Veterans’ file on track, it’s a four-year mandate
The October 2016 Maclean’s magazine cover story was titled “Trudeau’s Unfinished Business.” In the article, the author opines that, after one year in office, the government has not fulfilled many of its campaign promises. This may statistically be true, but before launching such criticisms, one must remember that it is a four-year mandate. There is still […]
Why I want this veteran-led disaster response team to grow in Canada
On Jan. 12, 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti. As many as hundreds of thousands were killed and nearly one million Haitians instantly became homeless. United States marines William McNulty and Jake Wood determined that they could provide help, and Team Rubicon was born. That first mission to Haiti consisted of a small group of […]
Big gap between Liberal rhetoric and action on veterans issues
Veterans and Canadians better stop holding their breath. Minister of Veterans Affairs Kent Hehr is way behind schedule and doesn’t have the oomph to fulfill his mandate letter. Ultimately, Prime Minister Trudeau and the Liberal government will be charged and condemned for this bungling of veterans’ issues. When broken down, Minister Hehr’s mandate letter listed […]
Ottawa’s war to silence veterans
OTTAWA—The federal government is holding yet another stakeholder summit on Oct. 5-6 in Gatineau, Que. Veterans Affairs Canada claims such “engagement” fulfills requirements to consult with stakeholders. In reality, summits like other government tactics over the past decade, are geared towards corralling and silencing veterans while sidestepping a wider public discourse on veterans’ issues. True stakeholder […]
Ottawa gives veterans the indexation finger
OTTAWA—What the Liberals give, bureaucrats can take away. On Oct. 1, Liberal campaign promises to improve the lives of veterans begin to take effect. All that flashy political and bureaucratic rhetoric, however, has a dark underbelly. These changes claim to “greatly improve income support to disabled veterans.” The banner revision increases income replacement for injured soldiers […]
Politics this morning: Justin Trudeau to meet with Chinese president, premier
Today is Wednesday, August 31. *A special note to our subscribers: today’s edition of The Hill Times is in online and pdf format only. There is no print edition, but you can still count on full coverage of all the usual insider news, global developments, and opinion pieces on our website, www.hilltimes.com or in the […]
I was pleased to lead Canadian delegation to Beaumont-Hamel: Hehr
One hundred years ago, on July 1, 1916, far away from home on a battlefield in France, more than 800 sons of Newfoundland advanced through machine gun and artillery fire against incredible odds in defence of their king and country. Only 68 stood for roll call the next day. Seldom else have one people given […]
Politics this morning: Wilson-Raybould to appear before House Committee on Justice and Human Rights
Today is Thursday, August 11. Here’s what’s on the political agenda today: Justice Minister and Attorney General of Canada Jody Wilson-Raybould will appear today before the House Committee on Justice and Human Rights which is looking at the new process for nominating Supreme Court Justices. The new protocol, announced on August 2, extends the application process to […]
Politics this morning: International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, and National Peacekeepers Day
Today is Tuesday, August 9. Today is both the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, which was created by the United Nations in 1994 to promote the human rights of global indigenous groups, and is also National Peacekeepers Day. Fittingly, National Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan heads to Africa today, for a week-long trip that will see […]
People of Newfoundland and Labrador deserve an apology: Winter
The battle of Beaumont Hamel in France on July 1, 1916, was a battle fought by the “Newfoundland” regiment and has nothing whatsoever to do with Canada. In 1949, when our province joined Canada, all five of the Newfoundland and Labrador military remembrance sites in Europe were passed over to the Canadian Department of Veterans Affairs […]
