View from the Edge of the World

A Primer for Veterans

2013-09-28T21:12:00.000-02:30

A Primer for Veterans

I’m sorry great soldier; you were lied to and fooled
When you enlisted and we told you the rules
We promised you value, we promised you care
We gave solemn promise to see to your affairs

We said if you worked hard, were loyal and true
If you served your country then we’d care for you
You had but to be strong and do as you should
Defending our nation and standing for good

If you gave good service, then you would be set
Good jobs awaiting for you to accept
Canadians would treasure one such as you
There’d be parades and honours and many thank-you’s

We’d all support you, should you get hurt
Sacrifice in service being the noblest of wounds
We’d carry you home and see to your care
If it be crutches or braces or a limb or a chair

By chance if your mind went, lost in the horrors
Of witnessing things no one should observe
Then we’d be here to catch you, to hug you, to cry
To get you whatever to takes to survive

Or if you are unlucky and pay the ultimate price
Be awarded the Last Post, make a noble sacrifice
Leaving behind children and parents and a spouse
And a great lousy void in their life and their house

We promise to fill that, as best we can
To care for your loved ones, to look after your Nan
To provide for your children, see them through school
And support your wife - or husband - like you’d do

We make all these promises, we give solemn oath
If you serve us all, then we will protect you
The great social contract, an agreement so strong
It will never be broken, not by bullet nor bomb

You just sign here and say these few words
And our nation will guard you, just like you’ve heard
For there’s nothing so noble as the troops’ sacrifice
Guarding the country from bumps in the night

Remember those you protect, as you stand in the rain
Or the snow or the sun, on the hills or the plains
On deck of a ship in freezing below
Or sitting in aircraft, staring out the window.

Away from your family, away from your dog
Away from your comforts and living high on the hog
No beers on Fridays, no Saturday games
No sleep-lates then breakfasts-in-bed, more’s the shame

You’ll go where you’re sent; you’ll do as you’re told
You’ll hold your tongue and don’t be so bold
For service is obedience, it goes with the job
The rights you’re protecting ain’t yours, you poor slob

But be a good soldier or airman or sailor
Do your job well and earn what we pays ya
Or be a true Mountie and maintain the right
Even when we curse you for tickets at lights

Do all of that and we’ll do our bit
We’ll see to your needs when you’re no longer fit
To serve us all, it’ll be all so right
When it’s our turn to offer comfort at night

With pensions and schooling and job grants and aid
You’ll have so much support, why, you’ll have it made!
We honour our veterans; we support our troops
‘Course we’ll provide when you get cut loose!

You all believed us, you believed all those words
Who’d lie to a soldier or Mountie but a turd?
The Queen and the Maple Leaf, a promise so proud
A golden contract, a sacred vow

You poor, poor fools! We had no intention
Of keeping that contract, so don’t even mention
We can’t believe you believed US! How foolish you are!
We sat at home and sent you afar!

To work until broken, in body and mind
And crushed in spirit, and you all were blind
To our crossed fingers, to our dirty deals
When we couldn’t give you bullets or decent meals,
What made you think we had pensions waiting?
That wasn’t a contract; it was just fool-baiting.

We bilked you for service. We exploited your oath.
We took all you had and just left you with hope.
A hope so futile that we can’t believe
You still think we can fill it. Why, we’re nuttin but t’eives!

We stole your best years, your futures, your lives
Ripped you from children and husbands and wives
Gave you low pay and little more
And when you were broken, we gave you the door

Now you want something from us? You’ll see what you get.
Your job-skills are useless in the private set
We don’t want to hear ‘bout your stories of war
We put ribbons on our cars, you want something more?

Prove that we owe you, go ahead, and just try
We’ll fight you in court til the day that you die
That sacred contract is not written in stone
And when you fight now, you fight us alone

You say you were promised, that you are not lying
Well that social contract? It’s not legally binding
It’s not in the big books of our legal code
And our vast legal team says we need not uphold

The promises made, for we are in charge
We can do what we want to the veterans at large
We don’t even have to pay one red cent
You cannot make us, we’re the government

So you go and sue us, and you get your ruling
By the time we pay out, you’ll be sitting and drooling
We have greater concerns that ones such as you
We have a great crop of fresh new recruits

All ready to sign up, to take the oath
They believe all our words, as they are spoke
They’ll do their duty like you did before
And when they return, all broken and sore

They’ll find even less support than you got
They’ll be left on the streets, to live there and rot
It’s cheaper that way, and cuts must be made
There’s a recession and we’ve bills to pay

But not to you folks, we owe you naught
You signed of your free will, you know what bought
Go read the fine print, with your arse in a sling
You know what we’ll pay you? Not one goddamn thing.

You took us at our word, more the fool you
Our word means nothing, so what can you do?
You can beg for our help, you might appeal to our pride
But don’t you get it? We won’t pay ‘cause WE LIED!

Release/Communiqué: Citizens' Group Calls for Settlement of ‘Obscene’ Lawsuit / Citizens' groupe Appels à Règlement d'un litige «obscène»

2013-09-08T23:33:00.000-02:30

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / POUR DIFFUSION IMMÉDIATE

Le français suit

Citizens’ Group Applauds Court Decision, Calls for Settlement of ‘Obscene’ Case

St. John’s, NL - On Friday, a BC Supreme Court justice ruled that a group of veterans can sue the federal government. The Attorney General of Canada had argued the suit should be tossed out because it had no chance of success, and that government has no duty to care for those injured or killed in service. Justice Gordon Weatherill denied the government’s arguments, ruling, in part, “that the Crown solemnly undertook to act in the best interests of injured veterans upon their return from battle... That makes sense when one considers that it is the Canadian Forces members and veterans who fought and in many cases died and continue to fight and die for the freedom of all Canadians and the fundamental principles that all Canadian citizens treasure."[p67] The court approved the lawsuit by 6 Afghanistan veterans, who say the lump-sum payments they received under the 2006 New Veterans Charter are inadequate.

Our Duty agrees: “One day, you are patrolling in Afghanistan, secure that, if you are injured, you will be looked after for the rest of your life,” said Jeff Rose-Martland, President of the citizens’ group, “The next, you are patrolling that area, knowing the best compensation you would get wouldn’t buy a house in most markets. You weren’t even asked if you wanted your benefits changed, weren’t given an option to quit the Forces when they were, you just got stuck with what the government handed you and sent off to dodge bullets.”

Our Duty notes that the New Veterans Charter was introduced as the fight in Afghanistan was heating up. “The lump-sum award came into effect on 1 April 2006, just as the spring offensive was starting. Six weeks later, the Harper Government announced it was sending more Canadian troops and extending the mission for at least two more years - now seven and counting,” said advocate Rose-Martland, “One month, the government is saving money by cutting benefits to injured veterans; the next month it sets out to create more injured veterans.” Rose-Martland also notes that, of the 158 Canadian soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan, 147 died after the lump-sum payment plan was implemented.

Our Duty backs the veterans’ lawsuit: “We support the Equitas Society, who is fundraising to offset the legal expenses. As citizens, we are tired of watching our government fighting our veterans in court. These people served us, served Canada, and they should be looked after,” said the President, “The idea of wounded veterans, and families of those killed, having to go to court to get fair treatment is obscene.”

In light of the Friday decision, Our Duty is calling on the government to concede defeat.

“Our government stood in court and declared that Canada doesn’t owe veterans for their sacrifices,” said Jeff Rose-Martland, “That’s not only grotesque, it’s also patently false. Canadians know what we owe our troops; we know that we have a duty to provide for those who have sacrificed for us. All citizens know this.

“But the government argued otherwise, and used us to defend their position, saying that it can’t put the needs of veterans before taxpayers. Why not? We ask the Forces and RCMP to put Canada before themselves. We put them between us and harm. When they are harmed, it is only just that we put their needs before our own. Fortunately, Justice Weatherill agrees with the rest of Canada and dismissed government’s argument.”

Rose-Martland added: “The federal government has now seen that they will lose this case, so why drag it out for another decade? The lump-sum payment is unfair, everyone knows veterans deserve better, and Canadians would be better served if government would give in now. The federal government should work towards fixing this mess, instead of wasting taxpayers’ money on a legal battle. Canadians honour our veterans; we don’t fight them in court.”

ADDITIONAL

Our Duty has launched an online campaign confirming the social contract with the Forces and RCMP, confirming the obligation to care for those who are injured or killed in service to Canada, and demanding government cease court battles with veterans.

Link:
https://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/government-of-canada-the-social-contract-with-veterans-exists-and-we-must-keep-our-bargain

Background:

The decision rendered by the BC Supreme Court, along with transcripts and other documents, can be found at:

http://equitassociety.ca/media

Le Groupe de Citoyen se réjouit de la décision de la Cour, les appels pour le règlement de l'affaire «obscène»

Saint-Jean, T.-N.-L. - Le vendredi, un juge de la Cour suprême de la C.-B. a jugé qu'un groupe d'anciens combattants peut poursuivre le gouvernement fédéral. Le Procureur Général du Canada avait fait valoir le costume doit être jeté dehors parce qu'il n'avait aucune chance de succès, et que le gouvernement n'a pas l'obligation de prendre soin de ceux blessés ou tués en service. Justice Gordon Weatherill a refusé arguments, la décision du gouvernement, en partie, «que la Couronne solennellement engagé à agir dans le meilleur intérêt des anciens combattants blessés à leur retour de la bataille ... C'est logique si l'on considère que ce sont les membres des Forces canadiennes et les anciens combattants qui ont combattu et dans de nombreux cas sont morts et continuent à se battre et à mourir pour la liberté de tous les Canadiens et les principes fondamentaux que tout trésor Canadien des citoyens. » [P67] La cour approuvé le procès de 6 vétérans d'Afghanistan, qui disent que les paiements forfaitaires reçus en vertu de la Nouvelle Charte des anciens combattants 2006 sont insuffisantes.

Notre Devoir est d'accord: «Un jour, vous êtes patrouiller en Afghanistan, sûr que, si vous êtes blessé, vous serez pris en charge pour le reste de votre vie», a déclaré Jeff Rose-Martland, président du groupe de citoyens, «La prochaine , vous êtes patrouiller cette zone, connaissant la meilleure compensation que vous obtiendriez serait pas acheter une maison dans la plupart des marchés. Vous étiez même pas demandé si vous vouliez changer vos prestations, n'ont pas eu la possibilité de quitter les Forces quand ils étaient, il vous suffit coincé avec ce que le gouvernement vous a remis et envoyé à esquiver les balles. »

Notre Devoir notes que la nouvelle Charte des anciens combattants a été présenté comme le combat en Afghanistan se réchauffait. «Le prix forfaitaire est entré en vigueur le 1er Avril 2006, un peu comme l'offensive de printemps commençait. Six semaines plus tard, le gouvernement Harper a annoncé qu'il envoyait des troupes canadiennes et plus l'extension de la mission pendant au moins deux ans de plus - maintenant sept ans et compter» a déclaré défenseur Rose-Martland « un mois, le gouvernement économise de l'argent en réduisant les avantages sociaux à anciens combattants blessés;. le mois prochain, il vise à créer des anciens combattants blessés plus» Rose-Martland note également que, sur les 158 soldats canadiens qui ont été tués en Afghanistan, 147 morts après le plan de paiement forfaitaire a été mis en place.

