Monday Dec 3, 2007 OTTAWA: CANADIAN MILITARY RECEIVES BUDGET WARNING
Canada's military will have to rely on its own budget to cover any unforseen costs of its military mission in Afghanistan. The statement comes in a directive from the Privy Council Office that was disclosed to the media by an anonymous political source. The Conservative Party government is in the process of planning its federal budget for 2008. It's expected that the National Defence budget will increase slightly next year from $18.3 billion to $19.4 billion. In previous years, the Defence Department has gone to the Treasury Board to ask for more operating funds to cover unexpected expenses for Afghanistan. But the directive indicates that no extra allocations will be granted. Political opponents say that the Conservative Party is trying to assert more control over the military and its spending.

Tuesday 13 November 2007 OTTAWA: PLANNED EXPANSION OF MILITARY COULD MISCARRY
A new report in Canada indicates that plans to expand the size of the military might not occur. Canada's defence department's says last year's pledge to increase the number of regular and reserve soldiers, sailors and air crew has been revised downward because of costs and the high attrition rate of serving members. The military says it is trying to hold on to serving members with promotions and incentives. There has been criticism that Canada's armed forces are understaffed. The current Conservative Party government promised before being elected in 2006 that it would increase military spending and expand the forces.

Sunday 11 November 2007 ANTIGONISH: OTTAWA WON'T SCRAP SUBS
Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay has denied a report on Thursday that the navy's four submarines could be scrapped. The minister was responding to a report that the Privy Council Office and the Prime Minister's Office are considering several options for the vessels, including upgrading them, scrapping them or buying new ones. Mr. MacKay says that scrapping the subs isn't an option. Canada bought the conventional subs from Britain in 1998 and they have been riddled with problems ever since. A fire broke out on board of one of them as it sailed on its maiden voyage to Canada which killed a sailor. That sub has been sitting in drydock in Halifax, NS, since then and won't be repaired until 2010. Two others are out of commission to receive upgrades, leaving only the fourth operational. The Conservative government has placed emphasis on the assertion of Canada's sovereignty in the Arctic but the four submarines have only limited capacity in the frigid, ice-covered waters there.

Monday 05 November 2007 OTTAWA: REPORT SHOWS MANY SOLDIERS OUT OF SHAPE
A newly released report shows that a large number of Canadian soldiers failed to pass a physical test that the Canadian forces administered for the first time in ten years. Forty-seven thousand enlisted personnel passed, but more than one thousand members failed. About 1,300 people were excused for medical reasons, and another fifteen thousand were not tested because of postings overseas and other reasons. The failure rate was highest among members of the navy. The failure rate at the naval base in Esquimalt, British Columbia, was more than twice the national rate for all of the services. The report makes no analysis of the results. The 30-minute fitness test involves running, pushups, situps and strength exercises. They are designed to see whether a soldier can perform in combat situations.

Tuesday 02 October 2007 We would like to to draw your attention to a recent publication by the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute (CDFAI), entitled “A Threatened Future: Canada ’s Future Strategic Environment and its Security Implications.” The paper discusses the long-term prospects for Canadian foreign and defence strategy, and makes recommendations to be able to meet future threats. The authors are Toronto-based historian J.L Granatstein, RHOMA colleague Gordon S. Smith of the University of Victoria , and Denis Stairs of Dalhousie University .

A copy of the study is available online at http://www.cdfai.org/PDF/FSE2007.pdf
see also A Threatening Future and a Plan for Action

Thursday 27 September 2007 OTTAWA: COPTER PROBLEMS WORSEN
The Canadian Press reports that it will require as long as six years to fix a serious defect with the country's fleet of Cormorant search-and-rescue helicopters. The agency reached that assessment from documents obtained under the federal Access to Information law. The defence department documents show that cracks in the hub assemblies of the fleet of 14 Cormorants have caused flight restrictions and that a critical part is being re-engineered. The helicopters perform search-and-rescue missions on the east and west coasts. The helicopters are also suffering from corrosion and a lack of spare parts. Lt.-Gen. Angus Watt has told CP that the service requires at least nine serviceable Cormorants each day but that he generally only has six or seven. It's unclear whether the problems are covered by warranty or whether the taxpayer will have to foot the bill to fix the aircraft, which where acquired from Italy in 2000 for $779 million.

