Saluting Graduating Soldiers

Do you think that the Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P., has improved the relationship between the

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FiveParadox

Governor General
Dec 20, 2005
5,875
43
48
Vancouver, BC
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P., the Member for Calgary Southwest and the Prime Minister of Canada, today visited the Canadian Forces Base in Wainwright, in the Province of Alberta. The Prime Minister attended in the capacity of a Reviewing Officer for members of the Canadian Forces graduating from the Basic Infantry Qualification Course.

Mr. Harper proceeded to tour the base, which has been operating for over sixty years, and trains more than two thousand soldiers per year. The Prime Minister concluded his tour at the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre, which endeavours to create the most effective and realistic weapons effect simulations to prepare entire groups of soldiers for missions and circumstances overseas.

The Web site for the [color=blue said:
Office of the Prime Minister of Canada[/color]]"As many former graduates will tell you, serving one’s country is an honour, especially when this country has such a proud and rich history as Canada has," said Prime Minister Harper. "As you stand up for Canada, rest assured my government will stand up for you."

Click here to read the entire article in English.
Cliquetez içi pour lire l'article entier en français.
:arrow: My Opinion

I am proud to see Mr. Harper putting such emphasis on the Canadian Forces, in terms of their support from Canadians and the hard work they do. I have been quite surprised at the extreme focus on the Forces, which has been, in my opinion, a signature feature of this current Government of Canada — far more than I had seen from the previous Government of Canada in more recent years. For that, they should be commended. However, I would be happier with this Government if the Conservative Party of Canada would consider opening up the communication between the Government and the citizens, through our representatives in the House of Commons.

:?: Sources
1. Click here for the Web site of the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada.

:!: Revision : (1) Corrected a formatting error.
 

Sassylassie

House Member
Jan 31, 2006
2,976
7
38
Wow great post Five, I hope he keeps his support strong over the long term and not do an about face if public opinion turns against the Military.
 

zoofer

Council Member
Dec 31, 2005
1,274
2
38
Did Trudeau or Cretien ever tour a base? They used them as airline stops but do not recall a regular tour.
Good for Harper.
 

FiveParadox

Governor General
Dec 20, 2005
5,875
43
48
Vancouver, BC
I wouldn't know, zoofer — I wasn't quite aware of the more government-related issues in Canada during the reigns of either the late Right Honourable Pierre Trudeau, or the Right Honourable Jean Chrétien, P.C.; they were sort of "before my [mature] time," if you will.

Then again, once I started to become aware of "the issues", I don't think I minded; I have seen Governors General of Canada tour bases across the country, so I thought that it sort of compensated for a lack of visits from the Prime Ministers of Canada.
 

Sassylassie

House Member
Jan 31, 2006
2,976
7
38
Chretien wouldn't fly in the Sea Kings if my memory serves me correctly? Then again nor would I!
 

Doryman

Electoral Member
Nov 30, 2005
435
2
18
St. John's
Jersay said:
Good for Harper, hopefully that continues with funding for the military when we need it. We know what kind of slashers Cons can be.


Probably won't slash funds for the Military though. Cons are more likely to suspend funding for the Transexual Differently Abled Immigrant Mimes Association or some other such nonsense... :wink:

I'm glad to see that we actually have a PM who has contact with CF members as well, instead of just mouthing the words. I have to say, I never voted for Harper, but I'm starting to kind of like the guy... And now that I've said that, he's bound to do something to make me hate him soon. Oh Canadian politics!
 

Finder

House Member
Dec 18, 2005
3,786
0
36
Toronto
www.mytimenow.net
Though I believe both the people and the government should respect the military, in no way does this mean the people nor the government have to play gate the military by going to annual reviews, parades and other such functions. In Canada unlike the USA, our head of State is not our democratically elected leader as our head is a figure head which in deed like the President of the USA has a closer roll with the military as Commander and chief, more less. Our head of government and by default our democratic leader with the real power is devoted to governmental needs to the people and not to the military. If PM Harper wishes to think of himself like an Commander and chief and play General that’s his call to make but truly he is not and unless you becomes the Governor General one day he will never hold such a post.

The GG does her job and the PM is supposed to do his. That’s how I see it anyways, but *shrugs* we do have a broken system so, I could be wrong maybe the people would like us to pretend the PM is the GG.
 

Johnny Utah

Council Member
Mar 11, 2006
1,434
1
38
Watching the News you could see Prime Minister Harper's visit meant alot to the Soldiers who were there. I'm not sure what percentage of the Military supports Harper, any ideas?
 

FiveParadox

Governor General
Dec 20, 2005
5,875
43
48
Vancouver, BC
There is a difference between supporting a Prime Minister, and voting for his or her party. While at the moment I support the Prime Minister, in terms of the fact that I don't think the Government warrants defeat at this time, I would not vote for a Conservative candidate if an election were to be precipitated now. Support and votes are quite a separate thing.

Having said that, it would be a reasonable assumption that many members of the Canadian Forces support the current Government of Canada, at least in terms of its treatment of the Forces.
 

