Fantino in/out of VAC: changes in DM/other staff (merged)

[The Bread Guy]

Perhaps some day we can see some of these promises kept.  :-\

I dare to dream with you, GW.

 

[blackberet17]

Further background on the new Minister:

http://www.thewhig.com/2015/01/06/just-the-beginning-for-him

In 25 years as a political geography professor at the Royal Military College, Lubomyr Luciuk said only a handful of students stand out in his memory.

Luciuk said he can't remember if he taught Erin O'Toole or if he hung out with cadets in his class. Either way, he remembered O'Toole.

"Erin stood out," Luciuk said Tuesday afternoon. "There were a few, he's not the only one. There were a dozen over those 25 years that I just had this feeling were going to go really far. Erin was one of them."

On Monday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed O'Toole minister of veterans affairs, replacing Julian Fantino. O'Toole was first elected in the 2012 byelection held after the resignation of Bev Oda.

"No surprise," Luciuk said, "This is just the beginning for him. This is a young man who has a good, strong career ahead of him in federal politics."

Luciuk said he remembered O'Toole as a keen, intelligent and good-humoured student who came out of high school in Bowmanville wanting to go to RMC and have a military career.

Such a clear vision was unusual among freshman cadets, Luciuk said.

O'Toole graduated from RMC in 1995 with a bachelor of arts and was commissioned as an officer in the air force.

He served 12 years, first at the Rescue Coordination Centre on search and rescue operations with 8 Wing at CFB Trenton, then with 17 Wing in Winnipeg, where he completed his training as an air navigator.

He received his wings and was posted to 12 Wing in Shearwater, N.S., in 1997. He flew with 423 Squadron as a tactical navigator on the Sea King helicopter, conducting anti-submarine, maritime surveillance, search and rescue and naval support operations. O'Toole sailed as part of the air detachment aboard the frigate HMCS St. John's.

While with 12 Wing was promoted to captain and during that posting he and his crew received the Sikorsky Helicopter Rescue Award for the rescue of an injured fisherman at sea.

After leaving the regular forces in 2000, he transferred to the reserves and studied law at Dalhousie University.

He graduated in 2003 and after being called to the bar in Ontario worked mainly in corporate law.

While his enthusiasm and commitment to veterans issues is apparent, Luciuk said he thinks O'Toole will excel in his new portfolio.

O'Toole is a member of the Royal Canadian Legion and has done extensive charitable work.

He was a director of the Vimy Foundation and is part of that group's 2017 -- Century of Vimy campaign team.

In 2009, he was one of the founders of the True Patriot Love Foundation, which has raised millions for programs that help veterans and their families.

"To do that, demonstrates who he is. The fact that he may have to make some hard choices is what he was trained for at RMC," Luciuk said.

"He's an officer and he may have to make decisions that are not ones that he will be happy with but have to be made because those are the fiscal, economic, political realities of our time."

 

[daftandbarmy]

Good thing the CDS is Air Force too then. Right? 

 

[GK .Dundas]

Good thing the CDS is Air Force too then. Right? 

It should be alright so long as the Minister remembers that he is no longer required to salute the CDS. 

 

[JS2218]

No guarantee that he would be the  Minister if the Liberals were to win but here is their present Veterans Affairs critic. It may be worth checking on what if any his opinions are.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Valeriote

*Shudder*

The only MP to be fined for illegal robocalls. No thanks!

 

[Strike]

It should be alright so long as the Minister remembers that he is no longer required to salute the CDS. 

Both Minister O'Toole and the CAF Chief served together in Shearwater.  Here's hoping that, with the Minster having so many friends with whom he still associates as veterans or who are still serving, that he will take the job much more personally than it seems Mr. Fantino did.

 

[upandatom]

I would never say something like that.  I am not sure that any of the Opposition Parties actually have any intention to improve upon VAC, and wasting a vote on a fringe Party is just that, a wasted vote, that will result in no change and only a temporary "Feel Good Feeling" for you.  Make your vote count, even if it is for the "lesser evil" getting into power, if you want any chance of effecting change. 

It never ceases to amaze me that people will vote for an Independent, a Party that does not have a large national support base, or spoil their ballot in protest; and then expect the Government to effect changes that they want.