Notre Devoir soutient la poursuite des anciens combattants: «Nous soutenons la Société d’Equitas, qui recueille des fonds pour compenser les frais de justice. En tant que citoyens, nous sommes fatigués de voir notre gouvernement lutte de nos anciens combattants en cour. Ces personnes nous ont servi, servi le Canada, et ils devraient être pris en charge » a déclaré le Président « L'idée de vétérans blessés et les familles des personnes tuées, ayant pour aller au tribunal pour obtenir un traitement équitable est obscène » À la lumière de la décision de vendredi est de notre devoir appelle le gouvernement à reconnaître sa défaite. «Notre gouvernement se tenait dans la cour et a déclaré que le Canada ne devait pas les anciens combattants pour leurs sacrifices» a déclaré Jeff Rose-Martland «Ce n'est pas seulement grotesque, c'est aussi manifestement fausse. Les Canadiens savent que nous devons à nos troupes, nous savons que nous avons le devoir de fournir à ceux qui se sont sacrifiés pour nous. Tous les citoyens le savent »

«Mais le gouvernement a fait valoir autrement, et utilisé nous pour défendre leur position, en disant qu'il ne peut pas mettre les besoins des anciens combattants avant contribuables. Pourquoi pas? Nous demandons aux Forces Canadiennes et de la GRC de mettre Canada avant eux-mêmes. Nous les mettons entre nous et le mal. Quand ils sont lésés, il est juste que nous mettons à leurs besoins avant les nôtres. Heureusement, le juge Weatherill est d'accord avec le reste du Canada et a rejeté l'argument du gouvernement »

Rose-Martland a ajouté: «Le gouvernement fédéral a maintenant vu qu'ils perdront ce cas, pourquoi faites-le glisser pour une autre décennie? Le paiement forfaitaire est injuste, tout le monde sait anciens combattants méritent mieux, et les Canadiens seraient mieux servis si le gouvernement donnerait maintenant. Le gouvernement fédéral devrait travailler à la fixation de ce gâchis, au lieu de gaspiller l'argent des contribuables sur une bataille juridique. Canadiens honorer nos anciens combattants, nous ne nous battons pas en cour »

COMPLÉMENTAIRES

Notre devoir a lancé une campagne en ligne confirmant le contrat social avec les Forces et de la GRC, ce qui confirme l'obligation de prendre soin de ceux qui sont blessés ou tués en service au Canada, et exigeant gouvernement cesse batailles judiciaires avec les anciens combattants.

link:

https://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/gouvernement-du-canada-le-contrat-social-avec-les-anciens-combattants-existe-et-nous-devons-garder-notre-affaire

Contexte:

La décision rendue par la Cour suprême de la C.-B., ainsi que les transcriptions et autres documents, peuvent être consultés à l'adresse: http://equitassociety.ca/media

MEDIA CONTACT / PERSONNE-RESSOURCE

Jeff Rose-Martland (anglais seulement)

President, Our Duty Inc

exec@ourduty.org

Nation Peacekeepers Day address

2013-08-10T00:11:00.000-02:30

I thought I had posted this someplace already, but it seems not. I wrote this for delivery to the crowd on National Peacekeepers Day in 2011. Unfortunately, the day was windy, rainy, and cold, and turnout was poor, consisting of veteran peacekeepers, Our Duty members, and a lone reporter. Given the conditions, I opted for brevity and shortened this on the spot, but kept the most important bits near the end.

Today being National Peacekeepers Day 2013, I felt I should share. My opinions have not changed. - JRM

When Lester Pearson first proposed peacekeeping to the UN in 1947, I doubt he realized how much this would impact our national character. Nor would he have seen the development of an entirely different type of soldier and RCMP officer.

64 Years ago, faced with a crisis in Israel, Pearson presented the world with a brand new concept, with the idea that soldiers, could be engineers of peace instead of weapons of war. Through the Israeli conflict and the Korean War, Pearson continued to prove that his idea was reasonable and practical, but it took the Suez Crisis before the world was ready to accept the proposal. To end Suez, Canada led soldiers from Brazil, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, India, Indonesia, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Yugoslavia into Egypt with the goal of stopping the belligerents from fighting, with force if need be. The United Nations Emergency Force - UNEF - became the first real peacekeeping mission. And it would not have occurred, had not a balding, bespectacled, round-faced, son-of-a-methodist minister had the vision that soldiers could bring peace.

In the decades since, despite our relatively small and frequently under-equipped military, Canada has led the world in peacekeeping. Canada has been a significant contributor to missions in:

Egypt,

Congo,

Indonesia,

Cyprus,

the Middle East,

Israel-Syria,

Lebanon,

Sinai,

Namibia,

West Sahara,

Cambodia,

Somalia,

Croatia,

Haiti,

Rwanda,

Macedonia,

Bosnia,

Herzegovina,

Central Africa,

East Timor,

Kosovo,

Sierra Leone,

Democratic Republic of Congo,

Ethiopia-Entrea,

Sudan,

Darfur.

And it is a well known fact that, regardless of where the troops come from, a Canadian is wanted to lead any peacekeeping mission. Such is the legacy of Pearson.

There is more to peacekeeping than saying “Please stop fighting” - It takes a special individual to fill this role. Aggression is at the core of the human animal. To hold one’s own aggression in check, in the teeth of conflict and chaos, requires depth of understanding, determination of will, and total dedication to the mission.

Such qualities set peacekeepers apart from the rest of us, but if we are not diligent when planning their missions, those virtues will destroy those who serve.

In 1993, Canada sent General Romeo Dallaire to lead the United Nations Assistance Mission For Rwanda. At its conception, UNAMIR was to oversee the implementation of the Arusha Peace Agreement. The UN’s role was to witness the parties peacefully settle their differences through powersharing.

But in spring of 1994, in the middle of chaos and insanity, General Dallaire was ordered to do the impossible: to maintain the original mission and rules of engagement. To stay uninvolved. To only fire when fired upon. Despite Dallaire’s arguments and reports of mass murder, he was ordered to stay out of the conflict - he was there to bear witness. Dallaire did as he was ordered. General Romeo Dallaire bore witness to 800 thousand deaths in 100 days. He witnessed a genocide because that is what we ordered.

The special qualities of the peacekeeper - understanding, determination, dedication - turned against Romeo Dallaire when we required him to place duty above principle. We asked him to do the impossible. And one thing we SHOULD know is that when you ask the impossible of a Canadian Peacekeeper, they deliver. Dallaire delivered and suffered. We destroyed a peacekeeper with his own virtues.

From Pearson’s idea to Dallaire’s ideals, we see the transformation of the peacekeeper from fighting man to defender of humanity. What Dallaire understood - what you fellow peacekeepers understand - is that peacekeeping is not like national service. Soldiers and police serve their country, caring for and defending their citizens. Peacekeeping is vastly different. You are not police, for often there are no laws to enforce. You are not warriors, for there is no war to win. The people involved are not your people.

Peacekeepers serve humanity. Humanity without division by nation or ethnicity, skin colour or language, religion or politics.

Peacekeepers serve a principle. A principle that transcends national interests. A principle that goes beyond borders. The principle that peace is not an ideal, but attainable, for all people.

You who have been peacekeepers, and those who were before, and those who will be later, know that to serve as a peacekeeper is to put yourself in harms way for that principle. You serve to protect the innocent and to calm belligerents. Peacekeepers are there to bring reason to the unreasonable, to bear witness to the unbearable, and to be human amongst the inhumane. You are willing to sacrifice yourself in the name of humanity.

Therefore, on behalf of humanity, I want to thank those who are here and those who could not be, for your service, your dedication, and your sacrifice. You have made the world better and the world thanks you for that.

(Coverage of that day can be found here. Thanks to Ashley Fitzpatrick for turning out, not only with notebook, but also with video.)

To find out more about peacekeeping,

visit the UN.

Democracy Crisis In Canada

2013-05-20T10:00:00.000-02:30

An Open Letter to His Excellency the Right Honourable Governor General of CanadaDavid Johnston C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D.

Excellency,

Canada is in crisis. Citizens need you to exercise your authority and preserve our system of responsible government.

Canadians have become aware that, amid scandals and anti-democratic activity, Prime Minister Stephen Harper intends to request proroguing of Parliament in early June. In as little as two weeks, the Prime Minister intends to silence debate, thus avoiding answering for his government’s actions.

If successful, this will be the third occasion Prime Minister Harper has used prorogation avoid responsibility. In 2008, PM Harper used prorogation to avoid a non-confidence vote. In 2009, he used it to avoid answering for the Afghan Detainees scandal. Now, he appears set to use prorogation to duck questions regarding his Chief-of-Staff buying a Senator, among other issues.

The Government of Stephen Harper has become the least-democratic and least-responsible government Canada has had. Its offences against democracy are varied and numerous: Charter Rights violations; intimidating advocates; bullying government employees; terminating bureaucrats for exercising their duties; hindering or halting investigations; and much more.

PM Harper denies the core principle of responsible government - that government be responsible to Citizens. His actions have shown contempt for Canadians and for our democracy. Stephen Harper uses omnibus budget bills to avoid debating legislation; even as Parliament readies to vote on the current budget, we still lack information on Budget 2012. This Government stalls or blocks Access To Information requests, hides behind legal privilege, and, in the new Budget, will restrict Citizens from participating in public hearings. The Conservatives routinely move committee discussion behind closed-doors, away from our scrutiny. This Government has repeatedly refused to provide information on multiple issues, from the treatment of Afghan detainees to the cost of new fighter jets. It has shut down departmental archives, thereby preventing Citizens from checking facts. The Harper Government is now moving towards direct control of the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, thereby eliminating a key public accountability service.

