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lo CASR CanadianAmerican StrategicReview -CanadianDefence Policy,Foreign Policy,& Canada-USRelations- CF Press Release Ice Floe Rescue  Modest  ProposalRethinking   SAR  Modest  Proposal Transport  Canada? Modest  Proposal Rangers Air Reserve? Modest  Proposal Arctic Utility Aircraft? CASR  Home Arctic Presence  –  Search  &  Rescue  –  SAR  Techs  –  Updated  –  November  2009 Air Force must focus on core missions  —  Time  to calve off  SARLocal  Civilian  Agencies  may  prove  to be  more  Cost-Effective Dianne  DeMille ,  Editor ,  Canadian  American  Strategic  Review  ( CASR ) In  the  News :  On  09  November 2009,  Canadian  Forces  Search  and  Rescue  Technicians ( SAR Techs ),  rescued  an Inuit youth  from...

Shaw wasn’t always skeptical about vaccines. The neuroscientist at the University of British Columbia had his teenage son vaccinated with most of the recommended shots. But then he started studying some of the ingredients commonly found in vaccines. What he discovered caused him to go cold turkey on all shots for his six-year-old daughter. And that includes the vaccine for the H1N1 flu. “I am not convinced H1N1 is sufficiently hazardous to most people to risk the potential downside of the vaccine,” Shaw said over the phone from his office in the research pavilion at the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority....

Facebook can be a double-edged sword, a Canadian woman learned when an insurance company cut her health benefits, claiming she was healthy after seeing pictures of her smiling in a bikini at the beach. Nathalie Blanchard, 29, took long-term sick leave from her job at IBM in Bromont, Quebec, more than a year ago for severe depression. She was receiving monthly benefits from her insurance company, Manulife. When Ms. Blanchard called Manulife to inquire why the payments dried up, the insurance company said that "I'm available to work, because of Facebook," she told CBC television. She said that Manulife cited...

Gov. Charlie Crist’s office is “looking into” the possibility of removing embattled attorney Scott Rothstein from the state’s Judicial Nominating Committee. Rothstein has offered to surrender his license to practice law. But, he may remain a member of JNC unless, or until, he’s charged with a felony crime. Gov. Charlie Crist named Rothstein to the JNC in August 2008. “Typically, the governor would only step in when felony charges are filed against a public official,” said Sterling Ivey, Crist’s spokesman. “Whether we will act before that point in this case is not clear yet. Our legal office is looking into...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- An attorney who was a major fundraiser for Florida Gov. Charlie Crist allegedly conducted an investment scam that cost investors millions, a lawsuit alleges. A group of investors said in a suit filed against Scott Rothstein that the co-partner of the Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler law firm took part in a scheme that cost the plaintiffs more than $100 million, The Miami Herald reported Friday.

A lesbian soldier who deserted the U.S. army won a key court victory Friday when a judge ordered the refugee board to reconsider her failed asylum claim and take into account compelling evidence that she was persecuted and that her sexual orientation could mean stiffer punishment for going AWOL. Federal Court Justice Yves de Montigny's order for the board to consider a gay U.S. soldier as a credible refugee candidate is believed to be a first, said a spokesman for the U.S. military. "I have never heard of anybody attempting to do that before," said army spokesman Lt.-Col. Christopher Garver....

EDMONTON —The newly formed “Balloon Platoon� at the Edmonton Garrison comprises a group of keen young soldiers learning the capabilities of Canada’s new persistent surveillance system (PSS). As members of Task Force 3-09, they will be the first soldiers to use this counter improvised explosive devise (C-IED) system in-theatre. “It turns out a balloon is a very stable platform,� says Captain Robert Dona, the officer who, on behalf of the Assistant Deputy Minister (Materiel), is responsible for ensuring the system works. “The balloon acts as a visual deterrent, as well. If you can see it, it can see you.� The...