Voting for a lesser evil just shows the disgusting state of Canadian Politics. There are ways to formally oppose the vote, When voting you request a non vote card. Which in turn if enough people used that option it would spoil the election, send a very strong message. However as Canadians we will continue to take our lickings via over taxation and monopolization of various sectors of industry causing eye gouging rates compared to the rest of the world.

 

[George Wallace]

Voting for a lesser evil just shows the disgusting state of Canadian Politics. There are ways to formally oppose the vote, When voting you request a non vote card. Which in turn if enough people used that option it would spoil the election, send a very strong message. However as Canadians we will continue to take our lickings via over taxation and monopolization of various sectors of industry causing eye gouging rates compared to the rest of the world.

And as I said; spoiling a vote is not accomplishing anything, but feel free to give yourself an instant of self gratification.  You will not have accomplished anything.  In fact, what you really are condoning is the continued poor governance of the country, by not taking positive measures to elect representatives to affect the changes necessary.  Spoiling a ballot is tacit approval of whomever is elected.

 

[Remius]

And as I said; spoiling a vote is not accomplishing anything, but feel free to give yourself an instant of self gratification.  You will not have accomplished anything.  In fact, what you really are condoning is the continued poor governance of the country, by not taking positive measures to elect representatives to affect the changes necessary.  Spoiling a ballot is tacit approval of whomever is elected.

Many would disagree with that opinion.  A spoiled vote can be viewed as a protest vote.  Dissatisfaction at  the candidates or what not.  You are still participating in the electoral process and if there are enough spoiled ballots it can send a strong message.  Not participating at a all in the process, while may seem like a protest vote, is more of a tacit approval or acceptance of whoever wins.

 

[Gimpy]

Many would disagree with that opinion.  A spoiled vote can be viewed as a protest vote.  Dissatisfaction at  the candidates or what not.  You are still participating in the electoral process and if there are enough spoiled ballots it can send a strong message.  Not participating at a all in the process, while may seem like a protest vote, is more of a tacit approval or acceptance of whoever wins.

Many would be misinformed then. A spoiled vote is not a protest vote. Under the current Elections Canada system it is a wasted vote. They aren't treated like a proper ballot and counted as a rejected ballot without differentiation between someone who intentionally messed it up and someone who accidentally marked two boxes or some other typographical/paper error. The way to actually protest would be to refuse your ballot which is counted as a distinct category and something that cannot be misinterpreted. Unfortunately, this can only currently be done at the provincial level (only within several provinces at the moment) and federally they would fall into the same spoiled vote category.

While a spoiled ballot might be done as a protest, it would not be seen as one in official reference and as such, is meaningless in federal elections.

 

[The Bread Guy]

New Minister shuts out one group ....

Newly-appointed Veterans Affairs Minister Erin O’Toole has informed an advocacy group for wounded and psychologically injured veterans that it is no longer a stakeholder adviser to the Veterans Affairs department.

Mike Blais, who helped launch Canadian Veterans Advocacy in 2011 to advocate for veterans and serving Canadian Forces members who did combat tours in Afghanistan and their families, told The Hill Times that Mr. O’Toole (Durham, Ont.) gave the bad news to the group in a voicemail he left on Mr. Blais’ phone service Jan. 7.

(....)

Last June, Mr. O’Toole said in the House of Commons that Canadian Veterans Advocacy is run out of the Parliamentary office of NDP MP Peter Stoffer (Sackville-Eastern Shore, N.S.).

“As a veteran myself, I have been quite offended by some of the work that group does. It is not sincere. It is not based on sound policy. I understand, at committee, that they have acknowledged that their funding has come from unions,” Mr. O’Toole said on June 2.

Mr. O’Toole’s message said Mr. Blais should know how the minister feels about the CVA, Mr. Blais told The Hill Times.

“He’s always tried to label us as a union plant,’’ Mr. Blais said in a telephone interview last Thursday ....

 

[PuckChaser]

Good. I don't think we've lost a sane voice anyways.

 

[Occam]

Good. I don't think we've lost a sane voice anyways.

On the contrary, they've been at the table for the last three years and two VAC ministers, with nobody making a complaint.  As I said before - when was the last time you saw a Legion exec in front of a camera?  Minister O'Toole doesn't want the CVA at the table because they do an exceptional job of exposing the shortcomings of VAC, while the Royal Canadian Legion plays the quiet but ineffective lapdog.

 

[The Bread Guy]

More changes next to the Minister ....

