Remember Harper Muzzling Scientists? He's Doing It To Veterans Too

Under the Harper Government, we have been fed enormous amounts of propaganda pablum in the name of "Support the War in Afghanistan Troops".  The "highway of heroes" when our troops were being returned in pine boxes on a weekly basis; goodness knows how many photo-ops of Harper and Mackay on the tarmac in Afghanistan, and Harper wearing partial uniforms at various times.

You would think that the troops are some kind of privileged class under Harper.  Not so much, it seems.  In fact, if you manage to get yourself injured in the line of duty, the big old roll of duct tape gets dragged out and put across your mouth.

The Canadian Forces is requiring physically and mentally wounded soldiers to sign a form acknowledging they won’t criticize senior officers or discourage others in uniform with their comments on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. 

The form, given to military personnel who are transferred to the Joint Personnel Support Unit, was sent to the Citizen by military members upset with what they see as a threat to their right to speak out about the failure of the Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces to take care of the wounded.

Now, at first, you might think that this is little more than the usual private industry policies that basically state that criticizing your employer publicly can get you fired.  I have more than a few problems with those policies too - but there is a reasonable level of non-disclosure in the workplace.  I certainly wouldn't want trade secrets being revealed in public media, unless of course the "trade secret" is in fact a violation of the law.

This goes several steps further, and begins to sound a lot like the controls that Harper has used to suppress Canadian scientists who might say things that are in conflict with his political dogma.

The JPSU “policy on proper comments on social media” repeats well-known military directions not to post secret information on websites and other forums. It also tells military personnel not to make disparaging comments about senior officers or fellow personnel. 

But military personnel in JPSU are also told not to “write anything that might discourage others or make them dissatisfied with their conditions or their employment.” 

In addition, those in JPSU were told not to disclose “your views on any military subject.”The form, introduced in March, notes military personnel in JPSU will be held responsible for not only the content they post on social media outlets but also the content of their friends which they have “tagged” on various sites. 

Wait a second.  So, if a member of the JPSU (any injured veteran still enlisted, I presume) posts something, they can get disciplined?  But, worse, if someone they know posts something, the service member can be held accountable for that?  Excuse me?  In principle, that means that this blog could be used against any active members of the armed forces that I may be associated with.   This policy, like the "duty of loyalty to the elected government" letter sent to Parks Canada staff last year, is a gross abuse of legitimate rights.

Of course, what Harper wants us to do is revere his propagandized notion of the military, and not look too closely behind the curtain at how the troops are treated when they get home minus a limb or suffering from PTSD.

Accountability ... Harper Style - Part XVI

From Canada's Auditor General:

The price tag for two types of military helicopters has doubled to $11-billion because the Department of Defence low-balled estimates when seeking approval even when it knew that planned design changes would hike costs, Ms. Fraser’s office reported Tuesday.

She also faulted Defence and Public Works for sole-sourcing the Chinook helicopter without properly justifying a decision to skirt a normal competitive process. “What we found in the audit is troubling,” Ms. Fraser said in her report.

Why am I not surprised?

Those processes for competitive bids exist for good reasons - and it's not just about "getting the lowest price". Single source purchases typically mean a very cozy relationship between purchaser and vendor. In the case of government purchases, that also means that the public accountability is less than ideal.

That the HarperCon$ are so eager to jump into single source, non-competitive bid contracts with military suppliers means that not only are the costs going to be higher for Canadians, but we have very little reassurance that Canadian tax dollars are being used to maximize value in making these investments.

I would hope that no one is assessing that as low risk,” the Auditor-General said of the F-35 project as she answered questions on her fall report that sharply criticized Defence purchasing.

The whole business really makes me wonder just whose pockets are being lined by discrete envelopes of untraceable cash?

As A Taxpayer, This Stinks

From the Accountable Government file, we have the Federal Government claiming national security concerns to avoid divulging how much Stevie's Excellent Adventure in Afghanistan is costing us:

The Defence Department cited a national security exemption when it censored a request under Access to Information by the federal NDP for the military costs of Canada’s military participation in the NATO-led, United Nations-sanctioned military mission to Afghanistan.

Hmmm...why does the government getting secretive about defense spending worry me? Well, let's start with the generally dishonest approach the HarperCon$ have had towards disclosing anything, and then compound it with an approach to budgets and fiscal planning that a ten year old can poke holes in. The real question is what are they hiding?