In Spring 2009, I wrote a poem for my English course in Victoria, B.C. I had been hearing a lot about our military in places such as Afghanistan, and had mixed thoughts about it. My poem is spoken from the perspective of a teenaged girl who was walking to school one morning, and was taken and put behind bars. Imprisoned, she sees a Canadian Forces woman who comes to talk to the people who run the jail and get her out. The woman tries to state the injustice of what they have done to this girl. While the girl watches...

“I’m definitely getting one,� said Leah Cuffe, glancing at the Segway her fiancé, MCpl Mike Trauner, just received. “Mike was injured not quite a year ago and this is the first activity we’ve really done as a couple. Now we can go out for a walk together; it will help compensate for other things we can’t do together anymore.� MCpl Trauner and six other soldiers received Segways, donated by WoundedWarriors.ca, November 5 at the Holland Armoury in Ottawa. The personal mobility devices run on battery power and offer more freedom and independence to soldiers who have been injured. Securing the...

Ottawa's plan to spend its way out of a recession is winding down. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said yesterday he'll refrain from any new major spending programs and look to cut his own government's spending if necessary down the road. "When the economy recovery is clear and entrenched, and if it's necessary, we will determine the amount of spending growth restraint to balance the budget," Flaherty said in a major speech to a business audience in Toronto. "If we have to restrain growth in spending when the times come we will find that restraint in the remaining $100 billion of...

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Nov. 20, 2009 – Afghanistan was among the issues that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay discussed during a bilateral meeting here today. In a speech to the Halifax International Security Forum here, Gates recognized the contributions and sacrifices that Canadian servicemembers have made in that country. “In Afghanistan, the Canadian military has more than distinguished itself in battle in some of the most dangerous parts of the country,” Gates said. Canada has more than 2,800 troops in the ground in Afghanistan, serving in Regional Command South, where Canadian generals have commanded...

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Nov. 20, 2009 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay met here today to discuss bilateral, hemispheric issues, but reporters’ questions afterward were all about Afghanistan. In their meeting, MacKay and Gates discussed building a maritime surveillance capability, defense issues in the Arctic and security cooperation for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. But Afghanistan was in the background of all discussions. In his second-term inaugural address yesterday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that he wants to assume security control in his country by 2014, and Gates was asked if...

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- In a move that may increase international pressure on Ottawa to extend its combat mission in Kandahar beyond July 2011, NATO is likely to announce within days that Canada's Task Force Afghanistan will grow significantly in size as thousands more U.S. combat troops are placed under Canadian command. With such a buildup anticipated, "flexibility" was the dominant theme during a transfer of command ceremony Thursday at which Brig.-Gen. Daniel Menard took over Task Force Afghanistan from Brig.-Gen. Jon Vance. Apparently alluding to the additional responsibilities that NATO may be about to give to Canada, Lt.-Gen. Marc...

One of the major challenges to developing the 174 billion barrels of oil sands claimed as “established reserves” by the Canadian province of Alberta is supplying the large quantities of natural gas needed to produce the oil sands and upgrade them to synthetic crude oil. In 2006, the oil sands industry in Alberta consumed about 1 Bcfd of natural gas, accounting for more than 40% of total gas demand for the province. As oil sands operations shift from the surface-minable resource to the more plentiful deep deposits, which require gas- and water-intensive in situ production methods such as Steam-Assisted Gravity...

Top finance officials from the G7 countries will meet in the remote Arctic town of Iqaluit on Feb. 5-6 but may not issue a communique, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Wednesday. Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations will meet in Canada's far north in February, gathering in a place where the ground never thaws and winter blizzards can last for days. The meeting will take place Feb. 5-6 in Iqaluit, the capital of the northern territory of Nunavut, 195 miles south of the Arctic Circle, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Wednesday. It will...

OTTAWA - He's the most high-profile politician in recent history, the winner of a bruising election campaign in which every aspect of his life -- from his smoking habit to anti-American comments made by his pastor -- came under relentless scrutiny. But according to Canadian government officials, a biography of U.S. President Barack Obama provided to Prime Minister Stephen Harper shortly after Obama's inauguration last January qualifies as a state secret. Under the Access to Information Act, Canwest News Service requested all briefing materials provided to the Prime Minister ahead of Mr. Obama's visit to Canada in February. Mr. Obama's...