The Conservatives have implemented frightening restrictions on our civil service. The new Code Of Conduct policy requires all employees of the Government of Canada to be loyal to the Harper Government; to not speak against it, even in private; and to obtain approval for public statements. Failure to comply results in loss of employment. This policy not only violates our Charter Rights to freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression; it also violates the Canada Labour Code, as it prevents union members from disagreeing with the government. This Duty of Loyalty policy has already seen extensive use against our scientists and librarians. And recently, civil servants received emails linking them to the Harper Government’s Economic Action Plan, and inquiring how they will vote in future - an obvious attempt at voter intimidation, and a gross offence against democracy.

The Harper Government has also targeted Canada’s volunteer sector for loyalty. The Canada Revenue Agency has notified charities that engaging in activities deemed ‘political’ will cost them charitable status. Not-for-profits risk audits for similar activity. Step by step, this government is stifling dissent, stamping out discourse, and erasing the rights of Canadians.

This government is acting against the best interests of Canadians, is refusing to be responsible to the Citizens, and appears bent on creating an autocracy in the person of Stephen Harper. The Loyal Opposition is unable to hold this Government to account. PM Harper has engineered and manipulated the Senate to guarantee his domination. Citizens who protest are either ignored by Harper or targeted for intimidation. The voices of Canadians are being silenced.

We cannot simply wait two years for election day. By then, irreparable damage will have been done to our democracy. Stephen Harper will have made it difficult, if not impossible, to oppose him. In two more years, we may no longer have elections at all.

Excellency, Canadians need you. Citizens cannot themselves legally stop this Government. Action must be taken now to preserve democracy. Otherwise, our future is bleak.

As a Citizen, I humbly request, Excellency, that you discharge the duty entrusted to you: to preserve our democracy. I request that you exercise your authority as Head of State for Canada to remove from office those who have violated the sacred trust placed in them by Citizens. Please, restore balance to our system.

Do not prorogue parliament and permit another loophole-escape from public accountability; ensure that we Citizens learn the truth.

Under Section V of the Letters Patent, please remove from office such Senators, Ministers, Members of Parliament, or other individuals - of any party - who have acted against Citizens, who sought personal gain over duty, or who have otherwise disgraced the values of responsible government and democracy.

Withhold or withdraw Royal Assent from any and all legislation which runs counter to the Charter, or to the principles of democracy.

Act within your power to lift policy and legislative restrictions on dissent and discourse, as all Citizens should be able express their political views without fear of retribution.

When Citizens have been able to review the actions and behaviour of those who act in our names, and when democratic balance has been restored, please dissolve Parliament that Canada might have a proper, free, and fair election.

As you noted recently, Excellency, a Governor General’s reserve powers are rarely used, but are of supreme importance to preserving democracy. The time to act has arrived. Canada needs you. Democracy needs you. We Citizens need you.

Please, save our democracy.

Respectfully,

Jeff Rose-Martland

Citizen of Canada

The Re-birth of the Stupid Newfie

2013-05-08T20:52:00.001-02:30

[A version of the following was published by The Telegram on 8 May 2013]

The Re-birth of the Stupid Newfie

Jeff Rose-Martland

The Dunderdale government likes to yammer on about investing in our future: hydropower and industry and jobs galore. A future of resources and trade and high employment. A debt-free future, according to their budget. But do they care what kind of Newfoundlanders will live that future?

Harken back to the early- to mid-20^th century. Newfoundlanders were the butt of jokes throughout

Canada

, if not the world - The Newfie Joke. The jokes revolved around a central theme: the Stupid Newfie. Sometimes, the protagonist was someone so dense that simple situations were beyond their grasp. Most often, the Stupid Newfie had a great deal of common sense, but was ignorant, unworldly, and uneducated. The character would attempt to apply this simple reasoning to complex situations. Oh, the hilarity.

Those jokes had some basis in fact. After all, Newfoundlanders during that time were, by and large, uneducated academically. They fled poverty to distant locations for jobs. Newfoundlanders brought our hard working nature, but also our tendency to dive in, even when over our heads, especially if there’s money involved. Anyone faced with a brand-new situation is likely to say or do the wrong thing, and Newfoundlanders are an especially humorous people, so it is easy to see how comic situations might result. But the Newfie joke quickly morphed into a vehicle of bias and intolerance, with the people of this province branded ‘stupid’.

We have had a long, hard fight against that reputation. We object to the term ‘Newfie’ as offensive. We are quick to point out the cutting-edge medicine, science and engineering being done here. We boast of Memorial University’s rank as a top-notch school. We push the message that the Stupid Newfie is no more. We are winning, but have not yet won.

The Dunderdale government is going to resurrect the Stupid Newfie. Amongst all the talk of resource projects and deficit reduction, the PCs are acting to turn us ignorant again. And, with only limited objections, we are happily boarding the train with them back to Stupid Newfoundland.

Adult Basic Education – a program designed to help anyone who dropped out of high-school. Not so many years ago, ABE had been handled by private institutions. They dropped the program because they couldn’t make enough money. It was government that moved ABE into CONA, to ensure the program would be available throughout the province to those who need it. By dumping ABE back to the private sector, Kathy Dunderdale has effectively killed the program - it won’t be too long before private schools announce - again - that Adult Basic Education is not profitable.

Lack of ABE programs will mean more people stuck with whatever education they got when they quit grade school; low education is a primary qualification for the Stupid Newfie.

Then there’s the libraries. We have 96 of them. We need more because libraries are wonderful places. First, everything is free – something one appreciates in this crazy world of unreliable income. Second, libraries don’t just have books; they have videos and music and Internet. The are one-stop-shops for entertainment. Libraries also host courses, sessions, groups, lectures, readings – all sorts of ways to have fun and learn more.

Also, the Librarian. (That’s capitalized because it should be a title, not a job description.) Librarians are rare people. They not only know things, they know how to learn more about things. They hold the keys to finding out anything you ever wanted to know. They might appear to spend their time tidying the books and calling the overdue borrowers. They may seem to be quiet people armed with date-stampers. But Librarians are some of the most important people in our society. Librarians are the guardians of all our accumulated knowledge.

Disagree? Go ask one a question. Any question. You’ll get the answer, in detail, with annotations and cross-references. And an Librarian doesn’t care if you are 6 and in Grade 1, 46 and a doctor, or 86 and a war vet. They will help anyone, free of charge. Because a Librarian is your guide through the Kingdom of Knowledge.

But Kathy Dunderdale doesn’t think that’s important. She must feel that librarians are not important for our future, since she laid off 40% of them. Plus support staff - assistant librarians and IT people. And she cut the modest wages of those who remain, making this an even less-attractive field. Libraries, we have been assured, will still have funding for books and will remain open. How that is going to work? There won’t be a Librarian to buy the books, nor assistants to man the counter and keep the doors open..

The system has already been scuttled; the Conservatives have rendered libraries unsustainable. In five years, maybe less, government will be able to closing the doors, claiming lack of use. Which there will be, as out-of-date materials, lack of programming, erratic hours, and, above all, no Librarians to guide people all combine to drive patrons away.

That doesn’t matter to the PCs. After all, libraries don’t generate revenue. Neither does sitting in a classroom - one need only look at the number of education cuts to see government’s view on that. Dunderdale is promising jobs while slashing away at the tools we need to obtain that employment. Are we to become janitors at Muskrat Falls? General labourers for rich, Come-from-Away bosses? Is she planning on making a personal fortune selling Newfie Joke Books?

If we really are concerned about our future, if we really want to excel and exceed, then we need to have smart, educated people. The way to get them is to invest in education and libraries. Learning needs to be available to all, not just those with funds. Otherwise, the rich get educations and the poor get ignorant.

The Dunderdale Government says it cares about our future, but its actions are ensuring we will only have one role in it: The Stupid Newfie.

--------------------

Jeff Rose-Martland is an award-winning author, member of the Newfoundland Writers’ Guild, and recipient of the Queens Diamond Jubilee Medal for his work advocating for veterans.

How to Destroy the Senate

2013-03-03T15:29:00.000-03:30

“For the Senate must change. And we intend to make change happen.”

– Stephen Harper, address to Senate, 7 September 2006

The Senate has long posed a problem for Government and for Canadians. Here we have an unelected body, with long terms, and pensions after, that appears to serve no real purpose other than to rubber stamp legislation. What use is it?

In many situations – particularly when there is minority government – the Senate doesn’t readily appear to do anything. (During minority governments, bills have generally been debated and amended extensively before reaching the Senate and are usually well-thought-out or at least consensus-building.) The point of the Senate is to be “the chamber of sober second thought” – its purpose is to review legislation while taking the long-view, looking past the next election, seeing the impact of these changes on Canada over the next 10, 20, 50 years. It needs to be appointed so that Senators will not be distracted by running for election, or indeed, party politics, but can stay focused on their role as protectors of the future. That role becomes even more crucial when there is majority government.

Majority government can legally do whatever it wants. Opposition cannot block legislation or enforce changes. Nor can they bring about the fall of government except, perhaps, in the most extreme circumstances and/or if they somehow manage to get government MPs on their side. Otherwise, the Government can pass any law it wishes.

Who protects the people in such circumstances? Should a majority government pass a law which the whole of the public hates, who stands up for the people?

The Senate.

The Senate has the ability to refuse to ratify any legislation, to keep sending it back to the Commons for debate, effectively stalling the bill until it dies. The Senate can do the same with the budget – keep sending it back for debate. If that is done repeatedly, if the Government cannot get its budget passed, that triggers a confidence crisis and an election. In other words, the Senate serves as the safeguard of democracy and the protector of the public.

Which is why Stephen Harper hates it.

For years, Harper lobbied for Senate Reform, for limitations on its power, for changes to how Senators get their seats, even for abolition of the Senate. He was vocal, pointed, and attacked the Senate at every opportunity. Especially when he led a minority Government and had problems getting legislation through the Senate; or, worse, when the Opposition got its own bills passed. He famously attacked the Senate for being an unelected body interfering with the elected government. He painted them as undemocratic.

Then he got a majority government. Many people thought that would be the end of the Senate. Except Harper faces one problem: the Commons cannot abolish the Senate. In fact, the Commons cannot do much other than bad-mouth them to the media. Because the Senate represents half of our system of government and we cannot have one part abolishing the other. It’s illegal. Which is why Senate reform suddenly disappeared from Harper’s agenda.

What confuses many is why Harper, who hates the Senate so much, should be appointing so many Senators. Why is he defending the ones who are misusing public funds? Why should he care at all?

Simple: Harper wants the Senate gone. He can’t get rid of it himself. So he has to make the public demand its dissolution.

How would you do that? If you wanted to eliminate the final opposition to total control of Canada, and you needed the public to do it, how would you bring it about?

First, you might appoint devoted followers and yes-people to the Senate so that, no matter what, your bills would be rubber stamped. This would be a good way of showing how ineffective the Senate is: effectively removing the Senates ability to be independent.

