Canada Bans Coverage of Returning War Dead [!-- END HEADLINE --] [DIV id=ynmain][!-- BEGIN STORY BODY --] [DIV id=storybody] [DIV class=storyhdr] [SPAN]By BETH DUFF-BROWN, Associated Press Writer[/SPAN][EM class=recenttimedate] 8 minutes ago[/i]
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Canada's new Conservative government barred the media from covering the return Tuesday of the flag-draped coffins of four soldiers killed in Afghanistan, angering political opponents and some families.
The government also has stopped lowering flags to half-staff outside Parliament each time a Canadian soldier is killed, prompting Liberals to accuse Prime Minister Stephen Harper of trying to play down the growing human cost of the Canadian mission in Afghanistan.
Fifteen Canadians have been killed, including Cpl. Matthew Dinning, Bombardier Myles Mansell, Cpl. Randy Payne and Lt. William Turner, who were slain in a roadside bomb blast Saturday in southern Afghanistan in the deadliest attack against Canadian forces since they deployed to Afghanistan in 2002.
Canadian military officials blamed remnants of the toppled Taliban government for the bombing.
Their remains were to arrive Tuesday evening at a base in Trenton, Ontario.
The media learned Monday that they would be barred from the evening ceremony, a move that mirrors Bush administration policy blocking media coverage of the coffins of slain service members arriving in the United States.
Like the Pentagon, Canadian Defense Minister Gordon O'Connor cited privacy concerns as a reason for the media ban.
"When the bodies return to Trenton, where the families receive the bodies for the first time and they come face to face with the reality that their loved ones are dead, this is for their private grief," O'Connor told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. on Tuesday. The four bodies are the first returned to Canada since the Conservative government took office.
O'Connor noted that media were allowed to cover the solemn send-off ceremony just before a Hercules transport plane left Kandahar with the bodies.
He also said the Conservatives — who toppled the Liberals from nearly 13 years in power in January — were returning to an 80-year-old tradition of honoring fallen soldiers by only lowering the flag on Parliament Hill once a year, on Nov. 11, Remembrance Day.
The families of at least two soldiers said they were disturbed by the media blackout and the lack of lowered flags.
Dinning's uncle told the CBC the family believes the government is trying to cover up the growing casualties in Afghanistan and was disturbed they were not informed of the decision to cancel what had been a public ceremony for the returning war dead.
The CBC has been broadcasting live the repatriation ceremonies for each soldier killed in Afghanistan.
Richard Leger, father of Sgt. Marc Leger, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2002, told the CBC on Tuesday that the nationally televised return of his son's coffin helped his family to heal.
Sgt. Leger was one of four Canadian soldiers killed by a U.S. pilot who mistook their live-ammunition exercise for a hostile attack. The soldiers were the first Canadians to die in combat since the Korean War.
"I think Canadians need to see this, every Canadian. It says we care about these soldiers," Leger said, as tears rolled down his face.
Ujjal Dosanjh, a Liberal member of Parliament and his party's defense critic, called the media ban "absolutely un-Canadian."
"Dare I say president Harper is following in the footsteps of President Bush?" Dosanjh said. He said the decision not to lower the flag on Parliament Hill was disrespectful. "If I dropped dead tomorrow walking the street, that flag would be lowered," said Dosanjh. "I think we owe the soldiers that we've sent into harm's way that kind of respect." Canadians — the majority of whom applauded their government for declining to join the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq — are increasingly concerned about the human toll in Afghanistan. The 2,300-strong Canadian force took over control of Kandahar from U.S. troops in February.
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Gawd. Can the Liberals pick a leader quickly so Canada doesn't look like a Bush clone for the entire world to see. Harper is destroying Canada at its core.
Seriously.
Before I started visiting DV, I thought Canadians and Americans were almost polar opposites.
Eventually I came to realize that a Canadian is just an American Light. The average Canadian is not far from the Average American, just slightly less religious and slightly more left-leaning. I wanted to flee to Canada, now it's hardly worth the effort.
tenkani wrote:Eventually I came to realize that a Canadian is just an American Light.
Lol, I've been calling it that for a while. No offense intended to my Canadian friends.
The average Canadian is not far from the Average American, just slightly less religious and slightly more left-leaning. I wanted to flee to Canada, now it's hardly worth the effort.
Aye, quoted fer truth. Plus they have national healthcare, the bastards! (I thought Rumsfeld said that only terrorists have national healthcare??)
tenkani wrote:
Seriously.
Before I started visiting DV, I thought Canadians and Americans were almost polar opposites.
Eventually I came to realize that a Canadian is just an American Light. The average Canadian is not far from the Average American, just slightly less religious and slightly more left-leaning. I wanted to flee to Canada, now it's hardly worth the effort.
Bu-b-b-bb-but..i am here...*sniffle*..i thought you were coming up for a visit?....
Yep, Canada is not a heck of a lot different. I think Harper is "George Bush Light".
One major difference: You will have a better chance of a household having a hockey card collection, than a gun collection.
Yes and No. The Conservative Party is a neo-con party because the Progressive Conservative side was basically kicked out. See Belinda Stronach and Scott Brison. The people that took the party over are basically neo-cons canadian style. While the platform of the Conservative party could be construde as a moderate democrat or moderate republican some in the party are pretty extreme. Stockwell Day comes to mind.
Tenkani the Canada your talking about is really Quebec. The problem with Quebec is the sotgwpdt leanings in the province are usually separtists. The next province that is mostly like Quebec is British Columbia but thats mainly due to Vancouver politics and its progressiveness. But what goes on in Vancouver usually affect the entire province. Then it would go to Ontario, and New Bruinswick, Nova Scotia, PEI and Newfoundland. Saskatchewan used to be NDP land but thats radically changed. And Alberta where the conservative movement (if you could call it that) started in Alberta.
Sportsdude, on the other hand, needs to move to Canada ASAP.
Talk about being born in the wrong country.
What are you waiting for, kid?? (//vny!://discoverseattle.net/forums/richedit/smileys/Teasing/5.gif)
Yeah. Tell me about. I'm an American by name only as it seems. Now when Canada gets in the news down here I seem to become there offical spokesman and have to explain everything.
I do love living here, wouldn't trade it for the world.
You..you...Shatner stealing Mexico touchers!
And I'm not worried about Canada per say. Because the conservative movement seems to go in phases. Diefenbaker was PM people got tired of the yelling. Mulroney left with 7% approval rating. And Harper is looking more and more like Joe Clark who acted like he had a majority when he only had a minority and was gone in 9 months.
But the only thing Harper has on his side is that the Liberals don't have a leader. Ingnatieff and Kennedy are the front runners. I like Ingnatieff but he isn't 'young' but Kennedy grew up in the prairies which helps a lot but apparently his french is rudementary according to fracophone reporters.