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- NATO's International Security Assistance Force is pouring resources into Kandahar because "if the enemy has the South, they have a strong hold on Afghanistan," according to the Canadian general who runs the alliance's war planning for the six southern provinces. While Canada's task force commander, Brig.-Gen. Jon Vance, had drawn a lot of attention to the security that his troops have brought to several ‘model villages' in Kandahar, Brig.-Gen. Gerry Champagne has been working a few hundred metres away from the Canadian headquarters figuring out where NATO's war in the Taliban heartland goes from here. "Kandahar...

OTTAWA -- The Parliamentary Restaurant will soon serve seal meat to anyone with a taste for game - and controversy. Hull-Aylmer MP Marcel Proulx confirmed the addition to the menu is just awaiting hunting season, and should arrive in the new year. This is the second time the restaurant has tried to carry seal meat, he said. "In 2008 there had been a request [for seal] from a couple of senators. The problem was they could not find a supplier. "Now the chef, I understand, has found a supplier in the Magdalen Islands. I think, because of the hunting season,...

New Zealand, Denmark, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland are among the top five least corrupt nations, according to a new survey released by Transparency International. Canada is in the top ten. Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq and Sudan are the most corrupt. Canada ranks amongst the top ten least corrupt countries in the world while conflict-torn states such as Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan and Iraq are labelled as nations rife with bribery and corruption, according to a new 2009 corruption perception index revealed Tuesday by Transparency International. New Zealand rates as the least corrupt nation followed by Denmark, Singapore and Sweden. Others on the...

Region QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS REGION Distances 250 km (155 miles) SSW (197°) from Prince Rupert, BC, Canada 315 km (195 miles) WNW (303°) from Port Hardy, BC, Canada 331 km (206 miles) S (178°) from Metlakatla, AK 662 km (411 miles) WNW (302°) from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 5.5 km (3.4 miles); depth +/- 10.5 km (6.5 miles)

SSMU Council voted 16 to 7 by secret ballot in favour of suspending Choose Life’s club status on Thursday. Two separate motions were put forth to change the club’s status. The first resolution called for the club’s status to be revoked. After being defeated 11 to 12, a motion to suspend followed. The students who put forth the two motions claimed that Choose Life had disseminated false health information and exposed students to graphic images associated with abortion and fetal life. Additionally, the students felt that past events hosted by the club had threatened safe space for students on campus,...

A quartet of highly promoted energy drinks targeting children have been pulled off shelves by Health Canada. The agency is advising you not to consume Chaotic Beverages sold under the brand names Mind Strike, Fearocity, Elixir of Tenacity and Power Pulse. The drinks, tied to a trading card game, animated TV series and website, are unauthorized products with ingredients that may pose a health risk, Health Canada warned. The Canadian importer, U&ME Marketing, has initiated a national recall of all four brands. You should not consume these unapproved products, as they have not been assessed for safety, quality and efficacy...

The U.S. Obama administration put its mark in the overwhelmingly Republican state of Alaska, asking Alaska pipeline coordinator Drue Pearce to step down, according to U.S. news sources Monday. Vice Admiral Thomas Barrett, USCG (Ret.), the deputy federal coordinator, will be interim coordinator until a permanent replacement is named. Pearce, a former Alaska Senate president, had been appointed federal coordinator of Alaska natural gas transportation projects by former President George W. Bush 2006. A terse statement by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska lamented the move, adding "I regret the loss of Drue's experience and knowledge on this project, but I understand...

SNIPPET: "Counterterrorism officials are investigating a group of youths who allegedly left Canada for East Africa two weeks ago, amid concerns they may have gone to join the Somali militant group Al-Shabab. Two sources familiar with the case said investigators had been canvassing Toronto's large Somali-Canadian community for information about as many as five men who departed Canada together in early November. They are believed to have flown to Kenya, the sources said. Kenya borders the region of southern Somalia controlled by Al-Shabab, an Islamist militia aligned with al-Qaeda and sometimes likened to the Taliban." SNIPPET: ""Radicalization within the U.S....

