Someone in the FP coments notd that by allowing the opposition to make apocalyptic predictions, the eventual reforms will look so mild that the NDP and Liberals will have spent tons of political capital on nothing:

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/02/01/john-ivison-note-to-bob-rae-yes-we-have-a-pension-problem/

John Ivison: Note to Bob Rae: Yes, we have a pension problem
John Ivison  Feb 1, 2012 – 8:24 PM ET | Last Updated: Feb 2, 2012 7:52 AM ET

“There is absolutely no justification for doing what [Stephen Harper] is doing,” says interim Liberal leader Bob Rae.
   
The NDP will use its opposition day in the House of Commons Thursday to try to embarrass the government over its plans to increase the age at which Canadians are eligible to claim Old Age Security.

The motion hammers Prime Minister Stephen Harper for attempting to “balance the Conservative deficit on the backs of Canada’s seniors.” It’s all good, knockabout stuff and one can hardly blame the New Democrats for subtracting from the sum of human knowledge in the interests of kicking the Tories in the guts.

But, as will become crystal clear once the government gets its act together, the Tories’ proposal to raise the eligibility age for OAS will not take effect for another decade — and even then is likely to be phased in over a period of four years. The reality is that the books will have been balanced for five years before any measures to make people work longer come into force. As importantly, no one now over 50 is going to be impacted.


Mr. Harper knows he can’t wait until the budget in March before he starts to fill the information vacuum with some hard facts, so expect to see more details trickle out over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, it’s like hunting dairy cows with a sniper rifle for the opposition. Even interim NDP leader Nycole Turmel can’t miss, making the point that budgets are about choices and the Tories are choosing to spend on F-35 jets, mega prisons and corporate tax cuts, instead of seniors.

Bob Rae, the interim Liberal leader, sounded like an Italian cruise ship captain sailing too close to the coast. “There is no problem,” he said. Asked if he would reverse the Tory proposal, he answered yes. “There is absolutely no justification for doing what he’s doing,” he said.

That is a rash statement from a man who knows better. The facts are stark – the OAS and Guaranteed Income Supplement program cost Canadians $36-billion in 2010, and expenditures are projected to increase by 32% in the next five years, rising to $108-billion in 20 years. That increase represents a rise in share of GDP from 2.3% to 3.1%. Even the economist who has been wheeled out most frequently to suggest the government’s actions are unnecessary — Kevin Milligan of the University of British Columbia — admits: “That’s not nothing. That’s why it’s reasonable to have a look at it.”

Mr. Rae has been entirely silent on where he would find the extra billions needed to pay for the basic pension as the number of recipients doubles from 4.7 million to 9.3 million by 2030.

The Liberal leader did raise two fair points though — the dramatic impact on the situation of low income single seniors, particularly women; and the domino effect raising the age of eligibility will have on provinces that have to pay extra for social assistance.

In the budget, the government invested a further $300-million in topping up the GIS for 680,000 of the lowest income seniors in Canada. Since the eligibility for GIS is likely to rise in tandem with OAS, a decade from now it is likely that more than a million poor seniors will find themselves on paltry social assistance for an extra two years before being able to access the federal program. The provinces will be on the hook for those two extra years and the government is going to have to explain how it plans to deal with these two problems.

But these are minor skirmishes in the air war now taking place. The government has the opportunity in the debate in the House Thursday to carpet-bomb the idea that the pension plan is connected to the current budget deficit — or that anyone over 50 is going to be side-swiped.

Facts are chiels that winna ding – or fellows that can’t be overturned, for any non-Burnsians. If the opposition parties are going to snipe, they are also going to have to explain how they intend to pay for the demographic realities of an aging population.

National Post
• Email: jivison@nationalpost.com | Twitter:

New Calgary school named after fallen soldier Nichola Goddard

By Katie Schneider ,Calgary Sun

Capt. Nichola Goddard’s name will live on in the walls of a new Calgary school, one of four opening this year.

The Calgary Board of Education approved the names of four new schools, expected to open in September, including one with the moniker Captain Nichola Goddard School, chosen in honour of the Calgary soldier killed in Afghanistan in 2006.

More at link.

As the friend of someone who served over 25 years before he recently "came out" (and I hate that expression), I'm very sorry to see this is still going on.