Thursday 13 September 2007 MILITARY RENEWS HELICOPTER SERVICE CONTRACT
The Canadian defence department has renewed a seven-year contract with IMP Aerospace to maintain its fleet of 15 Cormorant search-and-rescue helicopters. The contract is worth $591 million. The helicopters entered service in August 2001, but their use has been limited by mechanical problems and a fatal crash last year. Three crew members were killed and four injured when a Cormorant crashed into waters off Canso, NS, in July 2006. The military has drafted a final report on the accident but has yet to make it public. All but essential and test flights were suspended in October 2004 because of the discovery of cracks on a tail rotor.

Wednesday 12 September 2007 HALIFAX: NAVY TOUTED AS ALTERNATIVE TO MIGRATION
The Canadian navy says that residents of Atlantic Canada in search of work near home can find it in the navy rather than emigrating to Western Canada. Rear Admiral Dean McFadden says the facilities in Halifax, NS, which support the navy will need hundreds of skilled and unskilled workers over the next five to 10 years, and since the existing employees average 50 years of age many will soon retire. Adm. McFadden, the commander of Joint Task Force, says that businesses across Atlantic Canada are experiencing difficulty in attracting and keeping workers who are enticed to places like the oilsands capital of Alberta, Fort McMurray. He admits that while the navy cannot compete with oilsands projects, Atlantic Canadians looking for reasons to stay at home should look to the navy, noting that the service's apprenticeship program has grown greatly in recent years. >P>Friday 07 September 2007

THE FACES OF WAR
MASTER BOMBARDIER BRIAN GARDINER 46, FREDERICTON, N.B.

Friday 07 September 2007 OTTAWA: CANADA SET TO REDEPLOY IN PERSIAN GULF
The Canadian navy is ready to send a warship to the Persian Gulf to support the international war against terrorism. Vice-Admiral Drew Robertson has told the Canadian Press that he expects the government to approve a single-ship mission that would sail to the Gulf in a few weeks. The navy has operated there since March. Vice-Admiral Robertson says a warship based in Halifax, NS, has already been chosen and has been exercising with American warships. He also says Canada expects to be asked to assume leadership of the international naval force in the Persian Gulf next year, a leadership which it has assumed in the past. The officer says it's unclear whether the government will chose to send further vessels, although Canada is certainly able to do so. Canada has sent warships to the Gulf 33 times since the first war against Iraq in 1991.

Monday 03 September 2007 MIAMI: NAVY TAKES PART IN INTERNATIONAL NAVAL EXERCISES
Canada's warships joined warships from more than a dozen other countries on Sunday in a naval exercise described as one of the largest of the year. More than 30 ships participated in the initial exercise that began on Wednesday near the Panama Canal. The ships are practising how to defend the canal, where thousands of ships pass from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean each year. The U.S. Navy is sponsoring the exercise, which will continue until Friday.

Tuesday 14 August 2007 ABBOTSFORD: NEWEST MILITARY PLANE LANDS IN CANADA
Canada's newest military aircraft has touched down on Canadian soil for the first time. The Boeing C-17, built in California, arrived at the Abbotsford, British Columbia airport early Saturday. The plane is the first of four strategic aircraft that will eventually be delivered to the Canadian military for use in shipping cargo and troops over long distances. Its purchase was marked by controversy over sourcing of the contract to build the plane, which will replace some of the ageing Hercules fleet. The military's chief of staff said at the time that the government would be better off spending the $3.4 billion for carriers that could be put to use in the battlefields of Afghanistan. The government later announced funding for those as well.

Saturday 04 August 2007 rci OTTAWA: DEFENCE DEPT. ADVISED TO MOVE QUICKLY ON TANKS>br> The Canadian defence department has been advised it must act fast to secure a supply of specially-tempered armour for slightly used Leopard tanks which it will acquire from The Netherlands. The department plans to buy 40 of the vehicles then upgrade them for use in Afghanistan chiefly by installing air conditioning and armour plating strong enough to resist the increasingly large roadside bombs laid by insurgents. An executive with Montreal-based Rheinmettall Canada warns that it could take as long as 18 months to obtain the steel necessary to reinforce the tanks' hulls because of a worldwide shortage. The shortage has been caused by the wars both in Afghanistan and Iraq which have forced countries involved in them either to buy new tanks or to upgrade existing ones with new armour plating. Jean-Claude Rollier says it's essential that the department have a contract for the steel armour within a few months if it expects the tanks to be ready for a December 2008 deadline. Rheinmettall is interested in obtaining contracts for the upgrades.