The Harper government’s efforts to rebuild bridges with veterans appeared to ramp up Monday as newly appointed minister Erin O’Toole recruited an experienced political hand as his top adviser.

The Canadian Press has learned that longtime Conservative John MacDonell was appointed as the new chief of staff in O’Toole’s office following the cabinet shuffle last week that booted Julian Fantino from the portfolio.

In an interview, O’Toole himself confirmed the appointment. He said he’s working to surround himself with advisers who are already familiar with the concerns of modern-day veterans.

“My goal has been to get a smart team that understands the issues and that can move quickly,” O’Toole said.

MacDonell served for six years as chief of staff to former defence minister Peter MacKay and also worked closely with retired general Walt Natynczyk, who is now the top bureaucrat at the veterans department ....

More on the new Chief of Staff here at LinkedIn here.

Let's see what this new trio (Minister, COS, DM) can get done, then.

 

[OldSolduer]

More changes next to the Minister ....
More on the new Chief of Staff here at LinkedIn here.

Let's see what this new trio (Minister, COS, DM) can get done, then.

It seems progress may be made. Watch and shoot!

 

[Danjanou]

*Shudder*

The only MP to be fined for illegal robocalls. No thanks!

Yeah,  maybe shows how seriously that particular party takes Veterans issues, based on whom they assigned to the file. :

On the contrary, they've been at the table for the last three years and two VAC ministers, with nobody making a complaint.  As I said before - when was the last time you saw a Legion exec in front of a camera?  Minister O'Toole doesn't want the CVA at the table because they do an exceptional job of exposing the shortcomings of VAC, while the Royal Canadian Legion plays the quiet but ineffective lapdog.

What colour is the sky in your world?

Blais and his fellow travelers are at best a bunch of rabid fringe dwellers, spouting nothing but political rhetoric and unwilling to listen or even consider any other points of view. Go on their webs site and/or FB page and dare to disagree with Saint Michael of the Soundbite and see how long before they bully, insult, threaten, and then ban you. They do not represent this Veteran, and until they start acting like responsible adults not spoiled preschoolers throwing public temper tantrums, they never will.

No elected repetition, no official membership list, nothing but apparently a self appointed  and possibly delusional  advocate who embarrasses us all.

They serve a set purpose to the opposition parties, PSAC and others who are against the present GOC because they are more than willing to publically say whatever those groups want. The Santa Clause stunt by one of their "Directors" being the latest in a long line of ineffective, petty and juvenile acts that in no way promote our issues.

After spending time gleefully claiming that they and they alone were responsible for Fantino's departure on their FB site they then proceeded to insult the incoming Minister before he probably had picked up the keys to his new office, and long before the "voice mail" Mikey is moaning about, which when actually listened to apparently is not quite what the CVA were saying was on it.

Full disclosure, I'm an RCL Member. Yes there are issues in the RCL from the top down to the individual branches. That's why I'm still there, because there is still a chance it can be fixed, and become an effective and rational advocate for all Veterans. I and any other Veteran get the opportunity to try and make that change, or not, should we choose to. That is not how the CVA operates.

 

[Strike]

Here's another article in the "Hill, which includes a transcript of the message.  It's pretty obvious that Mr. Blais was grandstanding (Quel surprise!).

http://www.hilltimes.com/news/news/2015/01/14/otooles-office-continues-to-avoid-answering-whether-canadian-veterans-advocacy-cut/40715

I can't help but wonder why Mr. Blais would not want to have some type of registry and have a voting membership.  You don't have to charge dues with that and can have all votes done online now anyway, keeping costs low.  It's a quote in another article (linked in the main one) that makes me really question his motives:

"They [The RCL] raise money. They charge a membership. And for that they should have an organization to ensure the money is spent as it is (meant to be)," Blais said. "We do not have members for that very reason, 'cause I don't believe in charging wounded veterans to help them."

Glad he added the caveat at the end of the quote, because I would wonder where that money is going.

And as for the Minister's worries about CVA working out of an NDP MP's office, I would worry about that too.  No charitable organization should have a political affiliation as far as I'm concerned.  I know that most do, but they certainly don't make it show as overtly as the CVA does IMHO.