Finder

House Member
Dec 18, 2005
3,786
0
36
Toronto
www.mytimenow.net
Johnny Utah, I am sure it's high... But I stand by my point, Harper is not commander and chief of the Canadian armed forces, thus has no commitment to them, as Bush would to his troops.

But I do not fault Harper for doing it, I just state that any PM in the past which didn't seem to be huggy with the troops, that it wasn't his/her job to be.
 

FiveParadox

Governor General
Dec 20, 2005
5,875
43
48
Vancouver, BC
Agreed, Finder.

Mr. Harper is not the Commander-in-Chief in and over Canada; rather, that position is taken by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D.; I commend the Prime Minister for his attachment to the Canadian Forces — but I, too, would stress that it is not the responsibility of the head of government to do so.
 

Finder

House Member
Dec 18, 2005
3,786
0
36
Toronto
www.mytimenow.net
Paradox, the GG has a military posistion thus in a sence she/he is somewhat bound to be closer to the military then the head of government. I think people honestly get confused by the differences between the Canadian government and the american and do not understand the PM is not the same as the American president. Our version of the president would be the GG. But we live in a totally different system with different roles and traditions.

In fact government in the history of the westminster system has not always had a good relationship with the military as it has been tradition that parliment fixes the military budget(taxes) thus nurfing in a sence the ability for the king/queen to go into really bad wars.
 

FiveParadox

Governor General
Dec 20, 2005
5,875
43
48
Vancouver, BC
Mme. Jean and the Canadian Forces

From what I have seen on CPAC and elsewhere, a majority of members of the Canadian Forces seem quite honoured when they are inspected by Her Excellency. I would think that this is not isolated to the events on television, and rather extends somewhat through the rest of the Forces, too — where a member of the Forces may be in favour of, or opposed to the party of the Prime Minister, if he does in fact inspect the troops, such is not often the case with the Commander-in-Chief in and over Canada.
 

thecdn

Electoral Member
Apr 12, 2006
310
0
16
North Lauderdale, FL
Finder said:
Johnny Utah, I am sure it's high... But I stand by my point, Harper is not commander and chief of the Canadian armed forces, thus has no commitment to them, as Bush would to his troops.

But I do not fault Harper for doing it, I just state that any PM in the past which didn't seem to be huggy with the troops, that it wasn't his/her job to be.

I was in the military (reg & reserve) for 16 years, and commanded my reserve unit before I moved to the states, but I really dislike the monarchy and all the bs associated with it.

To state that the GG is the comd-in-chief is technically correct but practically crap. The PM runs the country, for good or bad. That little thing called democracy means we don't have to listen to a monarch or his/her representatives.

All they do is waste a lot of money and create a lot of bs photo ops and dog and pony shows. I would be happy if the GG and the LtG's were abolished tomorrow and we could get back to reality and stop worrying who is or isn't technically the comd-in-chief. The PM better act likes he's responsible for the troops because he's the one who orders them into harms way, not the GG.
 

Finder

House Member
Dec 18, 2005
3,786
0
36
Toronto
www.mytimenow.net
thecdn, I am a Democratic Republican so I couldn't agree with you more, plus I was in cadets and then the army myself. I think the system should be changed but until that happens I do not fault PM's for acting like PM's and GG's for acting like GG's.
 

FiveParadox

Governor General
Dec 20, 2005
5,875
43
48
Vancouver, BC
Governors General

I think it's a very good thing to have Governors General of Canada and the Lieutenant Governors of the Provinces playing active roles in the day-to-day lives of Canadians. Her Excellency, for example, has had many opportunities to make stunning speeches and appearances (she has been, in my opinion, one of the best Governors General in our history), and her messages have been inspiring to Canadians — her active stance in attempting to end the divide between English and French Canada is something to be in awe of.

I would argue that our Governor General is doing more for national unity than this current Prime Minister could, or would be willing to.
 

Finder

House Member
Dec 18, 2005
3,786
0
36
Toronto
www.mytimenow.net
Paradox you know I'm not a fan of how we currently.... (chose) the GG , however I'd love to see the day when this is an elected psosition of some sort. Then the GG can actually get some real work done and have some accountability to the people.
 

FiveParadox

Governor General
Dec 20, 2005
5,875
43
48
Vancouver, BC
Finder, I don't think we should elect our Governor General of Canada — the nature of the office demands an impartial arbiter. If we were to begin electing the Governor General, then he or she might decide that he or she now has some sort of mandate to start using his or her reserved powers, even where no emergency or exigent circumstances are present. Besides, with an unelected official, with a mandate to get to know the people, he or she can visit people from around the country without causing division among Canadians (unlike a partisan head of state).

I'm not faulting the Prime Minister, or any of his predecessors, for a failure to promote Canadian culture and unity among the people — we have seen in the United States that their President doesn't have the time nor the will to do so, and here in Canada, with an unelected representative of our head of state, we can enjoy the benefits from that arrangement. Again, I'm not faulting the Prime Minister — it's his job to govern, not to inspire; he would be too busy, and that is understandable, it's a demanding position.