While I'm sure that the governing party will gleefully hide behind the claim that this was done "by the bureaucracy", the governing party sets the tone for policy and action within the government.

In a recent speech, Defence Minister Peter MacKay touted the price tag of the government’s program to buy new equipment for the military, telling an audience of defence contractors and lobbyists that the government would spend $60 billion on new capital acquisitions by 2028.

It's not hard to spend $60bn on military equipment. The question was, is and should be, whether that $60bn is being spent appropriately. The fact that they are now directing the DND to be increasingly secretive should give us all pause - governments that are being secretive are like children that are too quiet - they are all too often up to something you don't want them to do.

Straight From the PMO?

Defence Dept. restricts interviews during election

Bureaucrats said the department's assistant deputy minister for public affairs issued a directive stating that they cannot grant interviews for the duration of the five-week campaign.

"During an election period it is of utmost importance that National Defence employees and Canadian Forces members do not act in any way that could influence – or be perceived as influencing – the outcome of the electoral process," reads the directive, sent to The Canadian Press following a request for an interview on a health matter affecting Canadian Forces personnel.

The Assistant Deputy Minister gave the order you say? Oh...so that probably means it came from the political leadership - that would be Peter Mackay, wouldn't it? Peter, who marches along so smartly in lock step with Stephen Harper.

In fact, this would be the same Peter Mackay who reneged on his pledges and sold out the Progressive Conservative party and handed the keys over to the Harper-led ReformaTories.

Anyone want to place odds that a few conveniently unrecorded phone calls between PMSH and Mackay got this ball rolling? After all, we wouldn't want the public thinking too hard about things that go "boom" and result in dead bodies during an election, would we?

The HarperCon$: Accounting Lite

Apparently, not only is the Harper government breaking new records for secrecy and unaccountable behaviour, apparently they are also challenged by simple arithmetic.

The Conservative government's pledge for a stable funding program for the Canadian military will actually result in less money for the cash-strapped Forces because of inflation, a Senate committee report says.

The report by the Senate security and defence committee, which was slammed by Defence Minister Peter MacKay, criticizes the Tories' planned annual defence budget increase of 1.5 per cent until 2011 and two per cent until 2031.

"A two per cent increase is ludicrous as any government accountant must be well aware," says the report released Wednesday.

Oh, it gets better:

But in terms of military spending as a percentage of GDP, Canada spends almost 1.2 per cent of its GDP on defence, while the average for most NATO countries is two per cent.

However, both the Senate committee and the Conference of Defence Associations have estimated that under this spending plan, the defence budget in 10 years could fall to as low as 0.89 per cent of GDP.

"A two per cent increase over and above inflation would at least be an honest gesture. But even that won't come close to meeting the NATO target," the report states

My - wasn't it Mr. Harper who was oh-so-concerned about Canada meeting it's NATO commitments last election?

And, in classic HarperCon form, Mackay's response is "but...but...the Liberals!":

But the Tory government shot back at the report. MacKay called it "both disingenuous and inflammatory," saying it serves only to "highlight Senator Kenny's hypocrisy."

"After years of Liberal neglect of the Canadian Forces, Senator Kenny's only argument against the Conservative government is that it isn't cleaning up his party's mess fast enough," MacKay said in an e-mail statement.

No, Peter - that doesn't wash any more.

The First Clue Was ...

In 2006, when the newly elected HarperCon$ were running around announcing military purchases every couple days, that was our first clue that the HarperCon$ had no idea what they were talking about.

Army equipment is often highly specialized to begin with, and you don't just "order it" and receive delivery some weeks later as you might with a car purchase. (even one that requires a 'factory order')

Sure enough, the Harper 'fast and furious' approach to military spending is running into exactly the kind of problems you would expect from a poorly planned, rush job.

In addition, documents from National Defence show the government will either have to pay an extra $300-million in "overrun cost" to purchase a fleet of 16 Chinook helicopters, or settle for less equipment.

I wonder what "less equipment" means - removing one of the engines from the Chinooks?

Brrr...

Anybody with their eye on technology has known that sooner or later, someone was going to make a "real" ED-209.

Sure enough, the US Navy has gone quite some ways down the path.

I have to wonder if the developers are thinking in terms of Asimov's 3 Laws of Robotics when they are developing the software systems behind these devices?