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 […]
Riding off into the sunset: two Tory Senators retire
Two Conservative Senators officially retired this month, though their last days in the Upper Chamber were during the heated final days of the 42nd Parliament. New Brunswick lawyer-turned-Senator Paul McIntyre retired on Nov. 2 after a decade in the Senate, while B.C. Senator Richard Neufeld’s last day was Nov. 6. He had spent seven years […]
The Hill remembers: in 43rd Parliament, 19 MPs and Senators have served in the military
Remembrance Day will hold a special significance for 19 Parliamentarians who have previously served in the Canadian Armed Forces. In Ottawa, to mark the end of fighting on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, the annual Remembrance Day ceremony will take place on Nov. 11 at the National […]
A Remembrance Day tribute
OTTAWA—Each November, I go back to Québec City, where my mother, her mother, and grandmother were raised and are now buried, to read the “Honour Roll” of the dead of the wars at the Anglican Cathedral, in Le Vieux Québec. While the English community in Québec City only numbers 5,000 people, the cathedral is filled […]
Which federal party will stand up for veterans in this election campaign?
As the federal election day approaches, veterans will be vitally interested in the positions to be adopted by the government and the opposition parties to remedy the longstanding injustice and inequity impacting Canada’s disabled veterans and their families. It remains our position that there is much to do in improving veterans’ legislation in order to […]
Are politicians deceiving taxpayers about the generous approach to veteran benefits?
With great fanfare, the Trudeau government announced a new version of veteran benefits stylishly labelled “Pension for Life.” Presumably this was a “promise kept” as Justin Trudeau’s 2015 election campaign zeroed in on veterans’ anger over the penny-pinching, no-pension “New Veteran Charter,” and he promised a return to the original Pension Act established that provided […]
Enforce the Veterans Hiring Act, says MP McCauley as committee finds former soldiers still underhired
Despite laws in place to ensure that military veterans get the first crack at federal public service jobs, a recent House committee report says there’s a lack of recognition by managers in the value of hiring vets and a need for clear targets to implement the Veterans Hiring Act, with a Conservative MP calling the federal […]
Broken promises to veterans will lead to lost votes for Trudeau, says reader
Prime Minister Trudeau, you have broken many election promises. You said: “If I have earned the right to serve this country as your prime minister, no veterans will be forced to fight their government for the support and compensation they have earned.” Prime Minister Trudeau, Liberal MPs voted “yes” on the successful count of 2010’s […]