O'Toole denies cutting ties with veterans' group, says he will 'consult wider,' but continues to avoid answering whether CVA cut off from Veterans Affairs Canada Stakeholder Committee

"Minister O'Toole intends to consult wider and reach out to veterans from all segments of the veterans community," says Veterans Affairs Minister Erin O'Toole's staffer

By TIM NAUMETZ |
Published: Wednesday, 01/14/2015 10:46 am EST
Last Updated: Wednesday, 01/14/2015 12:18 pm EST


PARLIAMENT HILL—An aide to Veterans Affairs Minister Erin O’Toole said Tuesday Mr. O’Toole intends to consult “wider” than just with a Veterans Affairs department stakeholder committee in his new post, but Mr. O’Toole and his office continued to avoid a direct response to claims from the outspoken Canadian Veterans Advocacy group that he told the group’s director his organization had to conform to the norms of veteran associations like the Canadian Legion to remain on the committee.

On Monday, The Hill Times reported that Mr. O'Toole had informed Canadian Veterans Advocacy founder Mike Blais by voice mail that his group would no longer be a stakeholder adviser to Veterans Affairs Canada. But after The Hill Times obtained the message, it's clear Mr. O'Toole (Durham, Ont.) suggests that Mr. Blais run the Canadian Veterans' Advocacy more like the Royal Canadian Legion or other larger groups. But Mr. O'Toole does not clearly say that he will cut ties with the advocacy group for wounded and psychologically injured veterans. However, Mr. O'Toole does suggest the Canadian Veterans' Advocacy restructure its group.

A spokesperson for Mr. O’Toole (Durham, Ont.) suggested in emails to questions from The Hill Times that Mr. O’Toole is considering other forms of formal veteran advisory discussions outside the stakeholder committee that former Veterans Affairs minister Steven Blaney (Levi-Bellechasse, Que.) set up in 2012.

“Minister O'Toole intends to consult wider and reach out to veterans from all segments of the veterans community,” media adviser Kayleigh Kanoza said. “This may at one point take the form of structured meetings or round tables, in addition to direct consultations by the minister or his office with veterans and their families.”

In a separate response to questions on the controversy sparked by Mr. Blais' cliam that Mr. O’Toole was cutting the group from the Veterans Affairs Canada Stakeholder Committee unless it changed its organization’s rules and structure, Ms. Kanoza did not answer the question directly, but said Mr. O’Toole considers all veterans groups to be stakeholders in Veterans Affairs.

“In just over a week, Minister O’Toole has consulted with dozens of veterans from across Canada, including reaching out to Mr. Blais. Our government understands that the veterans community is diverse and as such, considers all groups as stakeholders, including Mr. Blais’,” Ms. Kanoza said in emails to The Hill Times and at least one other news site, The Tyee.

In the aftermath of an initial Hill Times report on Monday quoting Mr. Blais’ allegations that Mr. O’Toole had cut his group out of participation on the committee—through comments he left on Mr. Blais’ voice mail two days after he was sworn in as the new Veterans Affairs minister—Mr. O’Toole has defended himself on Twitter by saying “no one is cut off” and “1st week as MVA involved reaching out to many different organizations & diverse veteran voices. This will continue to be my approach.”

His press secretary, Ashlee Smith, at one point asked The Hill Times if it intended to retract its initial report about Mr. Blais’ view of Mr. O’Toole’s voice mail, but a digital copy of a recording his office made of his comments when he left the voice mail show that Mr. O’Toole informed Mr. Blais of his longstanding objections to the organization of his advocacy group, a federally registered non-profit organization, and set out the manner in which he wants members of the group to arrange their internal affairs.

“As you know, my position with respect to Canadian Veterans Advocacy hasn’t changed from the first time you and I spoke and I think we actually have a decent relationship, but I want groups that are, you know, truly non-profit paternal organizations that have bylaws, that have boards of directors, that have votes and they have annual general meetings, not just a Facebook page,” he said in the voice mail.

“So I’d like to hear your plan on becoming that, like a Legion or an ANAVATS or a UN-NATO or something where the members have a lot of say on direction of policy,” Mr. O’Toole said in the voice mail.

Mr. O’Toole was referring to the Royal Canadian Legion, the Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans in Canada and the Veterans UN-NATO Canada organizations, all of which are on a Veterans Affairs Canada list of the Stakeholder Committee members in January, 2012.