And you might not care about the quality of your appointees. In fact, it might be more useful if you appointed unqualified people, people with issues, people who would abuse the system, who might cause public scandal, or simply say asinine things. After all, nothing turns the citizens quicker than an endless string of headlines about Senators misbehaving or being stupid.

Then you might want to leak some information to the press about how expensive the Senate is, about how some Senators are claiming expenses for things they don’t need, about how the rules permit this. Trust the media to do all the digging and pull up the facts you know are there – after all, you appointed people to behave that way.

You might leak info on Senators who are fighting Alzheimer’s disease, or cancer, or addiction – enough for the scandal-press to start questioning the competence of these individuals. Enough to show that Senators cannot be removed by the public, even if they are incapable of doing their jobs.

Then you might publicly defend the Senate, or particular Senators. You give sound bites about how they are following the rules, how it is the rules that might be the issue, how it is the un-elected process of appointment that keeps the Senate unaccountable. After all, you don’t want to appear like you are against Canada’s system of government. You want the public to reach its own conclusion, despite your leading them by the nose.

So you keep up that charade: appearing to support the system while, at the same time, working in the background to shred it. You appoint more and more Senators, until the upper chamber is bloated beyond belief. You slip more dirty information to the media. Perhaps you even have some of your Senators fall on their swords, abuse residency status or expenses, knowing that they will be rewarded later with board appointments to multi-million-dollar corporations or, at least, with a nice Senate retirement package. You keep up the front while tearing out the back and increasing public outrage.

Until, eventually, the public cannot remember what the Senate was for, and can only recall headline after headline about Senators behaving badly. When the public is ready and demanding action, only then will you have YOUR senators, the ones YOU control, stand up in their seats and move that the Senate be abolished. Your Senators will vote the entire body out of existence, at the demand of the people. While you, apparently, had nothing to do with it.

That will remove the one thing that stands in your way. The one body which had the ability to bring you to heel. With a majority government and no Senate, you can now rule Canada with an iron fist and the citizens cannot object, interfere, or stop you. You will be the democratically elected tyrant.

Stephen Harper may be many things. But he’s not stupid.

“But the only way you end up with more comprehensive reform is if you destabilize the status quo to the point where Canadians say, ‘This is a mess, and we’ve got to sort this out.’ ” - Roger Gibbins, professor emeritus at the University of Calgary, MacLeans, 7 October 2011

More academic discussion of Senate reform can be found here.

Whaddyamean, You Can't Boil Water???

2013-01-13T13:09:00.003-03:30

During this week's storm, I was - and still am - appalled to hear the number of calls to local radio from people bemoaning the blackout and their consequent lack of hot beverages. My opinion on being prepared I will share further down, but I will say that it is a horrific state of affairs when a Newfoundlander can't figure out a boil-up!

So, in order to preserve the dignity of our culture, here are some links to help you poor things:

Stoves - These can be easily made with stuff you have on hand already and will at least boil a cup of water and/or heat some soup

Pocket Stove

Large Can Camp Stove

Pet-food Can Stove

Stay-Warm Stove

Super-Easy Can BBQ

Boil your kettle with tea lights!

Lamps - Say you don't have any candles or spare batteries for the flashlight and your cel phone is about to die because you've been using it as a light source. Don't sit in the dark! Here are some easy emergency lamps.

Popcan Lamp

Shortening Lamp - Basically, you stick a wick in a tub of lard. You can also do this with butter, bacon fat, or any other solid fat. You can use practically any woven string or cord for a wick, provided it is natural fiber - nylon, for example, just melts. Your wick needs to burn and drawn the melted oil into it. If you are desperate, POWs in WWII used to use twisted strips of cotton shirt.

Improvised Oil Lamp - This is the simplest of the simple: something to use as a wick, a bit of wire to hold the wick, a mug, and something flammable (oil, vodka, etc).

Think you don't have ANYTHING to make a lamp out of? How about a orange? (Yes, I've tried it and it works.)
Citrus Candle

And, of course, if you can get enough heat from your lamp, you can probably boil water over it. Be patient, though. Low-heat lamps/candles take time to cook things.

BE PREPARED!!!

No matter where you live or how modern your city, sooner or later, the electricity will go out - that is a fact of life. Look around you. See all those things running on batteries and plugged in to the wall? Consider every one of them useless in a blackout. What are you going to do now?

First thing: don't panic. Good advice at any time.

Second thing: remember that humanity has survived for hundreds of thousands of years without electricity, so you should be able to last a few hours or even days.

Third thing: Be prepared. You know this is going to happen, eventually. So take a few minutes and a bit of money and get ready for it now.

Fourth Thing: Make a list of what you will need, then get it. Don't forget to include 'luxury' items. It's fine to have canned food (don't forget the manual can opener), but what about your morning coffee? Some way to make toast? Something to DO during the blackout? These are all important. Otherwise, you will find yourself just sitting around staring at the oil burning in your orange.

Fifth Thing: Keep your emergency kit stocked and accessible. Over time, if it has not been used, there is a tendency to dip into the kit for bits and bobs and/or to bury it in storage under the xmess decorations and old toys. Don't do either of these. Once you have build your kit, keep it stocked. Rotate the batteries for fresh every year. Leave the canned goods alone - they are good for 50 years. Keep your kit in 1 place, don't keep moving it. Keep it someplace you can find in the dark.

Emergency Kit Items

How you fill your kit is up to you, but here's some ways to get started.

Questions:
What will I need to be able to see?
What will I need for heat?
How/what will i cook?
How will I make my morning coffee/tea?
What will i do to occupy the kids?
How will I keep myself busy?
(You get the idea, i'm sure you can think of more.)

Low-cost Options:
If money is an issue, here's the basics:

- A large package of tea-light candles

- A tea-light fondue set (or one of the DIY stoves above)

- a can of Sterno (jellied alcohol fuel, provides heat and an alternate way to cook)

- 2 decent LED flashlights+batteries (stored separately)

- A battery powered AM radio+batteries stored separately (if you check you local stations, you'll find at least 1 AM station that delivers mostly news and that stays live during storms. FM, not so much, although markets vary. In any event, get a radio that gets AM or both AM and FM. FM stations frequently just run computer programs which don't much care if your lights are out.)

- a pack of cards / travel chess / book you-always-mean-to-read-but-never-start

- if you have small kids: several packs of plastic animals/dinosaurs/soldiers, teddy bears, toy cars, doll, etc. The important bit is that these be new to the kids (buys you several hours peace) and will occupy their imaginations (which you may need to pull-start as the video games are not working). New teddys/dolls etc can give your kids a new friend to share the blackout with; a friend you can declare is not afraid of the dark and that's why they live in the emergency box.

- canned & dried food: beans, weiners, soup, instant oatmeal, etc. Get stuff you like, enough for 2 days. Packets should be stored in a ziplock bag to keep it dry (and to block interloping bugs). Anything which can be cooked as-is or just-add-water. Sure, you will have food in your house already, but you may not be able to cook that frozen roast. And there's no need to be eating cracker sandwiches just because you generally avoid pre-made meals. Don't forget the canned milk.

- Manual can opener - Get a crank-handle one. Also get a 'church key' punch/bottle opener. Leave them in the kit!

- Matches+lighter - get some of each. You can turn normal matches into waterproof matches by showing them in a ziplock bag. Lighters work better for some things and they last longer; matches work better for others.

- Most important: tea bags and instant coffee and hot chocolate. It may not taste as good as usual, but if you need your morning caffeine, you'll drink it and be grateful. Hot chocolate makes a good treat for anyone, especially kids.

- 1 plastic bin with lid to keep everything in

Most of these items can be purchased at your local dollar store, so start there. Sterno is available from most camping/outdoor/kitchen supply stores (its used to warm food trays and in fondues). If you are frugal, this entire kit should come in between $20-$30CDN.

Higher Cost Options:
One you have your basic kit, you can add options to it over time so as not to break the bank. Pick up 1 or 2 things a moth, or a quarter, and you will soon be set. Look for post-season sales: oil lamps are popular xmess decorations so get those Boxing week; camping gear goes on sale in August; etc.

Light:
- Oil (hurricane) lamps or lanterns + oil. Price varies, but you can readily find lanterns for $5-$10 and small lamps at dollar stores, large ones run $10+. Get enough to cover the common areas of your house, bathrooms can use candles or flashlights.

- Propane-, butane-, and other fuel-lamps are available. The advantage of your basic wick-and-oil lamps is that it will burn a variety of fuels, from lamp oil to alcohol, whereas the others can only handle 1. However, propane lanterns give off a great deal of light and heat. But they also produce CO, so you need to be careful. There as also napatha lanterns, but read under stoves for the reasons to avoid.

-Flashlights - thanks to advances in LED technology, flashlights now run for a very long time on small batteries. You can also get big versions, which will serve as lanterns and lamps. Make absolutely sure that you have at least 3 sets of batteries for each and that you change the batteries in the kit every year. Downside: you don't get heat from a flashlight. Other options will keep your home warm and perhaps even provide a means for cooking. Still, since you don't want to send a 5-year-old to bed with a candle, keep a few flashlights in the kit.

- Propane camp stove - these vary greatly. The single-burner, no frills variety runs $15-$25CDN. It will boil a pot of water, a kettle, or heat a frying-pan. The common 2-burner type behaves like a typical gas-range and runs $40-$100 depending on brand and options. Stoves go up from there with more burners and frills, but unless you are expecting a gourmet chef to be hosting your blackout, a 1- or 2- burner will do find.

- Other stoves include butane-powered burners, which operate much the same. You can also use a fondue set (not just for New Years Eve anymore!) as a single-burner stove. you can even substitutes a frying pan for the normal pot. "White gas" - napatha fuel - camping gear CAN be used, but should be avoided. It produces more carbon monoxide than propane and the pressuring pumps can create a fire hazard. (Not such a big deal in the great out doors; definitely a big deal in your great kitchen). You can also find units which run on pressurized alcohol, which produces no CO (same as fondue fuels) if the media has you terrified about carbon monoxide. (Really, these things are safe if you are sensible. Don't run the stove all day. When in doubt, open a window.) And there's always your backyard grill!

- Tea/Coffee pot. Depending on your preference, you may need to provide for this. You can get all sorts of metal teapots which can sit on a burner or on your regular stove. They will boil your water for bagged tea, instant oatmeal, dehydrated food, etc. If you prefer something fancier, there are a variety of tea-diffuser options. Just make sure you have a way to boil the water. Coffee is a bit trickier. If you like instant, you are off the hook (and out of your mind). If your tastes are more refined, here's your options: French Press (Bodum), old-fashioned percolator, drip, or simple espresso. I prefer the espresso: a pot can cost as little as $8 and works all the time, just add heat. (Note: I once saw a camping item for coffee - it was a thermos that you filled with boiling water, coffee in filter, and hung from a tree. It used gravity to drip your coffee. unfortunately, i can't find it online.)

