoirs are really focused on) - The future roles, configuration and equipment requirements...
Gay News Bits (Free subscription) | 11/27/2009
Several month’s back I wrote to the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence for Canada. In my email I expressed concern that members of the Canadian Forces who had been discharged for being homosexual, prior to Canada striking that law from the books, still faced that blemish on their records and weren’t eligible for [...]
CBC.ca (Free subscription) | 11/27/2009
A B.C. engineering firm has been awarded a $900,000 defence contract to help design a Canadian Forces naval facility in the High Arctic.
liberal catnip (Free subscription) | 11/27/2009
Ever since Peter MacKay has been under fire about allegations of torture in Afghanistan during the period of 2006-2007, he has repeatedly said in the house that the transfer agreement was changed once the government had credible evidence to back up those claims . From November 25, 2009, Hansard : Hon. Peter MacKay (Minister of National Defence and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway, CPC): Mr. Speaker,...
JURIST (Free subscription) | 11/26/2009
[JURIST] Canadian former Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier testified in front of the House of Commons Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan on Wednesday, denouncing allegations that Afghan detainees transferred from Canadian to Afghani authority were likely tortured by Afghan officials. Hellier dismissed statements made last week by Richard Colvin,who represented the Department...
Kukla's Korner (Free subscription) | 11/26/2009
from John McGourty of NHL.com, Here’s another reason to give thanks this Thanksgiving: The National Hockey League was founded 92 years ago today. Its predecessor, the National Hockey Association, was on its last legs due to players joining the Canadian Forces in World War I, decreased attendance and warring owners. One of the teams, the Toronto 228th Battalion, had been inducted en masse. A group...
The Torch (Free subscription) | 11/26/2009
Here are the truths: "A lie is halfway round the world before the truth has got its boots on." - Proverb "Whoever talks about it the most owns it." - Public relations truism Before I get to my question, I'd like to quote from Rick Hillier's book "A Soldier First: Bullets, Bureaucrats, and the Politics of War:" The Canadian Forces, with Foreign Affairs, were concerned about...
CBC.ca (Free subscription) | 11/25/2009
The head of a St. John's-based commission of inquiry into offshore helicopter safety has reversed his position and will now ask the Department of National Defence to testify after Christmas.
War News Updates (Free subscription) | 11/25/2009
RAF Chinooks are a vital part of the support helicopter fleet, providing much-needed capability in tough operating conditions. Photograph: Defence Image Library. Afghanistan War: Why Helicopters Are Critical To US And NATO Forces -- Christian Science Monitor Helicopters are more important to the US and NATO counterinsurgency campaign in Afghanistan than they were in Iraq. By December, there will be...
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