...and People Still defend the Tories?

Cannuck

Time Out
Feb 2, 2006
30,245
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Injured soldier who testified about struggles given discharge notice | CTV News


An injured Canadian soldier who testified about his struggle for health benefits has been notified that he will be discharged in six months, despite assurances from Defence Minister Peter MacKay that he would suffer “no ramifications” for speaking out.
Vancouver-native Cpl. Glen Kirkland, who nearly died in Afghanistan five years ago when he was ambushed by the Taliban, said mere days after appearing before a parliamentary committee he received a notice in the mail of his impending discharge.

 

Cobalt_Kid

Council Member
Feb 3, 2007
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The Harper government in the past has made examples of people who've stood up to them such as Richard Colvin, who Peter MacKay also publicly attacked. This Cpl. has a lot of courage to speak out in such a repressive environment we have under the "conservatives".

Richard Colvin faces 'reprisal' for detainee testimony - The Globe and Mail

The Canadian diplomat who charged that Ottawa turned a blind eye to his warnings about torture of Afghan prisoners now says he's being punished by the Harper government for speaking out.

Richard Colvin's lawyer talks of this "reprisal" in a letter released today that says Ottawa is ignoring his requests for further legal aid funding as he prepares to appear before an inquiry investigating the handling of Afghan prisoners.

Mr. Colvin, who reignited the long-simmering Afghan detainee issue last fall, is entitled to government funding because he's a public servant.
 

Goober

Hall of Fame Member
Jan 23, 2009
24,691
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Moving
If some of you think this is just the Cons then ya best take yours heads out of your ***.
 

Cobalt_Kid

Council Member
Feb 3, 2007
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If some of you think this is just the Cons then ya best take yours heads out of your ***.

Unless there's been a military coup, then it's the conservative government calling the shots. And from what we've seen recently they love to micromanage any sort of situation that may make them look bad with no thoughts towards ethics.
 

lone wolf

Grossly Underrated
Nov 25, 2006
32,493
210
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In the bush near Sudbury
It's the Cons calling the shots today. It was the Libs before that ... and Cons before that ... and Libs before that ... and ... get the picture? Once you're of no more use to a Canadian government - no matter whose colours they hide behind - you're toast
 

L Gilbert

Winterized
Nov 30, 2006
23,738
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the-brights.net
Unless there's been a military coup, then it's the conservative government calling the shots. And from what we've seen recently they love to micromanage any sort of situation that may make them look bad with no thoughts towards ethics.
Exactly. That makes them no different than previous governments. And yet those dumb Canucks still insist on voting the same governments in. So because of Canadian politics, we are one of the world's standup comedians. :)
 

Zipperfish

House Member
Apr 12, 2013
3,688
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Vancouver
Actaually I shouldn't even say "the Consevatvies." It's more the current Conservatvie government, where there is a high premium placed on controlling the message.
 

Cobalt_Kid

Council Member
Feb 3, 2007
1,760
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They really aren't conservatives, they don't seem to give a damn about fiscal responsibility and if anything are building a much more powerful central government controlled almost entirely from within the PMO.

Even respected (real)conservatives like MP Brent Rathgeber are claiming they're being treated like "trained seals" by un-elected Harper appointees within the PMO.
 

Cobalt_Kid

Council Member
Feb 3, 2007
1,760
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How is this honoring a wounded vet?

Glen Kirkland, Canadian Soldier, Was Allegedly Urged To Tone Down Testimony, Threatened

Cpl. Glen Kirkland, who was severely wounded in Afghanistan five years ago during a Taliban ambush, said last week that he was told to "not speak about certain things" when he testified before the House of Commons defence committee.

In an interview with CTV News, Kirkland claimed that he was even threatened with a dishonourable discharge.

Liberal defence critic John McKay says that's tantamount to trying to intimidate a witness, and he's put forward a motion calling on the committee to inform the Commons of what's been going on.

What happened is alarming, and an attempt to "shape" testimony before Parliament is "as serious as lying to a committee," said McKay.

Canadian Forces don't belong to the government to do with as it wishes, it's a force created to serve the people of Canada through our "elected" Parliament. I wouldn't be surprised at all if this wasn't another case of Harper confusing himself with the US president and seeing himself as Commander-in-Chief.

We need to hear what's going on with our military personnel so they can do a better job to protect us and so we can do a better job in caring for them when they're permanently disabled while in service.

The motion was initially tabled on Monday, but Conservatives on the committee refused to grant the unanimous consent required to deal with it before time ran out and MPs had to leave to vote.

McKay said he'll try to get the motion considered again when the defence committee meets Wednesday to hear testimony on the mission in Afghanistan.

Conservative MPs are of course blocking the motion, which in fact means that Harper is blocking this. We know from MPs like Brent Rathgeber that there is no independence within the conservative caucus and MPs are nothing more than "trained seals" to jump through Harper's hoops.
 

Palindrome

Nominee Member
May 14, 2013
93
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They really aren't conservatives, they don't seem to give a damn about fiscal responsibility and if anything are building a much more powerful central government controlled almost entirely from within the PMO.

I think that's generally true of governments and parties that call themselves conservative nowadays. Since the Reagan/Thatcher/Mulroney axis, actually. They don't conserve anything: they're funnels of their nation's wealth into offshore accounts. And that, sooner than later, necessitates putting the plebes in their place.
 

Cannuck

Time Out
Feb 2, 2006
30,245
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Alberta
I think that's generally true of governments and parties that call themselves conservative nowadays. Since the Reagan/Thatcher/Mulroney axis, actually. They don't conserve anything: they're funnels of their nation's wealth into offshore accounts. And that, sooner than later, necessitates putting the plebes in their place.

Government spending has increased under every Republican administration since (at the very least) WWII and in Canada, under every Conservative government since Diefenbaker.
 

captain morgan

Hall of Fame Member
Mar 28, 2009
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A Mouse Once Bit My Sister
Government spending has increased under every Republican administration since (at the very least) WWII and in Canada, under every Conservative government since Diefenbaker.


... And under every Democrat/Liberal gvt as well... This is what happens when the economy and population grows - spending increases as a result.
 

damngrumpy

Executive Branch Member
Mar 16, 2005
9,949
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kelowna bc
Canadian soldiers have been shafted since the government imposed the Ross Rifle on
them. Our soldiers threw them away and picked up British Enfields.
The governments of the day have always screwed the boys when they came home. I do
think this government is possibly more repugnant, because the promised to behave in a
different manner. Of course the promised more transparency and that didn't happen either.
Harper is as much to blame as any Canadian government. In the final analyses is he worse?
that is really hard to say, there have been some very nasty governments in this area in the
past.