- battery powered radio with mp3 player or bluetooth options - you can flip between the news and your own music.

- Battery powered DVD player, laptop computers, etc, can all be useful, but you will want to invest in some sort recharging method. Simplest one is a power-inverter for your car - plugs into the cigarette lights and you can plug normal things into it. (It also gives you an excuse to sit in the car and avoid the whining inside.) Just remember to run your car engine, or you'll soon be needing a charger for that as well.

-As your budget expands and your children grow, you can dump the toys in favour of Monopoly, Scrabble, or other family-games, and add books for them as well.

Cool Gadgets

Tea-Light Grill - I've seen a variety of versions of this. The best one folds up into a package about 6"x3"x1/2" thick - perfect for sticking in a pocket or glove compartment or backpack and forgetting about... until you need it. The one shown is being used to melt cheese, but they will also cook eggs, bacon, fish, chicken, beef, burgers....basically, if it is less than an inch thick and will fit on the pan, you can cook it. You should also be able to boil water by resting an appropriately-sized can or small pot in pace of the grill. Price is around $10.

Zen Fireplace - There are a wide variety of these, designed for indoor use. They run on gellied ethanol/fondue fuel. Look great and provide heat. Prices start at $15.

There are a whole lot of cool/interesting gadgets for providing heat and light, for cooking, and for re-charging your cel phones/media players/notebooks. Check your local military surplus stores, camping suppliers, and any place that sells products for going 'off the grid'.

Final Word

While we may live in a modern, electronic world, it does not take much to send us back a few hundred years...or a few thousand. A downed power line, a car stuck in the snow, any number of situations can put us back to the old days. How far you are willing to be pushed back is up to you. With preparation, you will only have to slide a few decades, perhaps not even that far. But unprepared and unthinking can drive you all the way back to prehistory: sitting in the dark, eating cold scrounged food, and trying to keep warm. And you are even less-prepared than an early human, since you don't have their skills.

So take a few hours and get ready. You won't need the kit often, but you will need it. And when you do, you will be extremely happy to have made the investment.

And for the Newfoundlanders: Lardtunderin b'ys! Gitoffyerbutts n git yer gear! Doan be callin' da media complainin'. Yer a h'embarassment! Our h'ancesters came here wit frig all n made it tru; yer moanin' cause ya can't do a boilup??? Whadahells wrong wit ya????

Why Failing to Provide for Veterans Should Scare Us

2013-01-02T15:00:00.001-03:30

Since Col Pat Storgan’s infamous news conference in 2010, veterans have been very-publicly calling out for us to fix the problems with their benefits. Veterans have been protesting, suing, going on hunger-strikes, staging sit-ins, holding rallies, talking to the press, explaining to anyone who will listen what the problems are with Veterans Affairs. Some of us have even been paying attention. But the issues persist, not much action has been taken, and government has continued to fight our veterans in court.

There are many reason why we must fix veterans benefits, now.

There’s the hero-worshipping we-owe-our-freedom-to-them sentiment. There’s the obvious fact that we citizens owe them for serving our national interests - they sacrificed for us, it is fair and just that we should provide and comfort them. There is enlightened self-interest - if we do not care for those who served, we will soon find no one willing to take up that role.

There is also a big and obvious reason: fear. While most hesitate to discuss this, we cannot deny it. We have almost 1 million current and former members of the Canadian Forces and RCMP. All have been heavily trained in the use of weapons, in pacifying and occupying regions, and in acting in unity against opposing forces. We should be asking ourselves: is it a smart idea to make enemies of these people?

The history of human civilization has provided us with powerful object lessons: any group which is continually mistreated and ignored by general society will eventually erupt in violence. We are witnessing this now in Europe, in Syria, in Egypt and Palestine. We watched it with the Arab Spring, in Northern Ireland, in South Africa. The Russian Revolution. The French Revolution. The American Revolution. Mobs take to the street, and then take the streets, and then take control.

Every violent uprising grows from the same seed: frustration. Frustration with the status quo; frustration with being ignored; frustration with being unable to obtain fair treatment through other means. The PLO, IRA, ANC, FLN, FARC, ETA, PSP - the list stretches back through history - the Socialist-Revolutionary Party and the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, the American Patriots, the French National Constituent Assembly... All of these groups tried to talk and negotiate better circumstances for their people. All became frustrated when the ruling power ignored or dismissed them. All turned to violence. From modern Greece to Ancient Rome – from the present day to the far past, mistreated people have taken up arms when their appeals were ignored long enough.

As uncomfortable as that may make you, it is still true. Oppressed people rise up.

Those who enlist with the RCMP or Canadian Forces engage in a social contact with us citizens. They agree to sacrifice limb, life, and sanity to protect us all. In exchange, we agree to care for the wounded and dead and their survivors.

Veterans take that contract very seriously.

Much more seriously than us. We have been neglecting, ignoring, failing, or simply breaking our side of that contract. We also continue to ignore the complaints of injustice from veterans. This is an extremely dangerous way for us to behave.

In the year 100 BCE, Roman Consul Marius got the Senate to pass a law giving Legion veterans land upon retirement; a pension plan. When the Senate later repealed that land grant, the outraged Legions took control of Rome and gave it to General Julius Caesar. Throughout the rest of the Roman Empire’s history, cuts or delays to soldiers pay or mucking with their pensions would result in the Legions moving on Rome. Many coups, rebellions, and civil wars would result from failure to provide for the Legions.

What has Canada been doing?

Retired Mounties and Forces know how we are failing them. They know about the homeless veterans; the wounded veterans on welfare because of their lack of benefits; the widows and orphans not able to make ends meet while they are fighting for death benefits, decorated soldiers losing their utilities or homes due to lack of funds; veterans not able to keep medical appointments because they cannot afford the gas money; the lack of funds to give a veteran a decent burial. Veterans are horrified that Calgary has a veterans-only food bank; they are appalled that there should be such a need. Veterans have been lobbying and suing and protesting. But things are not getting better and frustration is mounting.

Veterans gave for us, and we took. We owe, but do not pay. Veterans shout, we do not listen. How long can it be before veterans take matters into their own hands?

Before you scoff at the idea of armed insurrection in Canada, remember OKA and the FLQ Crisis. One doesn’t have to go to the distant past to see that it is possible for groups to take up arms in our country. It has happened before, with small groups. Now consider who we are pushing around.

There are almost a million current and former members of the Forces and Mounted. They are trained in urban warfare, in crowd control, in area occupation. Serving members hold the keys to the armouries and fighting vehicles. Even grievously wounded veterans are better able to fight than most civilians. Veterans have the knowledge and training to take over a country; some have done it before. They have access to the weapons and tools needed to take over a country; some know how to operate without them. They have common cause with each other and are trained to act with unity.

What do we have? We have the ability to ignore their problems, to not hear their pleas, to refuse fair treatment. We ignore our duty and obligations. We deny their claims, bury them in paperwork, fight them in court, refuse to discuss issues. Veterans win in court but we credit our beneficence. We play petty games with veterans lives and livelihoods. We target outspoken veterans and their families for cuts and shaming.

Don’t wonder if it is possible for Canada’s veterans to rise against us all. Instead, marvel that they have not already done so.

Veterans are not asking for the world. They want nothing more than for us to make good on our promise: to care for the sick and wounded and to look after the survivors of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. They want to be treated with the respect they earned by surrendering themselves to our collective will. They simply want what they have earned through blood and sacrifice.

It is in all our best interest to see that they get what we owe.

Harold Leduc calls on AG to Investigate Privacy Violations

2012-11-14T23:47:00.000-03:30

NOTE: After sending out today's release calling for a public inquiry into VAC, I received a phone call from Harold Leduc, the veteran and former-member of the Veterans' Review and Appeal Board. He wanted to thank me for my release and discuss the privacy violations. I won't delve on what was done to this soldier - you can find that elsewhere - but consider the travesty. He served Canada twice, once as a soldier, then again on VRAB. He was injured both times. The first wounds were part of being a soldier. The second ones came when those he was working with used his service injuries to bully, harass, intimidate, and humiliate him in order to stop him from exercising his duties.

It is awful that someone's private medical records are passed around like notes in grade school. It is horrific that anyone's medical conditions should be wielded as weapons against them. It is obscene that adults would behave that way, like bullying teenagers. It is offensive that any veteran should be made to suffer twice from the same injuries.

There is no word for what happened to this man. Injuries sustained in defence of Canada were used to harm him by fellow Canadian civil servants.

Canadians are owed an explanation.

It is my honour to host this release from WO (ret'd) Harold O. Leduc MMM CD - JRM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

13 November 2012

Victoria, BC - Growing up in the Canadian way is an aspect of life that I take very, very seriously. This very same way of living demonstrates kindness, caring, and compassion towards all, especially those who have been injured or killed while defending our beautiful Country. I served my country with dignity and respect. Taking care of my injured brothers and sisters by assisting them in their struggle to get some small amount of compensation was and will always remain an honor. It is therefore with sadness that I must say:

I’m disgusted that the Minister of Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) shows no shame in covering up nefarious activities that target and seriously harm disabled veterans with illegally gained information from privacy breaches.

Therefore today I am asking the Attorney General of Canada to fully investigate all circumstances associated with these despicable attacks against our Country’s defenseless disabled veterans to determine if charges are warranted.

The Minister admitted stopping an ongoing investigation that would have implicated him and others. He knows that the Privacy Commissioner’s investigation would clear him because of their restricted mandate and because VAC had already cleaned up their act in May 2009 when my privacy breaches were investigated and apologized for. He’s shown that he can’t be trusted.

It’s no wonder my numerous pleas to the Prime Minister, Minister, the Privy Council Office and Veterans Ombudsman to stop the vile behaviour of the Veterans Review and Appeal Board (VRAB) officials that severely injured my military related PTSD fell on deaf ears. The Minister knew his official’s put my life was at risk and acted in contempt of the 2010 Canadian Human Rights Commission mediation but he let them increase their retaliation against me anyway.

The public record shows that these nefarious activities are wide spread and target more than a few disabled veterans who’s only crime is that they were disabled in our country’s service and are trying to improve their fellow veterans and families quality of life to the level this Government has promised.

It’s time to stop the Government’s abuse against defenseless disabled veterans and it’s time for the Attorney General to investigate the Minister’s covered up. Don’t let us down, Attorney General, we’ve suffered enough and veterans deserve nothing less that justice, truth, reconciliation and a Government that is honest and transparent.

