National Defence

Inquiries into 50 military suicides remain incomplete

Topics: 
National Defence, Mental health injuries
Rating: 
0

David Pugliese – May 9, 2013

The Canadian Forces still has not completed inquiries into 50 suicides among military members, some from as far back as five years ago. The military has boards of inquiries under way into the 50 deaths, including four from 2008 and seven from 2009.

Seven boards are still underway for suicides in 2010 and 20 for 2011. The 2011 inquiries include the suicide of corporals in Ottawa and Petawawa. A board of inquiry (BOI) into the suicide of another corporal at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa in December is one of 12 now under way for 2012.

Defence officials dodged F-35 questions before election

Topics: 
National Defence, Message control or 'spin'
Rating: 
3

Lee Berthiaume – December 1, 2012

In the lead-up to last year’s federal election, Defence Department officials intentionally dodged repeated requests from Parliament’s budgetary watchdog to sit down and discuss the true cost of the F-35 stealth fighter program.

Newly released internal emails show that’s because they were awaiting approval from the top echelons of government to meet with Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page and his staff — approval that never materialized.

Dallaire decries cluster-bomb bill

Topics: 
Foreign Affairs, National Defence, Defence industry
Rating: 
3

Chris Cobb – December 6, 2012

Controversial legislation that will commit Canada to an international treaty banning deadly cluster munitions is flawed and puts members of Canada’s military in a “horrific moral and ethical dilemma” former army general Senator Roméo Dallaire said Thursday.

Bill S-10 passed unchanged through the Conservative-controlled Senate Wednesday but Dallaire and other critics say the legislation is compromised and against the spirit of the treaty that Canada helped negotiate and signed four years ago this month.

Legal settlements cost Ottawa $500 million

Topics: 
Justice Department, RCMP, HRDC, National Defence, Transport Canada
Rating: 
3

Paul McLeod – October 31, 2012

The federal govern­ment paid out more than $500 million in legal settlements in the last fiscal year, according to new public accounts data.

The largest payout in the 2011-12 fiscal year was $448 million to settle 3,929 abuse claims through Aboriginal Af­fairs and Northern Development Canada. That’s an average of $114,000 per settlement.

Canada's military brought to book: Worthington

Topics: 
National Defence, Conflict of interest
Rating: 
0

Peter Worthington – October 13, 2012

In a curious way, Canada’s Defence Department is responsible for retired Col. Michel Drapeau writing two massive books on the military justice system that stand as the most significant works of their kind ever printed in this country.

Co-authored by Justice Gilles Letourneau of the Federal Court and Court Martial Appeal Board, their first book, Canada’s Military Law Annotated is 1,787 pages long, and their new one, Military Justice in Action is 1,760 page long with an index of about 100 additional pages.

Military dismisses ombudsman’s findings on PTSD

Topics: 
National Defence, PTSD, Veterans Affairs
Rating: 
0

David Pugliese – September 23, 2012

The Canadian Forces senior leadership has dismissed the findings of military watchdog Pierre Daigle that two former soldiers, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders, were unfairly treated by officers and Defence Department managers.

The military is claiming that Daigle, the Canadian Forces ombudsman, has no jurisdiction to even investigate such cases, according to documents obtained by the Citizen.

DND tells staff to withhold even non-sensitive information

Topics: 
National Defence, Message control or 'spin'
Rating: 
0

David Pugliese – September 20, 2012

A Citizen article about the Defence Department’s handling of tax dollars has prompted a crackdown on the type of information DND and the Canadian Forces releases to the public, according to newly released documents.

The April 11, 2011 article came in the middle of the federal election campaign. It caused embarrassment to the department and the Conservative government and prompted an unsuccessful hunt for the source of the documents, military officials privately acknowledge.

Lead investigator says Langridge suicide report was cut and censored

Topics: 
National Defence, Watchdogs, Mental health injuries
Rating: 
4
Matthew Ritco

Chris Cobb – September 14, 2012

Superiors of the lead military investigator in the Stuart Langridge suicide case slashed and censored their subordinate’s final summary of the case, a shocked federal inquiry heard Thursday.

Military Police Complaints Commission lawyer Mark Freiman dropped the bombshell towards the end of a day of dramatic testimony by Sgt. Matthew Ritco, the investigator chosen to handle the Langridge case the day the Afghanistan war veteran hanged himself in March 2008.

F-35 contract: who is running the show?

Topics: 
National Defence, Procurement process, Defence industry
Rating: 
0

CBC News – June 7, 2012

A behind the scenes look at the relationship between the defence department and some big lobby firms, and how that could have an impact on multi-billion dollar contracts like the F-35s.

Critics claim that defence procurement is increasingly dictated by the military, influenced by heavy lobbying by defence contractors, with the result that politicians are writing the cheques but are no longer properly in control of what the money is used for.

Canada criticized for its position on cluster munitions

Topics: 
Foreign Affairs, National Defence, Defence industry
Rating: 
0

Chris Cobb – June 3, 2012

In a rare public attack, a former Australian prime minister has lashed out at Canada for what he says is a lack of commitment to an international treaty to ban deadly cluster munitions.

Long-serving Australian PM Malcolm Fraser, in a statement released to the Ottawa Citizen, accuses the Conservative government of departing from Canada's traditional international leadership.

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