Photo credit: Ottawa Citizen
By Mike 'Blazer' Blais
Summer is finally here and Canada's serving members and veterans are hopefully enjoying recreational activities across the nation. I would like to remind the troops that both federal and provincial parks have either free access or lower prices for veterans who are visiting these sites. Our nation’s natural bounty awaits and I would encourage you to take that break you deserve after a long difficult year: Gather your family and hit the road. This is particularly important if you are, like myself, disabled and due to mobility restrictions, confined to barracks for most of the winter. Cabin fever is a real thing. I speak from experience and breaking free from the routine that dominates your life will generate substantial positive results. The Blais family just purchased a small trailer, big enough for my wife, the dogs and me yet compact and light enough that we can pull it with the SUV which we currently own. This summer, we are doing provincial parks along the Lake Erie shore. If that is not your gig, try bed-and-breakfast or those mom and pops motels you see adjacent to lakes, rivers or tourist attractions. Just do it.
Summer also means riding season for bikers and I was pleased to note that our veterans orientated motorcycle associations are thriving with the CAV and the UN-NATO guys and lasses leading the charge. The Rolling Thunder ride, a coast to coast adventure of a lifetime, will be starting soon and I would encourage everyone to support them when they ride through your community or support the local chapters' fundraising efforts as they are invariably designed to assist veterans in need. As drivers, please be mindful of a motorcycle's presencewhen you are on the road. Every year our community is distraught upon hearing of a comrade who survived war and peace yet died or was seriously injured as a result of a motor vehicle accident. Be vigilant.
This part should go without saying, but for God's sake, do not drink (or smoke weed) and drive.
This is also Canada's Barbeque season. Without a doubt, MPs and MPPs throughout the land will be attending such events through the summer. They are often present at fairs, carnivals or other community efforts that provide opportunities for constituents to meet their elected representatives. I would encourage you to engage them, tell them you are veterans and any discord you and your family has with VAC or DND. Should there be an opportunity to engage VAC Minister Jill McKnight on one of her numerous dog-and-pony outings. be sure to step up. Focus on the difficulties you are experiencing in receiving direct health care through the provincial programs and the minister’s obligation to ensure clients of VAC are cared for in an expedient manner. On that level, I met with my local MPP to remind him of the province's obligation to expedite care for those who have offered national sacrifice on behalf of the nation and the failures therein. We are advocating a position wherein veterans who are clients of VAC would be accorded expedited care through the respective provincial and territorial health care systems. More to follow on this level as we gear up to engage the Ontario legislature this fall.
Elsewhere within the community, the leadership of the Canadian Armed Forces have distinguished themselves in a manner that can only be detrimental to the DND's reputation. First, there has been another sexual assault charge levied against a senior officer. We shall be watching this closely in view of recent legislation dictating civilian jurisprudence and authority. What does this mean? Sexual-assault complaint investigations are no longer to be conducted by the military police. Should the evidence warrant charges, the adjudication process will be conducted through the civilian courts.
Then there was an incident out west resulting in 3 PPCLI's Commanding Officer and Regimental Sergeant Major being briefly and publicly relieved of command. Although the orders were rescinded quickly, the incident was widely covered by the national media. I won't comment on the severity of the incident other than to say it must have been significant enough to warrant such an extraordinary response. Or was this possibly a failure in leadership at the brigade level: A knee jerk reaction to a trivial incident? How many senior generals were involved in this decision? Most importantly, why was it reversed after national exposure and who, exactly, ordered the reversal? No matter how you look at this, the leadership qualities of those responsible for this drivel should be reassessed with respect to any future advancement.
Am I being too harsh? I think not. Blazer out.
