As Mike Duffy's senatorial career implosion peaked this week, I was left wondering if all was really as it appeared, or if something far more complex was taking place. Turns out, I wasn't the only one: Rex Murphy was thinking along the same lines. We are wondering if...
(14) Comments | Posted November 29, 2012 | 4:56 PM
Every year, we put on a poppy, read a few feel-good stories about the surviving Second World War veterans, and maybe observe a moment of silence on the 11th. But the last notes of Reveille have barely faded before carols are playing. Veterans' news stories disappear almost immediately and are...
(0) Comments | Posted November 23, 2012 | 1:35 PM
The brother of a veteran suing Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) for millions says his personal records were accessed by department staff without his permission.
Retired Corporal Dennis Manuge is the driving force behind the SISIP class action lawsuit over pension clawbacks. The suit is now under...
(9) Comments | Posted November 16, 2012 | 8:07 AM
The term privacy violation has been in the news so much that most of us tune it out. Really, who cares that some employee looked at someone's file somewhere? Even if it's wrong, isn't that simply human nature, to be curious? Even if it was malicious, why should everyone care?...
(21) Comments | Posted November 12, 2012 | 11:00 PM
(30) Comments | Posted November 10, 2012 | 8:41 AM
Why should we care what happens to our veterans?
If you ask that question, you will likely be the recipient of a good telling-off by those who think anyone who serves is a hero. However, some feel that blind hero-worship is both off-putting and non-responsive. Perhaps some are heroes, but...
(0) Comments | Posted November 6, 2012 | 7:53 AM
I'd like to report that Day 1 of Veterans Among Us was a success. Participation was a little low -- this is only the second year of the campaign -- but those veterans who did wear their medals on November 1 had a good day. They got a...
(5) Comments | Posted October 31, 2012 | 12:12 PM
With all the veterans Canada has, you wouldn't think we need an awareness campaign. There are almost a million current and former members of the Canadian Forces and RCMP; one in 35 Canadians has served our national interests. Which means that few Canadians don't know someone who has...
(4) Comments | Posted June 16, 2012 | 10:10 PM
When the maternity leave was up, we faced a common problem. About 80 per cent of my full-time wages would have to be spent on daycare if we both worked. But my wife's income was significantly higher than mine, and my wife was going stir-crazy after 12 months being mostly...
(10) Comments | Posted June 4, 2012 | 3:19 PM
I've noticed that there has been a subtle shift in the language of politics in Canada. Cabinet ministers used to be called "the Minister responsible for..." That has been supplanted with "Minister of..." Admittedly, the longer version doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, but it does serve a critical purpose:...
(40) Comments | Posted May 12, 2012 | 1:21 AM
Veterans often cite the irony that those who fight and defend freedom experience it the least.
Take the case of Cpl. Steve Stoesz.
Last week, Cpl. Stoesz spoke out about National Defence's planned cuts to military health care. DND plans to cut 25 jobs from a special unit...
(4) Comments | Posted April 23, 2012 | 11:21 AM
Every Sunday in April, Eastlink T.V. subscribers in the Maritimes will have the chance to view Broken Soldiers, a documentary about the ongoing battles between Canada's veterans and the department charged with their care. In the film, Dale Stevens caught up with Fabien Melanson as he was starving himself at...
(3) Comments | Posted April 17, 2012 | 5:16 PM
You can judge the quality of a person by their actions rather than their words.
That truism is so often repeated that we tend to forget its value. But whenever we begin to neglect that observation, someone comes along to remind us just how significant that statement is.
Take, as...
(3) Comments | Posted March 27, 2012 | 12:01 PM
Stephen Harper is getting ready to slash 10 per cent of Veterans' Affairs' budget but he says veterans will be unaffected. That doesn't make sense, unless you know government has the 2010 National Client Survey in its planning pocket. It says that veterans are very pleased...

(34) Comments | Posted May 19, 2013 | 10:24 PM