Wednesday 25 July 2007 OTTAWA: MILITARY DOESN'T MEET EQUITY GOALS
A report released Monday shows that the Canadian Forces have not yet achieved their goal of increasing the number of women, visible minorities, aboriginals and disabled in their ranks. Figures show the military was 10,000 people below its minimum goal for such groups. The equity plan for Canada's military shows that the largest gaps between actual and expected representation are among women and visible minorities. Lieut.-Col. Diana Herrington, who runs the military's directorate of human rights and diversity, says the Canadian Forces has a long way to go to meet its goals of representing such groups.

Tuesday 26 June 2007 OTTAWA:MILITARY FAMILY HAS FUNERAL EXPENSES DEFRAYED
The Canadian military will after all reimburse fully the parents of a Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan for their funeral expenses. The family had receive a single payment which did not cover the burial expenses. The head of military personnel called the parents of Cpl. Matthew Dinning to apologize and to offer a full reimbursement. Earlier in the week, the parents pleaded their cause before the news media to rebut the denial by Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor in the House of Commons that family had to bear funeral expenses. Cpl. Dinning was killed in April in a bombing near Kandahar.

Sunday 03 June 2007 Parents of soldier 'offended' by O'Connor's assertion
Prime Minister Stephen Harper ignored calls for Gordon O'Connor's resignation Wednesday after a military family disputed the defence minister's statement that his department pays full funeral costs for fallen soldiers.

Monday 28 May 2007 OTTAWA: cbc MILITARY LOOKING TO INCREASE STIPENDS FOR SOLDIERS' FUNERALS
Canada's military has requested that the federal government increase its stipends for the funerals of soldiers slain in action. The rate of the stipends was set in the 1990s at a maximum of CDN$4,675. Additional expenses are the responsibility of the victims' family. The military decided to make its request after learning of cases of families that had difficulty meeting funeral expenses. A Canadian Forces spokesman said that the military has been paying families for extra funeral expenses for the past nine months. The military will continue to do so until the government replies to its request. The average cost of a funeral in Canada is CDN$7,500, but the cost of a cemetery plot and monument can raise the cost to CDN$12,000.

Thursday 22 February 2007 Iraqis welcome British plans to withdraw troops
The Iraqi government on Thursday welcomed the British decision to withdraw troops from Iraq, saying it is in line with plans for Iraqi forces to assume security for the country.

Britain's Prince Harry going to Iraq: Defence Ministry
Prince Harry will be sent to Iraq, Britain's Ministry of Defence said Thursday.

Thursday 22 February 2007 20Military should stick to peacekeeping: poll
A majority of Canadians are skeptical about ever getting to the bottom of recent allegations of prisoner abuse by their soldiers in Afghanistan and believe the country's military should stick to peacekeeping and drop its combat role, a new national poll reveals.
:12

Monday 19 February 2007 Canadian convoy attacked twice in Kandahar
The resulting firefights saw one Afghan National Police officer killed and a civilian mistakenly gunned down by soldiers. [..we are killing more of our own the bad guys!]

Canadian troops kill 'threatening' civilian
Fearing they were about to be attacked by a suicide bomber, Canadian troops shot and killed an Afghan civilian who was acting in a "perplexing" manner on Saturday, according to military officials.

Sunday 04 February 2007 Deep-water naval port in Arctic in doubt
The Canadian army's part-time soldiers are expected to play a greater role in defending the Arctic with as many as 1,000 troops a year training in the region.

Saturday 20 January 2007 Military looking to double spending
The Defence Department is asking the Harper government to more than double its annual funding to $36.6 billion by 2025, and approve a list of about 30 new military rebuilding projects with an emphasis on protecting Canada's Arctic sovereignty.

DEFENDING NATIONAL INTERESTS AT HOME AND ABROAD
by Ceri Au
January 18, 2007

A day is a long time in politics, especially when it comes to bad press. A day is just enough time to pull out the bells and whistles and reverse the negative publicity tidal wave when you are a government minister.  That is just what Defense Minister Gordon O’Connor was forced to do yesterday, when a CBC story hit the airwaves showing the Halifax harbour lined with vessels—all docked because the Navy budget was too tight to send them out on routine patrols. Normally engaged in thwarting the plunder of foreign fishing vessels in Canadian waters, the activities of smugglers and the entry of illegal immigrants, a 10 percent cut to the Navy operating budget resulted in a fourth-quarter inability to provide fuel and personnel to the fleet. 