WO McLean, do not let the actions of some idiots keep you from continuing the good work that you have done on so many fronts.

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Original article

A Canadian soldier who served in Afghanistan says he received a threatening note, written by someone working at Kandahar Airfield, because he is gay.

Warrant Officer Andrew McLean, who had tried to hide his sexual orientation, told CBC News that he found the letter on his work station in September, during his 4½-month tour of duty in Kandahar.

"It said, 'You're gay. Because of this, minus-2' … that's metric [for] six feet, 6½ feet under?" McLean said in an interview from Winnipeg, where he recently took part in the Rick Hansen Relay.

"I went through a lot of emotions. I went through anger, embarrassment, humiliation … fear for my safety."

Canadian Forces officials said a harassment complaint was launched when McLean came forward with the discovery, but a full investigation could not be conducted without knowing who left the note at the NATO-run airfield.

Officials told CBC News on Monday that McLean's complaint was taken seriously, and new military camp harassment policies were even developed as a result.

McLean has since been moved to another job.

Kept sexuality a secret

McLean said he had spent years trying to hide the fact that he was gay.

"I tried every trick in the book to be heterosexual," he said.

When asked why, he replied, "Because that's the conflict. That's what society expects you to be."

"You see the negativity all around you, and why would anybody choose to confront that?" he said.

McLean said he was deployed to Afghanistan in mid-July and spent two months there before the note was left on his desk.

"It was a gut punch," he said. "I had been there for two months, doing a really good job. We were working together."

McLean said he struggled for two days before taking the threat — and the truth about his sexuality — up the chain of command.

"These types of notes are what pushes people over the edge," he said.

Now with his sexuality out in the open, McLean said he feels like he is 100 per cent himself for the first time in his life. He said he hopes his experience will empower other gay men and women to take a stand.

While he said he may never know who left the note on his desk in Kandahar, he said he won't ignore what happened.

"If I don't stand up, who's going to stand up?" he said. "If I don't identify something, then who's going to identify it?"

A U.S. Navy diver working from a Canadian ship off the North Carolina coast died during training operations Thursday, Naval Expeditionary Combat Command announced Friday.

The diver’s name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The diver, assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 12, was embarked on HMCS Summerside during preparations to take part in Bold Alligator, a major amphibious training exercise slated to begin Jan. 30.

The diver was transported to Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune, N.C., and pronounced dead on arrival, said Lt. Cmdr. John Gay, a command spokesman.

NECC is conducting an investigation into the sailor’s death, Gay said.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2012/01/navy-diver-dies-during-training-012712/

Here is a link to a National Post story re the award to the MMV to MBdr Holmes.

I interviewed Holmes and the other Canadian in early 2011. They had an impressive story to tell, including that early in the engagement they were informed that the Taliban commander had radioed that there were two Canadians present and they should be killed first. Needless to say, they stayed and fought.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/01/24/133336/

Malta shuts down Canadian small-arms firing exercise
 Article Link
 The Canadian Press Saturday Jan. 21, 2012

OTTAWA — It seems the Maltese revel in their peace and quiet -- even when it's at sea.

A Canadian warship on its way to the eastern Mediterranean caused a bit of ruckus off the island nation.

Earlier this week, the Halifax-based frigate HMCS Charlottetown conducted a small-arms firing exercise on the deck of the ship, which is routine training for the counter-terrorism mission the ship is about to begin.

Sailors were firing 9 mm pistols towards the empty ocean when they were ordered to stop.

Lt. Mark Fifield, a spokesman for the Royal Canadian Navy in Ottawa, says Maltese Coast Guard officials hadn't authorized the exercise and shut it down after being notified over the radio.

Under international convention, warships conducting any firing drills in the waters of other countries are required to warn other vessels in the area and the host nation.

Fifield said the skipper of the Charlottetown didn't realize his warship had crossed into Maltese waters, but added that the radio warning had still been broadcast.

"No other vessels were in proximity to Charlottetown at the time of the incident and there was no risk to public safety," he said.

Canada delivered a note of apology to Malta over the incident and Fifield said it was something the navy "deeply regretted."

He said the weapons drill, conducted to ensure sailors are ready for the boarding of suspicious vessels, later resumed but only after the warship had hit international waters.
More on link