It’s generally accepted that to abuse a disabled person is low; but to deliberately hurt defenseless disabled veterans who were injured standing up for democracy and their rights is the lowest of the low. I am certain the voting public will agree!

For more information or to schedule an interview please contact Harold Leduc via me and I'll connect you.

Veterans Affairs Needs Public Inquiry

2012-11-14T13:58:00.000-03:30

*****FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE****

CITIZENS’ GROUP CALLS FOR PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO VETERANS AFFAIRS

St. John’s - Privacy breeches at Veterans Affairs have not been properly investigated, according to citizens’ group Our Duty, and it is calling for a full public inquiry.

This comes days after it was revealed that Minister Steven Blaney ordered a halt to an investigation by the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman shortly after Blaney took office.

“The federal government has been playing a shell-game with the truth,” said Our Duty President Jeff Rose-Martland, “It is time for an independent public inquiry.”

The issue first came to light 2 years ago with the Sean Bruyea affair. A veteran and advocate, Bruyea had his medical files pried into by the Minister’s office after he spoke out against the New Veterans Charter. But Bruyea was not the only person targeted. It also emerged that Sgt Tom Hoppe, a decorated veteran, and former Ombudsman Pat Stogran were also victimized by the Ministry. Deputy Minister Tinning was briefed on the medical records of Retired Forces Nurse Louise Bird prior to a meeting. Private medical information was used to bully Harold LeDuc of the Veterans’ Review and Appeal Board. The veteran behind the SISIP class-action suit against Veterans Affairs, Dennis Manuge, had his medical and financial records used in a Ministerial briefing. Sylvain Chartrand, advocate for reservists, had his records passed from VAC to National Defence.

“Enough is enough,” said Rose-Martland, “The Privacy Commissioner investigated, but could only report on non-compliance. The Ombudsman’s investigation was ordered by Minister Blackburn to look into why these breeches took place. Then came the election, Blackburn was replaced by Blaney, and suddenly the Privacy Commissioner is the one supposed to handle it. This is nothing more than a cover-up.”

Our Duty has been made aware of dozens of cases. “It appears to be standard procedure for VAC officials. As soon as a veteran speaks out, senior bureaucrats in the Ministry go digging into Service Delivery files,” said the citizen advocate, “That’s absolutely forbidden by the Privacy Act and by VAC policy. The Ministry and Service Delivery are supposed to be separate entities. If a veteran has a problem with Service Delivery, they have to appeal to the Deputy Minister to request a Ministerial review - the Minster is not permitted to act on his own. So why, exactly, can the Ministry pull those same files when a veteran criticizes them?”

“It gets worse,” Rose-Martland continued, “We have learned that family members of advocates have also been targeted. Why? Why would the Minister need to know what someone’s brother’s file says? He wouldn’t, not legitimately. The public needs to know what sort of games the Ministry is playing with peoples lives.”

Our Duty notes that Minister Blackburn had promised departmental officials would face severe sanctions for these acts, yet those officials received bonuses last year.

“We have inquiries stifled and cut off. We have threats and intimidation by Veterans Affairs. We have people who broke the law being rewarded. All on the taxpayer dime.”

“We want a full public inquiry into these matters,” said the Our Duty President, “The public needs to know exactly what has been happening in that Ministry: who is doing these things, who ordered it, and most importantly, why? What has this information been used for? And is this still going on?”

“This inquiry needs to have teeth. It needs to be able to investigate and to lay criminal charges. Most importantly, it needs to report back to the taxpayers, because we are the ones who will be paying damages.”

###

MEDIA CONTACT:
Jeff Rose-Martland
exec@ourduty.org

On Publishing and Writers.

2012-07-30T15:14:00.000-02:30

I was invited by the Newfoundland Writers' Guild - a group of veteran authors and former publishing professionals - to give a presentation on ebooks, print-on-demand, and DIY publishing. The lecture was given on 22 July 2012 at the Rotary Sunshine Camp in St. Phillips, NL.

In preparing this lecture, I met with WG President Raoul Andersen to discuss specifically what the Guild wanted to learn about. The answer was a combination of vague - "everything, what's going on and how it affects us" - to specific - "how hard is it to put out an ebook and what's involved." The WG's membership is largely older writers (some of whom have done very well) and they were a) frustrated with the problems they have started running in to when seeking publishers and b) had heard a lot about epublishing but knew little. I was brought in as an expert in the field.

I'm not sure I agree with that title, but I have been battling against and monitoring the industry for about a decade now and, most importantly for the Guild, I know more than they do.

I have decided to make that lecture and related materials available to anyone who is interested. Below are videos of the lectures, the audio-only files, the handout given to the audience, and my own (unedited) notes. There is no prepared speech. You may download and use the material (or parts thereof) with attribution.

Lecture Handout (Word Doc)

Lecture Pt 1 - The State of the Publishing industry

Audio Only

Lecture Pt 2 - DIY Publishing

Audio Only

Resources

Lecture Notes (Word Doc)

The Espresso Book Machine, in Action!!! (Thanks to CBC Manitoba.)

Citation:
You may cite the documents, audio, and video as:

Jeff Rose-Martland, Address to the Newfoundland Writers' Guild, 22 July 2012
© 2012 Jeff Rose-Martland

Government Stonewall Buys Media Silence

2012-06-22T14:02:00.001-02:30

Silence used to be career suicide for a politician. Politicians would feel compelled to answer questions, even if there was no content in their response. Side-stepping, dodging, ducking, and verbal dancing were skills essential for public office. Even when annoyed by their evasion, one could always admire the skill with which a question was handled - just like acknowledging a well-shot goal by the opposing hockey team.

The Harper Government has abandoned that. They don't do verbal puck handling. They just shut up.

Take, for example, Bev Oda's months long vow-of-silence regarding that altered memo. Or the Harper Government's refusal to disclose budget details.

Or Steven Blaney.

Regular readers have heard about Cpl Fabien Melanson before. Summary: in 2004, VAC made a mistake and sent his pension to someone else for 5 months, the result of which was the loss of his home and a suicide attempt. He's been fighting for justice since; and me with him. Minister Blaney can - and should - act to remedy this; that's the job of a minister.

Minister Blaney has employed the silent treatment. For over a year, he has not only refused to act, he has refused to interact. Neither he nor his office will respond to emails, phone calls, faxes, or messages relayed via other MPs and Senators. Not a word to Fabien.

For Minister Blaney, this tactic seems to be working. Since he refuses to comment, the media won't cover the story. For the press, 'minister holds his tongue' is not news, it isn't a story. Fabien's loss has already been reported. Blaney's continued inaction is not news worthy.

But that is the point: the key issue behind Fabien's entire struggle has been the uncaring VAC bureaucracy and its refusal to take responsibility for what it did. By refusing to discuss it, Blaney is continuing the abuse of this veteran.

And he's getting away with it. Because 'no comment' is not news.

At the beginning of this month, Fabien's property and land were repossessed because he cannot afford the repairs. The minister did not intervene. However, we were assured, through multiple unofficial sources, that the Minister's office was sending a letter. Three weeks later and no correspondence has appeared. More silence; the Minister was just buying time with vague, unofficial, assurances.

Since we cannot respond to a non-existent letter, there remains nothing to report in the media.

There should be public outrage. This veteran has been mistreated for 8 years and, in a few weeks, will lose everything because of the VAC bureaucracy. The person who is responsible for veterans won't speak to or about him. The public should be offended that any Minister would keep silent over such an affair.

They should be. But they won't. Because the public won't hear about it; the media won't report it.

The House closed this week. Question Period will be over until the fall. Minister Blaney will get another two-and-a-half months to ignore Cpl. Fabien Melanson. By the time the Commons resumes sitting, Fabien's property will be disposed of and the devastation VAC began in 2004 will be total. I imagine the Minister will claim then that the issue has been resolved.

But you likely won't hear about that either.

By then, it will be old news as well.

Which is, after all, the point of all this silence: if they keep quiet long enough, the problem goes away. The budget passed without disclosure. Oda was never held to account for altering a legal document. And Fabien Melanson will no longer have property to fight for.

Minister Neglects Duty, Vet will lose Home

2012-06-01T09:27:00.000-02:30

The ongoing saga of Fabien Melanson hit another low yesterday. Our appeals to Minister Steven Blaney (VAC) have gone unanswered. We needed him to act quickly to prevent Fabien from losing his house.

Blaney has mailed us a letter. Apparently.

So much for today's deadline for saving the house and property.

The situation is very simple: in 2004, VAC made an error and sent Fabien's pension to the wrong account. It took VAC 5 months to fix, an unreasonable amount of time. The loss of income halted renovations on Fabien's home and it received significant weather damage. VAC paid the back-pension but has done nothing about the impact those missing funds had.

VAC admits, in a letter from last June, that they were responsible for the error and the Fabien suffered as a result. The Department doesn't have a policy for dealing with this. That means that the Minister is the one who has to make it right. We've been trying to get the Minister involved for a year. He still has not responded to any of the emails, faxes, or phone calls made to his office (although, it seems, there is a letter in the mail.)

Minister Blaney had the responsibility and authority to resolve this. He also has a responsibility to engage with the veterans who need his help. Not only is it common courtesy, it is also part of his job.

I find that Steven Blaney has neglected his duties to a massive degree. If he will not perform the responsibilities of his position, then he should have the decency to step down.

If you agree, or if you think what happened to Fabien is ridiculous, so something; write or call the media. Tell your friends to do the same. Neve rmind your MPs - government ignores us and Opposition is powerless. The only way this may be fixed is massive public outcry.

Write a letter to a newspaper. Phone a radio Call-In show. Email your favourite news provider. Call local TV.

Tell everyone who will lister what has happened to Fabien and how you feel about it.

You can include information from this news release:

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***

Veterans Affairs Inaction Costs Veteran Home; Advocate Calls for Minister’s Resignation

St. John’s (Our Duty) – Cpl Fabien Melanson of Cap-Pele, NB will lose his house tomorrow, the end result of a 2004 clerical error by Veterans Affairs, and his advocate is calling for the Minister to resign.

The Van Doo veteran served in Croatia and liberated a hospital in Bosnia. He retired to his hometown when his PTSD prevented him from serving. Then his real war began.

In 2004, Melanson’s pension went missing because Veterans Affairs sent it to the wrong bank account. Despite constant calls, VAC did not correct the error for 5 months. By the time he did get his money, Cpl Melanson’s finances were in ruins. So was his house - the missing pension halted renovations and weather damage rendered the veteran’s home unliveable.