Although O’Connor notified officials yesterday that $3 – 5 million should be channeled directly into the navy for patrol functions, which would begin again early next week, the budgetary shortfall is a sign of pressure on other military sectors due to the financial drain of the war in Afghanistan, according to Peter Haydon, a retired naval officer who is now affiliated with the Centre for Foreign Policy Studies in Halifax.  As he told the Globe:  "Afghanistan is eating money like you wouldn't believe.”  This year alone, the Afghan mission cost $1.5 billion.  Interestingly, the Navy funding fiasco emerged during a period when the Department of National Defense is asking for its budget to be doubled. The “Canada First Defence Strategy,” which remains stalled before Cabinet, is asking for an annual budget of $36.6 billion by 2025.  Yet Senator Colin Kenny, chairman of the Senate's defence and national security committee, who has reviewed the document, told the Citizen he has little hope that Canadian military interests will be best served under the Harper government: “I think they're going to do it on the cheap."  As one of the lowest GDP military spenders in the NATO alliance, a wider debate needs to be waged on how our national priorities are best served with the resources allocated. The media needs to continue its careful watch on how the Canadian military operates, not only through imbedded reporters abroad, but on the home front as well.

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THE LEADS:
The National: “Tied down: This navy ship should be patrolling Canadian waters, but it isn’t. Why isn’t it?”

Saturday 13 January 2007 HALIFAX: DEFENCE MINISTER HAS CONCERN ABOUT U.S. TROOP SURGE
Canada's defence minister says he has no objection to American plans to send more troops to Iraq. Gordon O'Connor says his only concern is that some of those 21-thousand extra troops will be drawn from Afghanistan. Speaking in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the minister said that was the only aspect of the U.S. decision he's thought about. However, the chair of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, General Peter Pace, said Friday there's no plan to reduce the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. Canada has a force of 2,500 in Afghanistan as part of the NATO contingent. In his speech, Mr. O'Connor argued the presence of Canadian troops there is part of a war against insurgents, and that it is succeeding in part due to construction of roads, and other humanitarian efforts.

KANDAHAR: CANADIAN AID CRITICIZED
A group of Afghan villagers displaced by fighting between Canadian troops and the Taliban are complaining that promised aid has not materialized. Many of the 400-families returned to their village west of Kandahar to find their homes damaged or destroyed. Canada has pledged up to $10-million dollars in food and other relief aid. So far, two sea containers of reconstruction supplies, including paint brushes, buckets and light bulbs have been delivered to the village. But a village elder says what they really need is food and tents. Decisions on the distribution of aid are being left in the hands of Afghan authorities. Canadian Forces Captain Dave Muralt, of the provincial reconstruction team, says the army believes it's better to have aid distributed by local authorities rather than by soldiers in uniform.

2006

Sunday 31 December 2006 TORONTO: NATO ALLIES IN AFGHANISTAN REQUEST REMOVAL OF CANADIAN JOURNALISTS
Four Canadian journalists who were embedded with Canadian troops in Afghanistan were asked to leave for their own safety earlier this year because their activity made soldiers from NATO allied countries uncomfortable. The journalists were removed by helicopter in April. A Canadian military spokesman, Major Marc Theriault, said that the journalists had generated discomfort among Canada's allies, adding that the allies thought that Canada's attitude toward the media was 'very progressive and risky.' Canada's military says that allies' wishes always take precedence over the needs of the media. The journalists were identified as Globe and Mail columnist Christie Blatchford, Toronto Star columnist Rosie DiManno, photographer Louie Palu, and Ontario-based freelance filmmaker Richard Fitoussi. News of their removal was found in government documents that were recently released under Canada's Access to Information Act.

Mon 25/12/2006 MAS'UM GHAR: MILITARY PERSONNEL WIN TOP AWARD
Canadian men and women in the military have been voted Canada's Newsmaker of the Year. Canadian military personnel were tops in the annual poll of newspaper editors and broadcast news directors conducted by The Canadian Press and Broadcast News. Canada has 2,300 troops in southern Afghanistan. They are part of a NATO force trying to bring democracy to that country. Since Canadian troops first went to Afghanistan in 2002, 44 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed there. Chief of Defence Staff, General Rick Hillier, who is currently in Afghanistan to spend Christmas with his troops, says the survey result is an incredible compliment to Canadian soldiers. It's only the second time in the 60-year history of the CP-BN Newsmaker of the Year survey that the nation's newsrooms have made a symbolic selection over a specific person. In 1992, the voters chose the constitutional referendum on the Meech Lake accord. Following are the 2006 voting results: The Canadian Soldier, 73 votes; Stephen Harper, 52 votes; Maher Arar, 29 votes; Stephane Dion, seven votes; Cindy Klassen, seven votes; Kimveer Gill, four votes; Belinda Stronach, two votes; Giuliano Zaccardelli, one vote.