OTTAWA — Despite the recent surge in H1N1 deaths, the nation's chief public health officer says the pandemic virus appears no deadlier than regular seasonal influenza and that there could actually be substantially fewer flu deaths than normal this season. Although H1N1 is disproportionately infecting more children and otherwise healthy young adults, "the mortality rate from this (H1N1) is no worse than seasonal flu," Dr. David Butler-Jones said. "The individual risk of severe disease or dying if you happen to get the flu is very similar today as it was back in June. It's just that we're starting to see...

An Ottawa man has been granted refugee status after an immigration board panel ruled he would be likely be persecuted if he returned back to his native South Africa — because he is white. ADVERTISEMENT A Canadian immigration and refugee board panel ruled Thursday that Brandon Huntley, 31, could stay in Canada because he presented "clear and convincing proof of the state's inability or unwillingness to protect him." "I find that the claimant would stand out like a 'sore thumb' due to his colour in any part of the country," tribunal panel chair William Davis said in his decision to...

Statement Provision of the H1N1 Vaccine to Detainees in Afghanistan November 10, 2009 Vaccinations against H1N1 are being offered to members of the Canadian Forces and Canadian civilian personnel deployed in Afghanistan. The Canadian Forces are providing appropriate medical care to those in their custody. Offering vaccinations to detainees for H1N1 would be based on medical need and, at this point, there is no plan to vaccinate detainees. No vaccine has been provided to any detainee. Cmdre Hans W. Jung Surgeon General Canadian Forces -30-

As Canadians fuss over the slow rollout of H1N1 shots and highly publicized cases of queue jumping, they can take solace in one generally overlooked fact: most other industrialized countries have considerably less of the vaccine on hand. Per capita, the U.S. has shipped barely half as much as Canada. Britain -- twice as populous as Canada -- has distributed about the same volume of vaccine as here, France even less. And yet those places are generally not seeing the same kind of controversy -- and saturation media coverage -- around the availability of vaccine as has Canada. The international...

HAMMONDVALE, N.B. - More than 90 years after she died and her remains were inexplicably forgotten in storage in a London catacomb, Gladys Fowler is finally home in Canada. On Sunday, during a service on a hillside in Hammondvale, N.B., Fowler was laid to rest in a grave where relatives believed she had been all along. "It's a sad day because a young girl has died, and a young girl has died very far from home, and didn't return until this day," said Fowler's niece, Jane Fowler Morse. Fowler died on April 17, 1917 at the age of 18 at...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Canada's subtle war to win over Pushtun mullahs and village elders has not only faced immense cultural differences and opposition from the Taliban. A big challenge has been to convince young soldiers who crave combat that there is a better way to succeed in the notoriously unstable Taliban heartland. That way is to not only partner with Afghan security forces to confront the insurgency, but to genuinely bond with the province's hardscrabble farmers. "I see the new arrivals. They have lots of spirit. They are ready for war," said Warrant Officer Patrice Chartrand of Mascouche, Que., who...

This week, the Quebec College of Physicians and Surgeons tentatively approved euthanasia. That means it's essential that we look, specifically, at the impact that euthanasia would have on physicians and the profession of medicine, in order to understand why this approval is a very bad idea. In mainstream media, and therefore in the general public forum, the euthanasia debate has been focused, almost entirely, on the impact that legalizing euthanasia (a term I use in this article to include physician-assisted suicide) would have at the individual level. But we must also consider the impact legalizing it would have at institutional,...

The Ice Age has been a longstanding problem for uniformitarian thinking, with many unsolved mysteries. No mere tweaking of today's climate conditions would cause such a catastrophe. A creationist model based on the revealed events of Scripture, however, offers a possible answer...

Federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff vowed Friday night to attack the policies of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, saying the Conservative leader's four years in power gives him lots of political ammunition. .... Ignatieff said U.S. President Barack Obama is spending six times more per capita on clean energy than Canada. The Conservatives are spending less per capita on renewable energy than Alaska, he said. "You know who comes from Alaska, don't you," said Ignatieff, drawing a laugh. "So when it comes to clean energy, Stephen Harper isn't just behind Barack Obama, he's behind Sarah Palin."