For the next 7 years, Fabien Melanson fought with Veterans Affairs to get them to fix his house. It took a hunger strike last June to get VAC to acknowledge their responsibility. But VAC claimed it ‘had no mechanism” for paying for the repairs.

“That’s highly misleading,” says Melanson’s advocate, Jeff Rose-Martland, “The Department may not have a policy, but it does have a way to do so. The Minister can do it.”

Rose-Martland is referring to ex gratia payments, where a Minister can use discretionary funds to address issues which fall outside of normal procedures.

“We’ve been trying to get the Minister to fix this for a year. We sent our first appeals for help during the hunger strike. We have been emailing, faxing, and phoning regularly since, but the Ministry has been unresponsive. I did speak with an aide in February who said they were looking into it; that’s the only response we’ve had.”

Tomorrow, Bridgewater Bank will proceed with legal action to sell the property. “Fabien’s been doing his best to meet his obligations, but 8 years of being homeless have taken their toll. Most of his income has been going to pay the mortgage on a house he can’t live in, and to store his possessions. He got behind in his payments, Bridgewater discovered the condition of the house, and the clock has been ticking since. We have until tomorrow to provide them with a payment plan and construction schedule.”

As Melanson has no funds for rebuilding, sale of the property is inevitable and Rose-Martland says the Minister is to blame.

“Ever since he was appointed Minister, Steven Blaney has had both the authority and responsibility to fix this,” he says, “VAC admitted their responsibility a year ago; the Minister has a duty to make reparations. The Minister should have been seeking us out, not the other way around. Now, Fabien is going to lose his house and land, and the Minister still won’t act. He won’t even pick up the phone.’

Late today, Rose-Martland received word that the Minister will reply. By mail.

“Since Bridgewater Bank said they were going to sell the place, we’ve been hounding the Minister’s office, begging him to do his duty. He ignored us; no response at all. This afternoon, we found out – through sources other than the Ministry – that they have mailed a letter to us. An 18th century reply to a 21st century problem.”

The advocate is now calling for the Minister to resign. “Since he was appointed Minister, Steven Blaney has had a duty of care to see this issue resolved,” says Jeff Rose-Martland, ”He has willfully ignored that responsibility and is in dereliction of his duty. If he will not discharge his duties as required, then, as a citizen, I ask him to resign his position as Minister Responsible for Veterans Affairs.”

The distraught veteran is unavailable for comment.

***MEDIA CONTACT***
Jeff Rose-Martland
President, Our Duty Inc
rosemartland@gmail.com
709-739-1842

ALLEGATIONS REGARDING OUR DUTY

2012-05-07T17:23:00.002-02:30

PUBLIC ADVISORY

Certain allegations have been made across the veterans community regarding Our Duty Inc and Jeff Rose-Martland. These allegations are 100% but for the sake of those who have questions, here are the answers:

1 - Our Duty was formed in August 2010. It was incorporated in Newfoundland and Labrador in July 2011. During its existence, it has raised no more than a few 100 dollars. These is no financial statement because a) 2011 would be the first tax year one was required and b) we didn’t have any finances to make statements about.

2 - Our Duty is not now and never has been a veterans organization. From first concept, it have been a CITIZENS organization. We advocate to improve veterans benefits because veterans have a social contact with citizens. Our Duty represents the other part of that contract.

3 - Despite being staffed solely by volunteers, Our Duty and Jeff Rose-Martland have achieved significant accomplishments. Jeff Rose-Martland was named to the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman Advisory Committee. He has also been PR and Communications for the group and has been interviewed multiple times, nationally and locally. In March, Our Duty released its first major report: a critique of the 2010 VAC Client Survey. That report gained the attention of both media and politicians. Our Duty and Jeff Rose-Martland have also consulted with, advised, and represented organizations and individuals. As well, Jeff Rose-Martland served as Communications Director for the 2010 NL Canadian Veterans National Day of Protest and for Fabien Melanson’s hunger strike in June 2011. He continues to represent Cpl Melanson to Veterans’ Affairs. ALL OF THAT HAS BEEN DONE WITHOUT FEES, CHARGES, OR FUNDING.

4 - the ourduty.org website was caught in a mass malware site hack last month. This one: http://www.pcworld.com/article/254071/google_warns_20000_websites_that_could_be_infected_with_malware.html

As soon as we became aware, we notified members via Facebook and Jeff Rose-Martland posted the info to his personal blog, which he has been using as a back up until we can get the site fixed. See here: http://viewfromtheedgeoftheworld.blogspot.ca/2012/04/broken-soldiers-epilogue.html dated 23 April.

AS WE ADVISED AT THE TIME: you can still access ourduty.org provided you type the address into the browser bar. It is when you use a search engine, particularly Google, that you get the malware.

5 - This will be our final word on the matter. Our record speaks for itself. We are the ONLY citizen group working on the issue of veterans benefits. We have been dedicated and diligent and scrupulous in our work. These allegations are patently false and we will be seeking legal recourse.

We regret to inform you all that, effectively immediately, we have ceased operations pending legal advice.

What Is Your Support Worth?

2012-05-07T00:18:00.000-02:30

Do you support the troops? Do you care about veterans? Wear red on Fridays? Have a yellow ribbon on your car?

GREAT!

Let's take it to the next step: digging in and helping one specific veteran.

I've got one: a guy who served in Croatia, who helped rescue the Drin Hospital patients, who has a number of injuries, especially PTSD. Veterans Affairs made an error in 2004 and deprived him of his pension for months. By the time he got what he was owed, his house was in ruins, his finances in tatters, and he'd attempted suicide. Eight years later, after a high-profile hunger strike, he has a letter of apology from VAC. Until this month, he had been homeless. His home is still in ruins and his finances still in tatters. He still owes a mortgage on the uninhabitable property, which is in foreclosure.

It was his grandparents home.

As if that wasn't enough, we have discovered a very active campaign has been working to discredit him. A few people have been contacting potential donors and telling them his plight is all a scam.

It isn't.

Every word of his plight is true and can be checked by anyone. Google: Fabien Melanson Veteran *

$5000 gets his property back in his possession. That's where we start, now.

So the question I have is this:

Will you help me with this one veteran?

The entire time I've been trying to throw him a rope, others have been reeling it short.

Will YOU help rescue just one veteran? Please? You wear the red every week, you wear the ribbon with pride, you talk about heroes... will you do something to help one?

Or is that all just talk?

Donation info:
--------------

Anyone can help, every donation counts. If 5000 give a loony, this vet gets his house back from the lawyers. If 2500 people skip coffee, we can do it. If 500 people skip the drive-thru... you get the idea.

Paypal/email transfer to fabien@ourduty.org or poca@ourduty.org

OR

Donations can be made to TD Bank (direct or wire transfer)
Transit #: 05023
Institution #: 004
Account #: 6418137
Name: Jeff Rose-Martland for Fabien Melanson

OR
Cheques & Money Orders
Payable to: Jeff Rose-Martland for Fabien Melanson

Send to:
Fix Fabien's House
4 Neville Pl.
St. John's, NL
A1E 2E7

We will accept everything from copper pennies to gold bars. But please, no rubber cheques.

----
*there's another Fabien Melanson who is a musician and all over the net. Include 'veteran' to find the right one.

Forces Barred from Benefit Debate: CDS

2012-05-05T12:37:00.001-02:30

UPDATE: The release below was written on 24 September 2010, in the lead up to the first Canadian Veterans National Day of Protest. The Office of the Chief of Defence Staff had advised the Forces members might face criminal charges if they participated.

In light of Cpl. Steve Stoesz's being charged for speaking out on DND's plans to scale back mental health services, I thought it would be a good time to re-post. - JRM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Forces Barred from Benefit Debate: CDS

While politicians wrangle over support for disabled veterans, future beneficiaries are banned from the debate. Members of the Canadian Armed Forces are forbidden to comment on the programs designed to assist them when they are injured. Flying in the face of sensible policy development and common sense, disability benefits are arranged without input from future stakeholders.

According to the Chief of Defence Staff, soldiers may not even express an opinion. In an email obtained by ourduty.org, CDS Staff Officer Major Raymond Farrell explained “No member of the CF, including the CDS, may give the impression, even unintentionally, that he is taking sides on an issue before parliament.” Doing so could result in disciplinary action - up to and including charges under the Nation Defence Act - for conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline. With this threat, the Canadian Armed Forces are effectively muzzled.

Public consultation is farcical when the public cannot comment. If the Forces cannot even accidentally hint something is good or bad for fear of prison, then committees will never get meaningful input. Parliament will implement any benefit program it wishes; the troops cannot object.

Worse than that, Forces personnel must support any such program, right or wrong. In that same email, the CDS office states, “Nor may [a soldier] embarrass the Government of Canada.” Troops are barred from participating in rallies, protests, or political activity. A subsequent message from Major Farrell indicated that Forces staff could face charges even if the participant was off duty and out of uniform. There’s no escape from these heavy-handed laws. Requesting that personnel be granted release to follow their conscience as civilians, an appeal to Chief of Defence Staff, General Natynchuk, resulted in the answer, “the CDS will not make an exception either way.”

These directives ensure not only that Forces will not be consulted, but that they must support any plan developed. In this case of take-it-and-like-it, the message from the CDS is clear: Shut Up, Soldier!

By Jeff Rose-Martland, founder of OurDuty.org

NOTE: The above released prompted John Ivison of the National Post to pontificate on the essential reason for the laws as they stand. My response can be found here.

---------------------

ADDITIONAL:

Forces personnel are subject to the National Defence Act AND the Queens Rules & Orders. Both address the issue of speaking out.

National Defence Act

S129. (1) Any act, conduct, disorder or neglect to the prejudice of good order and discipline is an offence and every person convicted thereof is liable to dismissal with disgrace from Her Majesty’s service or to less punishment.

Queens Rules and Orders

19.14 – IMPROPER COMMENTS
(1) No officer or non-commissioned member shall make remarks or pass criticism tending to bring a superior into contempt...

(2) No officer or non-commissioned member shall do or say anything that:

(a) if seen or heard by any member of the public, might reflect discredit on the Canadian Forces or on any of its members; or
(b) if seen by, heard by or reported to those under him, might discourage them or render them dissatisfied with their condition or the duties on which they are employed.

PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)

2012-04-30T17:18:00.003-02:30

This is a special submission to Our Duty by Gerry. Since this is such an important issue, I am re-porting it here.

-----------------

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
March 8 2012
by

Gerry Fostaty

I have been travelling around lately, speaking to groups about post-traumatic stress disorder.