Sun 17/12/2006 rci KANDAHAR: NATO COMMANDER PREDICTING CANADIAN ROLE IN NEW AFGHAN OFFENSIVE
Canadian forces are going to be involved in the latest offensive in Afghanistan. The word comes from Major-General Ton Van Loon of the Netherlands. This past week, he took charge of a NATO coalition force of about 9,500 troops in six southern provinces of Afghanistan. The force has mostly Canadian, British and Dutch soldiers. General Van Loon says that the role of Canada's soldiers in Operation Falcon's Summit will be significant. The offensive aims to flush out Taliban commanders and bomb makers and eventually to help Afghan civilians to take back their villages. General Van Loon made a surprise visit to the Canadian base in Kandahar on Saturday. On the same day, leaflets were dropped over the Panjwaii district with a drawing of a dead Taliban militant. Five Canadian soldiers were killed in a previous large offensive, Operation Medusa.

Tuesday 05 December 2006 Defence plan outlines military strategy
Canada won't face a large-scale conventional military threat over the next 20 years but its troops will continue to operate overseas in failed states, having to deal with global terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, according to the military's long-range defence plan to be presented to government.

Monday 04 December 2006 MA'SUM GHAR: CANADIAN TANKS RETALIATE AGAINST AFGHAN MILITANTS
For the first time in more than 50 years, Canadian tanks fired in battle on Sunday, one day after being deployed in southern Afghanistan. Shots were fired from one of the Leopard tanks' 105-millimetre guns in response to a rocket attack by Taliban militants on the Canadian advance base near the village of Panjwaii, about 70 kilometres from Kandahar. A few tanks later went on patrol, stopping to destroy a suspected militant hut with metre-thick mud walls. The Panjwaii district is a dangerous area for Canadian and other NATO forces. The military hopes that the tanks will boost soldiers' morale and serve as a deterrent for militant attacks.

Sunday 03 December 2006 PANJWAII: MILITARY EMPLOYS TANKS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE KOREAN WAR
For the first time since the Korean War, Canadian tanks have been deployed in a combat situation. A squadron of Canadian tanks rolled on Saturday through the southern Afghan village of Panjwaii. A Canadian forces official said that the tanks put on an impressive show of force for local residents, and sent a powerful message to Taliban insurgents. The Panjwaii district has been the major battleground between Canadian troops and the Taliban. The 42-tonne Leopard tanks have a 105-millimetre cannon, a gun nearly four times more powerful than any other weapon that the Canadian military has used in the region. Canada's government spent CDN$200 million to upgrade the tanks and to improve their armour.

ABOARD HMCS OTTAWA: CANADIAN FRIGATE STAGES PERSIAN GULF RESCUE
A Canadian navy frigate on patrol in the Persian Gulf rescued 18 members of the crew of a small Indian transport vessel on Friday night after receiving a distress call. HMCS Ottawa removed the crew as their dhow was sinking. The crew was left ashore in the United Arab Emirates. The dhow was on its way from India to Somalia when it began taking on water. HMCS Ottawa is part of Canada's contribution to the U.S.-led war on terrorism. The ship left Canada three months ago and should return home in March.

Wednesday 29 November 2006 RIGA: NATO DISCUSSES MORE BOOTS ON GROUND IN Afghanistan
NATO leaders, including Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper, are discussing the possibility of more troops to support the alliance's mission in Afghanistan, but no firm commitments have emerged at the two-day summit in Latvia's capital. The discussions revolve around the situation in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand, where Canadian, U.S., Dutch and British troops have been locked in combat with invigorated Taliban insurgents in recent months. Other NATO troops are based in quieter parts of Afghanistan and their national governments have placed restrictions on their deployment and use elsewhere. NATO commander U.S. Gen. James Jones says the leaders have agreed to remove 15 per cent of the restrictions. Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay says that will help but that a bigger force is needed in the south. A spokesman for French President Chirac said that France is prepared to play a bigger role, without specifying it. Italy says it would redeploy its troops in an "emergency."

Thursday 23 November 2006 OTTAWA: MILITARY RECRUITING ON TRACK
A top military official says Canada's armed forces will have 70,000 full-time members by 2010. Rear-Adm. Tyrone Pile, chief of military personnel, told the Senate veterans affairs committee that the forces will hit recruiting targets in spite of a high number of medical discharges. One of the problems faced by Canada's military is the growing number of medical discharges caused by a policy that requires all full-time members to be available for overseas service. Members can be dismissed from the forces if they're too ill or unable to serve on a deployment.

Monday