Aug 17 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — It started as a simple two-tonne boulder, a nondescript hunk of rock plucked from the lonely Afghan wilderness and hung with a few plaques, but through almost a dozen years of war and heartbreak it has morphed into a major symbol of national sacrifice. The cenotaph re-dedicated Saturday in a large public ceremony in Ottawa […]
Aug 8 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — Military leaders from the U.S. and Canada have come to an agreement on the nuts and bolts retooling of Norad, CBC News has learned. It is a milestone that could end up pitting the next government in Ottawa against both the Trump administration and perhaps even northern Indigenous communities at home. Now over six decades […]
Aug 8 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — A senior official in the office of Canada’s military ombudsman, who was accused of not being sympathetic and accommodating enough to a staff member who committed suicide in 2017, has won a legal victory before the Federal Court. Melaine Chapman, the director of investigations for the watchdog, was accused in an internal Department of National […]
Aug 2 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — Members of the Canadian military and the Department of National Defence have been given a not-so-subtle reminder about the optics of attending air shows when the federal government is trying to buy new jet fighters. A memo — known as a public affairs guidance — was issued Friday reminding everyone of the dos and don’ts […]
Jul 30 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — The U.S. Air Force F-35 demonstration team will visit Ottawa in September on the eve of this fall’s federal election — just as the competition to replace Canada’s aging CF-18s starts heating up. The stealth fighter is one of four warplanes in the $19 billion contest, which was formally launched with a request for proposals […]
Jun 25 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — A battlefield cenotaph that became a focus of hurt and outrage for families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan will be re-dedicated in a public ceremony this summer, CBC News has learned. The rebuilt memorial, which stood outside the Canadian headquarters in Kandahar throughout the war, was unveiled initially in a private service west of downtown […]
Jun 22 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — By the standards of most people, what’s going on this week and over the next few months in the back rooms of the navy, and at Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax, is pretty boring. Civilian bureaucrats and military planners call it “requirements reconciliation.” And even hardened military observers and procurement geeks will have a tough time […]
Jun 17 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — A Senate investigation of the failed prosecution of Vice-Admiral Mark Norman was given a short lease on life Monday as its defence committee voted to produce a report on the scandal later this summer, if it’s given permission to sit that long. The chances of that happening appeared slim. Holding hearings past this week’s planned […]
Jun 17 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — The telephone call that changed Mohammad Amin’s life came in the summer of 2005, while he was working as a supervisor at a manufacturing plant in Toronto. An Afghan immigrant, he’d lived a quiet, peaceful life and was looking to get married and settle down. But Amin also had skills and expertise that were in […]
Jun 16 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — Conservative senators are throwing in the towel over a planned investigation into the failed prosecution of Vice-Admiral Mark Norman. The deputy chair, Senator Jean-Guy Dagenais, signalled in an email on Sunday that he intends to withdraw his motion and ask instead for a public meeting of the National Security and Defence committee to formally discuss […]
Jun 13 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — Craig Dalton, Canada’s new veterans ombudsman, says he fears his office has lost the trust and respect of some former soldiers and their families. He’s calling for an independent review of his mandate — one that would include the possibility of having him report independently and directly to Parliament, instead of the veterans minister.
Jun 8 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — If one thing became clear during the prime minister’s three-day overseas trip, it is that Justin Trudeau has much to learn from French President Emmanuel Macron and vice versa. As the torch-bearers for liberal, progressive democratic ideals, the two are often on the same page on issues such as gender equality and climate change. Given […]
May 29 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — A federal tender to replace Canada’s fighter jet will be formally issued by mid-July, says Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan. Sajjan told a major defence industry trade show on Wednesday that the government hopes to have bids from aerospace contractors to review by the winter of 2020. The Liberal government had been on track to present […]
May 24 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — The Department of National Defence says it has come up with a plan to allow families of fallen soldiers and veterans access to the Kandahar war memorial at the country’s top military headquarters in the Ottawa area. Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance issued a long, written apology on Friday and accepted full […]
May 22 2019 — Murray Brewster — CBC — A number of families who lost loved ones in Afghanistan say they feel betrayed by a decision made by bureaucrats at the Department of National Defence to privately dedicate a memorial last week containing the Kandahar battlefield cenotaph. The marble and granite cenotaph structure, which stood outside of the Canadian task force headquarters throughout the […]