Huron Expositor, 2016-03-16, Page 5Wednesday, March 16, 2016 • Huron Expositor 5
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Liberals need to stop senseless partisanship
It's a natural, if unfor-
tunate, part of poli-
tics that when a new
government arrives, it
sweeps away much of
what the old govern-
ment did. But not every-
thing opponents initiate
is wrong; true political
wisdom consists of
knowing this.
On the issue of hon-
ouring Canada's veter-
ans and military accom-
plishments, it's not clear
that the Liberals do.
The latest example is
Veterans Affairs Minis-
ter Kent Hehr's
mishandling of the
$5 -million Community
War Memorial Program
and a planned Afghani-
stan war memorial.
The Ottawa Citizen's
Lee Berthiaume asked
last week about these
initiatives, based on
departmental docu-
ments identifying them
as "key issues."
Hehr's office
responded that final
decisions hadn't been
made on whether to
build the Afghan mon-
ument and a related
monument to
Canadians who had
won the Victoria Cross.
It also added that the
community memorial
program — which helps
municipalities build or
repair their own monu-
ments — was going to
end. Evaluators had
given this modest initi-
ative good reviews, say-
ing there was a "contin-
ued need" for it.
The minister's vague-
ness led to days of grill-
ing from the Official
Opposition in the
House of Commons
over how to honour the
40,000 Canadians in
the Afghan mission and
the 158 who died.
On Monday, Hehr,
who ought to have been
ready for these ques-
tions, could muster
only pusillanimous
responses such as
"more information
regarding the project
will be available in the
coming months."
What the Tories
wanted to know — and
so do we — is how the
government will proceed
with these commemora-
tive programs and
whether to expect fund-
ing. But, asked whether
there will be money in
the budget, Hehr
answered, with patroniz-
ing vagueness, "We will
treat our veterans with
care, compassion, and
respect. As well, we will
take their commemora-
tion forward in a digni-
fied fashion."
Eventually — finally
— he said, "We will get
it done." The next day,
he added, "I am work-
ing closely with the
minister of Canadian
Heritage to see this
memorial built."
Phew. But Canadians
still need details. Will
the Afghan project be
built on the site the
Tories selected (along
the Ottawa River)? Will
the budget be the same
as what the Tories antic-
ipated? And what about
the Community War
Memorial Program?
Some ideas, even
when they come from
your political foes, are
worth safeguarding. Or
at least respecting.
— Postmedia Network
State dinner says more about Obama than Trudeau
prime Minister Jus -
tin Trudeau's
planned attend-
ance at a state dinner
in Washington today
may be more utilitarian
than symbolic.
While the invitation
represents a great hon-
our and an historic one
— Trudeau will be the
first Canadian prime
minister since Jean
Chretien to attend a
Washington state din-
ner — it's also a rare
occurrence. Obama has
held fewer state din-
ners than any president
since Harry Truman,
and that's going back
62 years. In his first six
years in office, Obama
has held only seven
state dinners, although
after Thursday's he's
scheduled to hold two
more.
Compare that with
Lyndon Johnson, who
held 54 state dinners,
or Ronald Reagan, who
held 52.
Even John Kennedy,
whose time in office
was the shortest of any
president since the
early 1920s, held 15
state dinners.
The state dinner
Trudeau is to attend is
the highest diplomatic
honour the United
States offers its allies
and other nations.
There's all the pomp
and glitz, not to men-
tion expense, an esti-
mated $500,000 if this
event compares with
the previous seven held
by Obama. The event is
paid for by the U.S.
State Department,
rather than the White
House, because the
dinner is a function of
American diplomacy at
the highest, most pub-
lic levels.
That Canada is now
being formally
acknowledged by the
United States in such
an elegant and public
manner is curious.
Since becoming presi-
dent in 2009, Obama
has held state dinners
for the leaders of India,
Mexico, China, Ger-
many, South Korea,
Britain and France.
Later this year, he will
hold two more, for
Japan and another one
for China.
The state dinner
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STROKE
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ASSESS YOUR RISK.*
obviously is a reflection
of Obama's admiration
for Trudeau, and the
fact he needs some-
thing from the Cana-
dian leader.
Obama's relationship
with Prime Minister
Stephen Harper wasn't
exactly warm, but was
cordial enough, and
certainly not as frosty
as the relationship, or
lack of a relationship,
that John Diefenbaker
had with Kennedy.
To be sure, most of
today's heavy lifting will
be conducted prior to
dinner. Trudeau and
Obama will be meeting
to discuss a variety of
topics, including climate
change and security
issues. Topping the list
could be
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the Trans -Pacific Part-
nership trade agreement,
to which the Harper gov-
ernment agreed prior to
last October's election.
Obama now needs to
ea orthhuronex 0 ositor.co
have that agreement
ratified, and if a little
schmoozing of the
Canadian prime minis-
ter is required, then so
be it.
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