RE: Breaking News:4 Canad
Ugh, why is it that people on these forums seem to think they know everything?:
And why isn't our flag flying at half mast over the Parliment buildings in Ottawa??
Because the Conservatives decided they aren't going to put the flag at half mast anymore when a soldiers dies. I saw it on CBC Newsworld this morning.
As a soldier, this policy by the conservatives have kind of put me off, but November 11 is the day that Canadians remember dead peacekeepers, WW1 WW2 and Korean war veterans. So I guess Afghanistan should be on the list.
Still kind of sad though when the flag is lowered on other occasions but when a soldier dies, the flag is not lowered.
What the Conservatives has done is really ticking me off. It makes me think that they don't have any respect for our military.
The flag was
NEVER suppose to fly at half-mast when a soldier is killed. The Liberal party, in all their ignorance, broke a tradition dating back over
50 YEARS. The reasons that flags do not fly at half mast for soldiers killed in action are as follows:
1. If excessive casualties are taken over a sustained period, the Maple Leaf would perpetually be at half mast. Flying a flag at half mast for an extended period is a sign of disrespect.
2. A soldier, when killed, is said to have made the ultimate sacrifice for his/her nation, and as such as earned themselves a special place in our society. In Canada we fly a flag at half-mast for people, not paladins (i'm not talking about DnD with your nerd friends paladins either).
3. Following World War II, it was decided that when a soldier was killed, the tradition of not lowering the flags would continue, except at the following locations:
i. At their parent base (i.e. CFB Edmonton)
ii. At their parent unit (i.e. 3 PPCLI)
iii. At their home town (i.e. Vancouver, and this is option to the city)
This lowering of a is not so much a sign of someone dying and therefore the location showing their respect. It is an announcement to everything that one of their own has been killed. For example, when Robert Costall was killed, the only flags at CFB Edmonton that were flying at 1/2 mast were the Base Flag and 1 VP's flag, the rest, were at full-mast.
4. Contrary to popular belief, a flag is not flown at half-mast on a whim. There are specific rules governing the flying of a flag at half-mast. They are as follows:
The Canadian Flag may be flown at half-mast starting on the day of the death (or the day the news is broken), until the day of the funeral, but is not to exceed 5 days.
Considering that soldiers are more often than not killed overseas, the repatriation of their bodies often takes
MULTIPLE DAYS, and even more days following before the funeral. Considering this, it is impossible to accomodate both the repatriation process and the rules of flying a flag at half-mast. If you fly the flag longer, that is considered a sign of disrespect, something the Liberals did on a constant basis.
There you have it, why we don't flying flags at half-mast for dead soldiers. Bitch and moan all you want, but by doing so you prove your ignorance in regards to military tradition. I will say that I find it funny how you instantly blame the Conservatives, when in reality they're righting a wrong carried out by the ignorant and uncaring Liberal Government. Lastly, Jersay, i'm not sure what they're teaching rentals these days, but it's obviously not military etiquette. Might want to leaf through the QR and O's.
My two cents.
