Roll Up of CAF/Veteran/Invictus News - 12 Aug 2024
CAF | DND
US officials raise concerns about new Canadian Forces truck | Ottawa Citizen
The Canadian Forces says it remains confident that its newest army vehicle will meet all its needs despite concerns raised by U.S. officials that the trucks lack protection, are too cramped and have had problems with cracked engines and steering loss. Canada is spending almost $36 million for 90 Light Tactical Vehicles for Canadian Army personnel deployed to Latvia. The vehicles, being built in the United States by General Motors Defense, are based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 pickup truck and have also been bought by the U.S. military.
The cost to build the navy's often-delayed, long-anticipated supply ships has shot up once again — this time by almost $1 billion — the federal procurement department announced Friday. Successive federal governments have tried for almost two decades to deliver joint support ships (JSS) to the navy — vessels used to replenish warships at sea. After years of delay, the Liberal government awarded Seaspan's Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd. a build contract in June 2020 for two ships — HMCS Protecteur and HMCS Preserver — at an anticipated cost of $2.44 billion.
Sajjan defends request to use soldiers as backdrop for Diljit Dosanjh concert | CBC News
Canada's emergency preparedness minister is defending an official request he made to use Canadian soldiers as a backdrop for a concert by Punjabi pop star Diljit Dosanjh, one of India's biggest actors and singers. As first reported in The Globe and Mail, Harjit Sajjan received a letter mid-April asking if Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members would participate in Dosanjh's show in Vancouver on April 27. According to a statement from Sajjan's office, the minister then forwarded the request "along with his endorsement" to Minister of National Defence Bill Blair, who passed the request onto the CAF.
Confusion still reigns for public servants’ health plan | Ottawa Citizen
More than a year after the federal government updated the Public Service Health Care Plan, members continue to face challenges with their insurance. … Stephen Lake, a retired military member living in Florida, has been struggling for reimbursement of claims since last year. He has received cheques for incorrect amounts or that he can’t cash despite asking for funds to be sent electronically.
ON TARGET: DISASTER RELIEF: A Disaster for the CAF? — espritdecorps
Last week as Canada watched in horror as Alberta's landmark town of Jasper was engulfed in a wildfire, the federal government announced that the Canadian Army would provide disaster assistance. In this instance, some 75 members of the Second Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (2PPCLI) have deployed to assist residents of Jasper to safely return to the remnants of their charred town. Over the past few years, the sight of Canadian military personnel assisting citizens in the wake of disasters has become all too commonplace. Forest fires in Alberta? Send in the military. Flooding in Quebec? Send in the military.
NCL expands Military Appreciation Program to Canadians (seatrade-cruise.com)
Active service members, veterans and their dependents from the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian Coast Guard are now eligible for program benefits. They will receive special onboard experiences, amenities and a 10% cruise fare discount across all sailings on all NCL ships.
VETERANS
Serving in the military is not an easy job. After leaving the Forces, the transition to civilian life is often difficult. The Sault’s Frank Iezzi is one of many who has faced challenges during and after leaving the Canadian Armed Forces and, since 2017, his passion is helping other Sault and area veterans as president of the not-for-profit Algoma Veterans Association.
Flags billowed high atop the mast of the Wenonah II as passengers slowly made their way up the gangplank and out onto the decks of the majestic steamship. Earlier this summer, more than 20 residents of Sunnybrook’s Veterans Centre made the bus trip north from Toronto to the picturesque town of Gravenhurst, Ont. where they boarded the steamship for a two-hour cruise around Lake Muskoka.
Sgt. Rob Nederlof has cycled over 3,000 kilometres across the Prairies during the past four years to support a mental health-related veterans’ program, and this year, he will be riding through Moose Jaw. Nederlof is a mechanic with the Canadian Armed Forces and is based at Shilo, Man. He and his wife, Marina, will launch his fourth annual “Prairie Thousand” tour from Edmonton on Sunday, Aug. 11, and ride south through Calgary before journeying into Saskatchewan.
P.E.I. veteran and military advocate Blanche Bennett dies at 101 | CBC News
Blanche Bennett, a Second World War veteran from Summerside, P.E.I., who was known for her remarkable memory and her allegiance to the Canadian military, died last week at the age of 101. "She would have been 102 in November of this year and she remembered everything," said her youngest daughter, Barbara Bennett Spence.
PEACEKEEPERS’ DAY EVENTS
INVICTUS GAMES 2025
Whistler opens its wallet for Invictus Games - Pique Newsmagazine
The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) is dipping into MRDT reserves to bankroll a late request from the Invictus Games to support village animation around the sporting event which will come to Whistler in early 2025. In a report to council on July 23, the RMOW’s general manager of community engagement and cultural services, Karen Elliott, explained the organizers of the Games put in a late request to the municipality to support village animation to the tune of $240,000.
COMMEMORATION, REMEMBRANCE & HISTORY
Canadian veterans will be commemorated in Collingwood, Ont. on banners | CTV News
Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, Collingwood will raise banners and flags around the downtown. For the past six years, Veterans banners with pictures of Canadian service men and women have hung on every light standard in downtown. The response to the program has been overwhelming, with more than 100 banners honouring our veterans.
Sudbury news: Memorial Park veterans’ monument to be refurbished | CTV News
VIDEO: The Irish Regiment of Canada monument located on Brady Street in Greater Sudbury’s Memorial Park will be under construction for about one week beginning Monday.
The secret life of Canadian oil tycoon Scott Saxberg | Regina Leader Post
… what has really been keeping the oil tycoon busy these days, aside from raising three kids aged six and under, is a secret midlife side hustle that next to nobody in [Scott] Saxberg’s business life is aware of, although that is subject to change soon once his debut novel, Those We Carry, gets released in October. … He self-funded several research trips to Europe and more or less walked in the footsteps of his great-uncle, who had fought to liberate the Netherlands from its Nazi occupiers during the war and fallen desperately in love with a Dutch woman. … The Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society is publishing Those We Carry.