Opposition parties call for improved support for transitioning military members in government’s new suicide prevention strategy
The Trudeau government’s recently unveiled mental health and suicide prevention strategy represents a move in the right direction by pledging resources to address what has become a serious issue for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), but more must be done to address gaps in care for service members transitioning out of active duty, says Conservative […]
Official inquiry needed to avoid repeat of Afghan failure
OTTAWA—There were news stories out of Afghanistan last week detailing how the United States is expanding and entrenching the so-called Green Zone in the centre of Kabul. An ambitious two-year construction project will bring together currently isolated outlying facilities into one massive protected zone. In addition to U.S. military and diplomatic posts, the “new and […]
Invictus is more than an event, it’s a mindset
“I am.” That’s a very powerful phrase. These two words, “I” and “am,” together, followed by specific characteristics, give people the power to define themselves. The effect of this kind of mind over matter is not to be downplayed. It can deliver the strength you need to stand up when the world seems to be […]
Trudeau shuffles cabinet committee members
The prime minister quietly shuffled his cabinet committee membership last month in the wake of August’s cabinet shuffle, adding in new ministers and moving up Labour Minister Patty Hajdu, Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr, and Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos into chair positions. A Sept. 19 update of the cabinet committee list on the prime […]
Can O’Regan avoid putting his foot in veterans’ mouths?
OTTAWA—If the first public comments of newly appointed Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan are anything to go by, veterans and the governing Liberals should be worried. The Trudeau government will have to understand veterans far better. They also should be eager to do more than they promised if they wish to reverse seven decades of […]
Ex-NDP MP Peter Stoffer diagnosed with prostate cancer, says he ‘has 99 per cent chance of full recovery’
A popular former Nova Scotia NDP MP, who worked tirelessly during his 18-year parliamentary career to promote the causes of Canadian veterans, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Peter Stoffer, who represented Sackville-Preston-Chezzetcook, N.S., (a riding that has held various names), between 1997 and 2015, told The Hill Times on Sept. 15 that he was diagnosed “a […]
Veterans advocates hope for change from O’Regan at Veterans Affairs
Veterans-rights advocates hope the appointment last week of Liberal MP Seamus O’Regan (St. John’s South-Mount Pearl, N.L.) as Veterans Affairs minister will breathe new life into a department accused of insensitivity toward its clients, and fulfill a Liberal campaign promise of bringing back lifelong disability pensions for veterans hurt in action. “The senior staff at […]
Atlantic boost on front bench noteworthy in shuffle aimed at getting action, say strategists
The creation of a new portfolio and the splitting of Indigenous and Northern Affairs were the big surprises out of the recent Liberal cabinet shuffle, but also of note was Atlantic Canada’s increased representation on the front bench, says Greg MacEachern, a senior vice-president at Environics Communications. “The Liberal Party in the last election, in […]
How Seamus O’Regan can do the right thing
OTTAWA—Removing Minister Kent Hehr from Veterans Affairs Canada was the right thing to do. The new minister, Seamus O’Regan, must do better. Just six days prior, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commemorated the calamitous losses Canadians suffered on the beaches of Dieppe 75 years ago. In the midst of a downpour, the prime minister folded his […]
Politics This Morning: NAFTA renegotiations launch in Washington
Good Wednesday morning, After months of tough talk, aggressive posturing, and nervous murmurs, renegotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement begin today in Washington, D.C., with representatives from Canada, the U.S., and Mexico all set to participate. This first round of negotiations, spurred by aggressive criticisms of the existing pact by the Trump administration, […]