CASR DefenceBudget &  ProcurementPractices  ————IndustryPressReleases———— -CanadianDefence Policy,Foreign Policy,& Canada-USRelations- CASR Home Documents DND  /  Gov'tDocuments 2007  -  DNDDocuments Arctic Rescue – Aerial Search and Rescue – FWSAR – November 2009 SAR Techs Shine in Ice Floe Rescue  but  Questions also Raised The dramatic rescue of  17 year old  Inuit hunter, Jupi Angootealuk, has drawn public attention to the aerial search and rescue capabilities of the Canadian Forces once again. The press release from 17 Wing Winnipeg ( reproduced below ) rightly celebrates the achievement of  SAR Techs. No one questions the skill or bravery of  people willing to parachute...

Nothing to see here. Move along. "Syrian carrying $880,000, Hezbollah ring, 9/11 videos, stopped at Canadian border,"

The Resource Development Council (RDC) has been at the forefront of efforts to convince the Obama administration to provide for a seamless transition to new oil and gas leasing programs in the future that will expand access to the nation’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). RDC strongly supports access to the OCS, especially in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, and the North Aleutian Basin. The responsible development of potentially immense oil and gas deposits in Alaska would significantly boost the state’s economy, extend the life of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, improve the economic viability of the proposed natural gas pipeline from...

The Canadian Energy Research Institute figures that a “realistic” target for oil sands production by 2043 is 5.3 million barrels per day, almost a five-fold increase over the next 34 years, hitting 1.7 million bpd in 2015 and 4.5 million bpd by 2030. That forecast lags far behind earlier CERI targets, which counted on 5 million bpd by 2015 if all announced projects were completed. But, if its updated scenario is accurate, CERI estimates the Alberta government could collect C$852 billion in royalties; capital outlays would total C$309 billion and the industry might face a bill for greenhouse gas compliance...

The Canadian Press VANCOUVER — SNIPPET: "Khaled Nawaya, a flight instructor, was arrested by Canada Border Services agents when they found $800,000 in gold coins and other currency in his car and pockets on Oct. 6, as he crossed into Surrey, B.C., near Vancouver." SNIPPET: "He'd been living in the U.S. since he was 17 and had gained approval for permanent residency in Canada. Besides the gold, Canadian agents found a ring bearing the insignia of Hezbollah, which has been listed as a terrorist organization by the Canadian government since 2002. They also seized 9/11 conspiracy theory-themed DVDs and a...

Video in three parts: http://watch.bnn.ca/#clip234892 http://watch.bnn.ca/#clip234893 http://watch.bnn.ca/#clip234894

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian courts grossly overreached when they ordered Ottawa to ask Washington to send a Canadian held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison back to Canada, a federal lawyer argued on Friday. The government wants the Supreme Court of Canada to overturn lower court decisions that it had to ask the Obama administration to repatriate Omar Khadr, accused of killing a U.S. soldier during a firefight in Afghanistan. The court heard oral arguments on Friday, and Khadr's legal team asked it to give a speedy ruling. The case coincided with an announcement from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder...

John Dietsch wasn't scared – then or now. While working in the engine room of World War II Allied warships in the North Atlantic, he faced the threat of Nazi mines, warships and U-boats. "You would hear the guns go off above us. You could feel it all around you," said the 84-year-old. "There really wasn't time to be scared." It was the same on Thursday afternoon, when a gunman stormed into a Royal Canadian Legion in Scarborough, demanding thousands in poppy donations. Dietsch and three others had just finished counting through $10,000 at Oakridge Legion, Branch 73, near Danforth...

