Section: iPolitics (Canada)
Pulled anti-IS fighter jets heading to Romania
Four of Canada’s six fighter jets recently pulled from the bombing mission against ISIS are heading to Romania as part of a new mission to train that country’s airforce. In a press release Thursday, the Department of National Defence announced the jets will head from Kuwait, where they were based during the bombing mission, to Romania...
Dion to travel to Ukraine as Conservatives renew attacks on Russia policy
Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion is travelling to Ukraine this weekend to express Canada’s support for the eastern European country that lost the Crimean Peninsula to Russia in 2014. Dion announced the trip in the House of Commons today as he faced a barrage of criticism from Opposition Conservatives about his decision to engage...
Ukrainian training mission a learning experience on both sides, says Canadian commander
Five months after Canadian soldiers arrived in Ukraine to help train government forces there, the first contingent of troops is about to come home — and their commander now says one of the biggest challenges facing his replacement is challenging the leadership culture in the Ukrainian army. Lt.-Col. Jason Guiney, commander of Canada’s Joint...
Canadian trainers learn lessons of their own instructing hard-pressed Ukrainians
A fresh batch of Canadian military trainers is about to deploy to eastern Europe, and the outgoing commander says his soldiers took a lot of their own notes in addition to handing out assignments to Ukrainian troops. Lt.-Col. Jason Guiney, who is about to end his five-month stint, says even though their training bases are 1,200 kilometres away...
Ukraine’s national police chief asks Canada for help training security forces
Ukraine’s newly appointed national police chief is asking Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government for more help in establishing and training a professional security force. Khatia Dekanoidze made the pitch to both RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson and Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion in separate meetings over the last two days. The...
Polar opposites: Time for a 180 turn in Canada’s Arctic policy
For some time now, Canada’s approach to the Arctic has been parochial and sovereignty-obsessed. Our Arctic foreign policy is long overdue for some refining and refocusing. It should be reflective of the political, economic and environmental landscape of today’s Arctic, and respond proactively to the challenges and opportunities ahead....
On questions of war and peace, we’re a nation divided
The gulf is huge between Stephen Harper’s followers and everyone else over the sort of ideological pose Canada should strike on the world stage. These stark solitudes were on display Monday night as Harper, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau faced off in the Munk Debate on foreign policy, the last English language...
The Sprout: Pressure’s on to nail TPP deal by the end of the month
Good morning, We’re starting the day a little jealous of this little chubby hedgehog, who’s really enjoying having his tummy rubbed. Now, here’s today’s agriculture news. The Lead: Talks on the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal are back on, with chief negotiators set to meet in Atlanta September 26. As The Globe and...
Secret orders-in-council need more oversight: May
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is calling for greater oversight over orders-in-council, saying the news that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has adopted 25 secret OICs is “chilling.” “These revelations … are deeply disturbing,” May said in an interview with iPolitics. “This constitutes a contempt of Parliament. It is not...
Canada in Kyiv — and the embassy scandal that wasn’t
A Canadian Press ‘investigation’ claims to have uncovered a plot by the Government of Canada to be less than truthful about protesters using the Canadian embassy in Kyiv at the time of the 2014 overthrow of the Yanukovych regime. It’s one of the strangest pieces of ‘journalism’ I have seen for a very long time. The facts are...
