Scaled-down Remembrance Day Ceremony to mark 75th anniversary of end of Second World War
In a typical year, thousands of Canadians gather near the National War Monument to mark Remembrance Day. But 2020 isn’t a typical year. While the Royal Canadian Legion will still hold a ceremony, it will do so with a maximum of 100 people present, as spectators are being discouraged from attending. There will be no […]
Liberal MP Kamal Khera joins nursing ranks after COVID-19 recovery
The only MP to have publicly revealed to have tested positive for COVID-19 and subsequently recovered has joined the front lines pitching in at a long-term care home in Brampton, Ont. Liberal MP Kamal Khera, who is a registered nurse, announced she was joining the front lines of the health crisis in March, but before she […]
Ottawa’s legal costs: from bad secrets to better government
OTTAWA—During the last week in January, Parliament worked a little better for Canadians, uncovering what Ottawa has been increasingly hiding. I am talking about the ritual of responses to Members’ written questions known as Questions on the Order Paper. Some questions were answered with a brief sentence, others with boxes of documents. But both sides of […]
Senate should be ‘very careful’ of widespread rule changes and ‘unintended consequences,’ says retiring Sen. Day
After nearly two decades in the Upper Chamber, Joseph Day, the outgoing Senate Liberal-turned-Progressive Senate Group leader, said he feels he still has unfinished business. “There’s a lot of things that you want to make sure [to] get in place so that you’re confident that the decisions taken will be in the best interest of […]
Christmas in Ortona was ‘just another day’
OTTAWA—At this time of year, one of my favourite songs is about the “Christmas Truce” of the First World War. Called Christmas in the Trenches, one of the most evocative versions is by Canadian singer John McDermott. In December 1914, there was a pause in the fighting, and the English and German soldiers approached one […]
CPP benefits clawed back on Forces’ pensions, says Labelle
Veterans regret to inform that during the past federal election campaign, not one leader included their CPP benefit clawback issue in their election campaign platform. Their Canadian Forces Superannuation Act engagement contract has been breached. The sacred trust obligation promise made to our Canadian Forces personnel by prime minister Sir Robert Borden is no longer […]
Lest we forget
I am one of “those people” seen by Don Cherry. As an immigrant to Canada from the 1960s, I dutifully donned a poppy. A talk from a mayor at a memorial service in the Netherlands impacted my perspective. It was a lament on “lest we forget,” as he identified current atrocities across the globe. After […]
Don Cherry’s comments were wrong, but not on every front
OTTAWA—There is no question that hockey commentator Don Cherry’s controversial remarks and subsequent firing proved polemic well beyond the normal reach of the Hockey Night in Canada audience. But the Cherry saga was perhaps at its most divisive among the very veterans community the aging sportscaster was purporting to defend. The reason for this is […]
Canadian Armed Forces members deserve easier access to health care
Members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) voluntarily and selflessly dedicate their careers to keeping our country safe while putting their bodies through tremendously high physical stresses. Unsurprisingly, musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries are one of the most common occupational risks in the military population. In fact, MSK conditions are responsible for 42 per cent of career-ending […]
Don Cherry needs to own up to his mistake, apologize
OTTAWA—Don Cherry, in some quarters a Canadian icon, is now gone from Coach’s Corner on Hockey Night in Canada. The mouth that roared fell on Remembrance Day after nearly four decades on air. He took himself out by making ill-considered and inappropriate comments about people not wearing poppies. Comments that dripped with racism. Since his […]
