The Liberals came short in supporting veterans and their families, and the harper regime has refined this failure into something you would attribute to the most heartless, opportunistic villain in films.
The harper government loves dead soldiers. They don’t mind talking about the sacrifice of living ones either, but only in the vaguest, most euphemistic of terms
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The Ottawa Citizen doesn’t help as it chooses to misinterpret the famous Flanders Field poem:
“If ye break faith with us who die,” wrote Lt.-Col. John McCrae, “We shall not sleep.”
Starting today and continuing well into the next decade, the Citizen will keep this ancient faith through the modern channel of social media. Beginning at 11 minutes after 11 a.m. today, the Twitter account “WeAreTheDead” will begin reciting the names of Canada’s war dead, one each hour of every day...Ottawa Citizen managing editor Andrew Potter says inspiration for the silent memorial comes from McCrae’s call to remember forever those who fought for us, not just on Nov. 11.
Well, that’s not at all what the poem says -
Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you, from failing hands, we throw
The torch: be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields
In the poem, the dead aren’t asking us to keep faith by remembering them, but to keep faith by continuing the fight against the foe. What would McCrae have considered the foe? Most likely anyone or anything that threatened our country, our way of life, our values here and abroad.
So much easier to praise the dead, though. So much safer. Controlled grieving with no big cost.
The harper government takes this to near necromaniac dimensions as it romanticises dead soldiers.
Today, the Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, announced up to $28,715 in federal government support for a project in North York, Ontario to honour Veterans and those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Minister Blaney was joined by Mark Adler, Member of Parliament for York Centre. This funding, provided through the Community War Memorial program, will go to support the construction of the new Jewish War Veterans of Canada Memorial.
How nice. Another memorial to dead soldiers. Jewish ones, this time. Nearly 29 million dollars of love.
"It is gratifying to know that younger generations have a special place like the Jewish War Veterans of Canada Memorial to reflect on our country's proud military history."
Reflecting on Canada’s military history is pretty high with harper’s reshaping of the Canadian psyche. Reflect on it, but only at a safe, sterile distance. No journalists at the re-patriation of the dead, no talk about injuries, no embarrassing photo shoots with seriously maimed soldiers.
Just the glory of war, the glorious sacrifice, the super cool uniforms, gear, and vehicles. And lots of monuments and gestures as backdrops and to give the illusion that the government actually cares about vets.
...Through the Community War Memorial Program, our Government is fulfilling its commitment to further commemorate the courage and sacrifices of our Veterans and members of our armed forces by bringing individuals, groups and businesses together to build new cenotaphs and monuments.
Because cenotaphs and monuments are what veterans need right now, what they are pleading for. Oh, and virtual remembrances because that virtual world of the Internet is so, so much more intimate and our veterans really need to be included in social networking.
Every couple of seconds, a vibrant red poppy blooms in a virtual field of an interactive website, as words of hope, gratitude and pride flood in from across Canada. Veterans Affairs Canada has set up a website, coinciding with Veteran's Week, to let individuals share their messages for veterans ahead of Remembrance Day.
Not that I think monuments and interactive websites with poppy fields have no value and aren’t appreciated by veterans and their families, but when our government offers these to create the illusion that something is actually being done to make the lives of veterans better and to pass on that torch they suffered or died for, that’s obscene.
The obscenity of it hit particularly hard this autumn as cuts to Veterans’ Affairs were announced. To really shove that precious torch into filth, the harper government used slimy tactics to avoid one of our most important principles in a democracy: transparency.
After being forced to modify a committee’s agenda to include explaining the cuts, the harper government found a way to hold the meetings behind closed doors, preventing anyone on the committee from talking about what they discussed.
When the public was allowed back into the committee room at a Thursday meeting, the discussion had returned to the topic of commemorative gestures. What went on while the committee was in camera is a secret but it is apparent that the Conservatives used their majority to refocus the discussion on their preferred topic.
Sure. Commemorative gestures is something the CONs would rather spend their time and our money on than actually helping those living veterans and their families who sacrificed so much for others.
The CONs are outraged about vandalism done to war memorials.
"I was appalled and saddened when I heard of the vandalism of the war memorial at Malvern Collegiate," Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney said in a statement. "Our cenotaphs and monuments are powerful reminders of the sacrifices that generations of Canadians have made for the peace and freedom we enjoy today." Blaney said he was backing a private member's bill that would impose stiffer penalties against those who vandalize property, cenotaphs and war memorials that honour Canadians who died as a consequence of war.
You know what else are reminders of their sacrifices, Blaney? Maimed and traumatized soldiers, devastated family members, all still alive and in need.
The government fails to acknowledge the needs of veterans or to show much willingness to treat them fairly, honourably, and decently upon their return from serving in whatever hell they were sent to.
We often hear that soldiers never complain, as though that’s a virtue which likely discourages them from speaking out. The treatment of veterans has become so appalling however, that they are becoming more vocal, more angry as well they should.
Many veterans who were injured in the Afghan conflict, fighting for a war they believed in, returned home to discover that the disability payments they'll receive are nothing like what vets of other conflicts have enjoyed. Even those who have returned unscathed are angry that their military retirement pensions are now being taxed, clawed back and terminated when they reach age 65. And then there are those who are concerned that planned cuts to the budget at Veterans Affairs Canada are only going to worsen the problem.
Many blame the New Veterans Charter for starting the trouble. The Charter came into effect in 2006 and created a pension system that some vets have called "a national disgrace."
So what should be done to honour our living veterans and keep faith with the dead ones?
“As a nation, we have the obligation to take care of the men and women that were put in harm's way to protect our rights and freedoms,” Guy Parent (, the veterans’ ombudsman ) wrote in an open letter to Canadians on Wednesday. “Ensuring that their needs are met is the nation's greatest and most meaningful expression of gratitude.”
Canadian Veterans Advocacy president Michael Blais speaks at a rally protesting the cuts to Veterans Affairs on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011.
We should also praise and encourage those veterans and soldiers who have the courage to speak up, to bring to light the poor treatment of soldiers and veterans. People like Pat Stogran and Romeo Dallaire, like Pascal Lacoste and Louise Richard,, like John Labelle, and Gary Zwicker,like Dennis Manuge, and Sean Bruyea , and Dawson MacDonald and Eric Rebiere
My gratitude for those who fought for our freedoms and for those who sign on to defend our country is measureless. That is why I am not content with monuments to the dead or symbolic gestures.
We owe these people and must not bury the living because we find them too expensive to care for or their injuries too painful to look at in the naked light.
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