Canada's revamped citizenship guide warns newcomers that "barbaric cultural practices" such as honour killings will not be tolerated, marking a stronger tone against importing beliefs that clash with Canadian values. "In Canada, men and women are equal under the law," the document says. "Canada's openness and generosity do not extend to barbaric cultural practices that tolerate spousal abuse, 'honour killings', female genital mutilation or other gender-based violence. Those guilty of these crimes are severely punished under Canada's criminal laws." The guide, released on Thursday and called Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Canadian Citizenship, (read the full guide) is...

Today's release of a new citizenship guide marks a shift in what it means to become Canadian, emphasizing more than ever the responsibilities bestowed upon the quarter-million newcomers who migrate to Canada each year. The 62-page document, of which the National Post obtained excerpts, is a significant departure from the version crafted by the Liberals in 1997, and explicitly asserts certain citizenship obligations. According to a senior government official, responsibilities outlined in the guide include getting a job, obeying the law and serving on a jury when called. Although the guide notes that military service is not compulsory, it advises...

It's curious how what is clearly an honour crime is always downplayed by the defence as merely a typical domestic dispute. Clashes between parents and kids happen all the time as teenagers grow up and push boundaries, testing what they can get away with. Parents might ground their kids or take away their cellphones or videogames as punishment for stepping out of line. Arguments over a curfew, not helping with household chores or cutting classes are typical family spats. Threatening to kill a daughter for resisting an arranged marriage is not and we shouldn't pretend that it's the behaviour of...

Today's release of a new citizenship guide marks a shift in what it means to become Canadian, emphasizing more than ever the responsibilities bestowed upon the quarter-million newcomers who migrate to Canada each year. snip "There's some very explicit language vis-a-vis the openness of Canadian society, the belief in gender equality and the absolute prohibition against spousal abuse, honour killings, female genital mutilation and gender-based violence," Mr. Griffiths said, referring to a draft of the document. "This is a guide to what Canada is."

Don't mess with a vet. A Toronto veteran in his 80s and a fellow Royal Canadian Legion member showed a would-be thief armed with a gun they've still got some fight left in them. When the alleged armed robber tried to steal their poppy drive money today at a Royal Canadian Legion in the east end, the vets refused to give up the cash and eventually chased down the man and tackled him. Police say the vets were unable to hold the man until they arrived and he did escape. Four members of the legion were counting upwards of $10,000...

I’m supposed to be happy my room complaint is a growth experience for hotel staff? As readers may recall, a few weeks ago I was invited to testify at the House of Commons about the Canadian “Human Rights” Commission. While in Ottawa, I stayed at a certain local hostelry that shall be nameless (the Château Laurier). I don’t like to complain. Seriously. I do so much of it for a living that I resent giving it away for free in private. But my room was unsatisfactory in many basic respects, and, a few days after I drew them to the...

A brief message about a dead cat caused fur to fly in Canada this week, sparking rumours about the demise of the Iron Lady, former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. "Thatcher has died," read the short text message that kicked off a brief diplomatic flurry among members of Canada's parliament and their advisors at a black tie dinner. Upon learning the "news" via mobile or Blackberry at a soiree honouring Canadian military families on Tuesday, some 2,000 shocked Conservatives, said to revere the Iron Lady of British politics, and their advisors reportedly huddled to discuss a reaction. The prime minister's...

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- So many young Canadians want to become trigger pullers in Afghanistan that the army is not accepting any new infantry recruits at the moment, according to the army's top general. "I am 1,600 infantrymen over my establishment," Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie said Thursday, adding that the high numbers of recruits who want to "serve at the tip of the spear . . . completely refuted" any notion that there were problems getting people to serve in a wartime army. "I still want young Canadians to show up at recruiting offices, but it just so happens that right...

VANCOUVER — Paranoia and naivete led a Syrian man to lie about why he was crossing the border with nearly $1 million in gold and what's been called "terrorist resources," says the lawyer for the man who has been held as a potential security threat since early last month. Khaled Nawaya, a flight instructor, was arrested by Canada Border Services agents when they found $800,000 in gold coins and other currency in his car and pockets on Oct. 6, as he crossed into Surrey, B.C., near Vancouver. --SNIP-- Besides the gold, Canadian agents found a ring bearing the insignia of...