The list includes Canadian Veterans Advocacy and VeteransofCanada.ca, whose director, Don Leonardo, told The Hill Times on Monday that the group was not invited to a Stakeholders Committee meeting Mr. Fantino convened in the Citadel Hotel in Quebec City last November and that he also has been excluded from the committee. Former Veterans minister Julian Fantino (Vaughan, Ont.) had at least two meetings with the Stakeholders Committee during his year and a half as the minister. He also had at least one controversial clash with veterans who had arranged to meet him on Parliament Hill and other standoffs with Mr. Blais and other outspoken critics of the way Veterans Affairs Canada has dealt with physically and psychologically wounded vets of the Afghanistan War.

Mr. Blais could not be reached on Tuesday, and his telephone voice mail was full. Mr. O’Toole was appointed the Veterans Affairs minister on Jan. 5. The next day, he tweeted: “After some initial meetings I spent my 1st day as MVA calling & listening to leading veterans organizations starting with the @RCL_DC [Royal Canadian Legion].” Canadian Veterans Advocacy replied, publicly tweeting Mr. Blais’ phone number. Mr. O’Toole called Mr. Blais on Jan. 7 and left a voice mail message when he was unable to reach him on his cell phone.

“I was not home and he left a brief message, that was kind of circumvented because he ran out of time, but nevertheless in essence he said, ‘Well, you know how I feel about the CVA, it’s the same as the last three years, I have not changed my position, if you want to change your organization, more like the Legion where we have members and we have votes and all this stuff,’” Mr. Blais said.

“Well we’re not the legion. We’re an advocacy [group] and we have conformed to every non-profit regulation that the Harper government has put into effect since 2012,” he said. “He’s dis-included us from the stakeholder’s table because of our so-called union ties,” Mr. Blais said, referring to a comment Mr. O’Toole made in the House on June 2, 2014.

Responding to NDP MP Dennis Bevington (Western Arctic, N.W.T.) about the Rock the Hill event, Mr. O’Toole said: “As the member may know, it is organized by Canadian Veterans Advocacy. He is asking why are we not having this debate when they are here. I would invite the member to just walk across the hall in the Confederation Building and meet with Canadian Veterans Advocacy, who work out of the member for Sackville-Eastern-Shore’s [NDP MP Peter Stoffer] office. As a veteran myself, I have been quite offended by some of the work that group does. It is not sincere. It is not based on sound policy. I understand, at committee, that they have acknowledged that their funding has come from unions.”

 

[Occam]

Opinions vary, I guess.  I've watched a lot of the non-traditional veterans groups over the years, and I don't see any harm in allowing their voices to be heard as stakeholders.  In the end, the government's going to do what the government wants to do anyways, the only variable is whether they can convince the stakeholders as to whether their input was considered and dismissed with cause, or just simply dismissed.

Just because a group doesn't have a membership list, membership dues, an elected governance, and a street address doesn't mean that they don't have a role to fill, and don't have good ideas that be brought to the table.  I find it hard to believe that 6000+ people would join the group just to watch the director's occasional rant.  If people didn't like what they see coming from the group, the "unsubscribe" button is right there - I'm sure they'd leave.

I disagree on the grandstanding comment.  Mr. O'Toole is a lawyer, and I've never met a lawyer who didn't choose his words very carefully.  The article refers to Mr. O'Toole's past public commentary on the group, some of which is blatantly untruthful, some is twisting the truth, and very little is truthful.  To suggest that Mr. Blais would work out of Mr. Stoffer's office, or that Mr. Stoffer would permit Mr. Blais to do so, is ludicrous.  PSAC donated a sum of money ($2000, if I recall correctly) to the advocacy group to permit Union of Veterans Affairs Employees reps to attend a press conference on VAC office closures (again, if I recall correctly).  All of a sudden, the group has "union ties".  I listened to the voice message Mr. O'Toole left, and within the context of the past history he's had with the group, as well as the past history with Mr. Leonardo's group, I would have come to the same conclusion as Mr. Blais.  Mr. O'Toole doesn't seem to be in any rush to clarify exactly what he meant on the message, that's for sure.

I don't agree with everything they say, but I can and have disagreed with people and not been run out of town, so to speak.  I'm not sure where my loyalties lie right now, but I can still say I won't be gracing the Legion with my presence anytime soon.

 

[jollyjacktar]

I had a "let's welcome the new guy to DND" etc etc, mass email from the puzzle palace today.  Deleted it without reading more than a line or two.  :

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Read more then me