At the start of my talks about PTSD to folks, I tell a story about a neighbour, a toad and me. The story isn’t important. The important thing is that it illustrates that we sometimes make assumptions, when we don’t have all the facts. That’s the way it is with post-traumatic stress disorder. People make all kinds of assumption about PTSD. It used to be known by many descriptions: shell-shock, battle fatigue, the thousand-yard stare, and of course, cowardice, among others. (Unfortunately, it still is in some circles.) But in the 1980s, some smart people realized that what the sufferers were experiencing wasn’t behavioural, it was neurological. They discovered that you can’t just snap out of it, man up, grow up, or get over it. In the 1980s it became a recognized clinical disorder. Although we most frequently associate PTSD with the military, PTSD can affect anyone. It doesn’t discriminate by gender, age or occupation. It is an equal-opportunity disorder. There are some occupations that may be more exposed to the stimulus that create a host for PTSD. The military, emergency first responders like police, firefighters, paramedics, emergency room nurses and doctors are all obvious candidates, but victims of violent accidents, crime, assault, terrorism, abduction, and rape are also at risk.

So what brings it on? Here is my simplified version.

When our minds experience trauma, that is, when we feel that our lives are in danger, or the lives (or well being of those we are responsible for) are in danger, or we feel utter helplessness in a perilous situation, our brains, not surprisingly, become most interested in our survival. The brain triggers a response that immediately has our bodies create a massive amount of adrenaline that floods through us, giving us a rapid and intense burst of energy. This energy is channelled to our gross motor limbs, our arms and legs, to help us either defend ourselves, or escape the danger. That is commonly called the “fight or flight” response. Most times brains are able to reset after the trauma is past, but if the trauma is particularly profound, or prolonged, or is repeated, something else occurs. A deep neural pathway is created in the brain. The brain feels that it will need the memory of the trauma again soon, so it hangs on to the info, and it has its hand ready on the adrenaline switch . . . just in case we’ll need to fight or flee again. In most cases, we won’t need that adrenaline again in the short term. But, the brain hangs on to the info.

So what can happen?

The problem is that our brains don’t understand that we don’t need the adrenaline, but it stays at the ready for a long time. In most cases, the brain relaxes and “resets” within thirty days, but in some cases it will hang on to that trauma, even for years. The brain may begin to look for opportunities to pull the switch. Things that are only barely associated with the old trauma, may present the brain with what it thinks are triggers. Sights, sounds and smells are very powerful triggers. When the brain feels that you are in danger again it flips the switch and the body is again flooded with adrenaline to help us escape or defend ourselves. After that happens a few times we begin to see a pattern and try to avoid the things that triggered the adrenaline. Being on guard and being watchful, trying to avoid the triggers is exhausting and can cause sleep disorders. The lack of sleep causes daytime fatigue and irritability, which can make us less able to recognise and avoid a trigger situation, causing another PTSD episode, like nightmares, flashbacks or an outburst of anger, or can lead to depression. This continues as a cycle, spiralling downward. Once the switch has been pulled a few times as false alarms, the sufferer will become more aware of the triggers and try to keep away from them. Not only does the hyper-vigilance and hyper-awareness exhaust them, they may begin to retreat from what they used to enjoy; friends, family, sports and the other diversions that usually enrich their lives. For them, however, they present unwelcome opportunities to trigger the PTSD. So the PTSD sufferer begins to withdraw from their former life, shunning their former normal life and further isolating themselves.

So what now?

The difficult thing is for the sufferer to recognise PTSD in themselves. Many times the symptoms don’t seem to bind together in a way that easily lets them know they are affected. Everyone is different, and PTSD manifests itself in each person differently. Once they suspect that they may have PTSD, the easiest thing is to let their family doctor know that they would like to be assessed. They’ll most likely be referred to a specialist who understands the disorder, and then will begin a journey toward health. There are treatments for PTSD, and they are effective. The treatments don’t remove the memory of the trauma; it just moves the memory from a place in the brain where it creates urgency and panic, to a place where it becomes benign. Getting back to making assumptions when not having all the information: If you are suffering with PTSD, sadly it’s not just about you. An important thing to remember about treatment for PTSD, is that the sufferer is not only getting treatment for himself or herself. Their family and friends and co-workers are also affected by their PTSD. Their family also experiences the effects of the flashbacks, nightmares, hyper-vigilance, depression, substance abuse and all the other baggage that chains the sufferer to this disorder. PTSD adversely affects the community which surrounds the sufferer. In the same way, treatment also benefits all those around the person suffering from PTSD. Treatment is important and available.

----

Gerry Fostaty is the author of As You Were: The Tragedy at Valcartier published by Goose Lane Editions in 2011.

http://www.gerryfostaty.com

----

http://ourduty.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=179:ptsd-post-traumatic-stress-disorder&catid=31:general&Itemid=46

Feds Unloading RCMP Responsibility: Advocate

2012-04-27T02:30:00.000-02:30

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***

Feds Unloading RCMP Responsibility: Advocate

St. John’s - Citizen advocacy organization Our Duty is condemning the federal government’s proposed budget plans for the RCMP.

Yesterday, Assistant RCMP Commissioner Daniel Dubeau unveiled the Mounted’s deficit reduction plans to staff. Entitled ‘RCMP Health Services Modernization’, the memo outlines a number of crucial changes, some of which “require authority to change legislation.” Among the changes are: relegating medical costs from federal to provincial budgets, privatizing supplemental health insurance, outsourcing disability case management, and scrapping the RCMP’s current psychological support program. It will also discard its current leave-entitlement program for a “sick-leave bank system”.

Our Duty President Jeff Rose-Martland says these moves amount to the federal government shirking responsibility. “Care of our national police force is being dumped to provinces and private companies,” he said.

“By Act of Parliament, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is a federal body. They serve by federal appointment and they answer to federal authority. Whether they serve at home or abroad, Members of the Mounted are employed by the Government of Canada. Members answer to the RCMP Commissioner, who answers to the Public Safety Minister of Canada. It is a clear chain of command in one direction and a clear chain of responsibility in the other.”

The Our Duty President notes that the proposed changes will result in inconsistent benefits for the Mounted. “Primary health benefits vary provincially, which means Members will be covered - or not - based on where they serve. The cost of additional coverage will be levied on the officers, which will mean a pay reduction that varies by deployment.”

Rose-Martland also condemns the internal changes. “A leave-bank system means that Members will have to earn time-off in advance. That will have officers working when they are not fit because it’s January and they haven’t earned sick time yet. Or worse, they will have used their available time and have to return to work when they are not capable of fulfilling their duties. Leave-bank changes focus from performance to pay check. We should want our police operating at peak ability, not mucking along until the boss says they can have time off again.”

He adds, “The outsourcing is going to alienate Members. Right now, whether it is disability management or personal support, the Mounted looks after its own. These changes will have Members appealing to outsiders and feeling abandoned by their peers.”

“The Federal government wants to use the Mounted but not take care of them,” the citizen advocate concludes, “No matter how you spin this, cost savings or efficiency, it still amounts to dereliction of duty.”

-------------------

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

Media Contact

---------------------

Jeff Rose-Martland

President, Our Duty

exec@ourduty.org

---------------------

BACKGROUND

RCMP Health Services Modernization

As a government organization, we have a responsibility to spend taxpayer dollars wisely. Government agencies must always look for efficiencies and the RCMP must focus on keeping Canadians safe.

Our Senior Executive Committee set two overarching principles as the basis for the RCMP’s deficit reduction exercise: minimize impacts on direct policing operations as well as the impact on RCMP employees.

A number of our proposals require authority to change legislation in order to move our initiatives forward. On April 26, 2012, the Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act was tabled in the House of Commons so I can now provide you with some high-level detail on the RCMP Health Services Modernization proposals which will be implemented over the next two years and contribute to the RCMP’s savings.

Basic Health Care

The Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act is proposing that Regular Members fall under the Canada Health Act. If adopted, Regular Members will need to apply to be covered by provincial health care. In addition, the RCMP will also be working with provinces and territories on how to implement this new process. This new approach to Regular Member health care will allow the RCMP to modernize its Health Services program.

The inclusion of Regular Members in the Canada Health Act will allow the RCMP to decrease administrative functions that do not support core policing. This opportunity will also realize financial savings for the RCMP and the provincial/territorial contract partners as Regular Members would be defined as an “insured person” under the Canada Health Act. Accordingly, Regular Members would no longer be billed to the contracting jurisdiction as non-provincial residents, which previously added to the cost of their treatment by as much as 200%.

If approved, a more detailed implementation plan, including how to apply for provincial health care/card, will be communicated to Regular Members.

Supplemental Health Care

Regular Members will continue to obtain the health care services they require. In support of this, the RCMP will be moving its supplemental health care program to an actual insurance provider for supplemental health coverage rather than the current internally funded program.

More information on this initiative will be communicated as we move forward with implementation plans.

Sick Leave

The RCMP is examining the possibility of implementing a sick leave bank system. Under this proposal, all Regular and Civilian Members would accumulate sick leave instead of the current system of leave entitlements.

The RCMP is also looking at establishing an internally-funded short-term disability program based on a leave bank system. This program is part of an overarching Disability Case Management Program to help manage a member’s return to work in a more professional, beneficial and timely manner.

Disability Case Management

The RCMP is modernizing the administration of its current Disability Case Management Program by moving to an outsourced model which would have an external service provider undertake the administrative functions related to the management of individual member cases and associated return to work.

Member/Employee Assistance Program (M/EAP)

The M/EAP program will transition to the Employee Assistance Services (EAS) program from the current peer-based referral agent. Health Canada’s Employee Assistance Services (EAS) provides a referral service when addressing psychological services. EAS is the largest public sector provider representing more than 140 organizations and over one million clients across Canada.

All employees (including Regular Members) and their dependants will receive consistent, timely, professional and confidential access to short-term counseling services. Services will be available from certified counselors 24 hours per day, 365 days a year though a telephone service.

More information on this initiative will be communicated as we move forward with implementation plans.

I recognize that you will have questions, especially on how these initiatives will impact you and when they will be implemented. A dedicated team has been established to oversee these Health Services Modernization initiatives. We will share more information and details with all employees as soon as they become available.

Sincerely,

D.G.J. Dubeau, A/Commr.

Chief Human Resources Officer

###

Broken Soldiers: Epilogue

2012-04-23T13:08:00.001-02:30

Clerisy Entertainment's Broken Soldiers has been running on Eastlink-TV and one may be left wondering what happened to Fabien Melanson. Here's what happened:
What Happened to the Hunger Striker?

The Our Duty website is have some technical problems, so I am re-posting this here.

If you want to help Fabien, you can give by:

Paypal/email transfer to fabien@ourduty.org

OR
Donations can be made at TD Bank
Transit #: 05023
Institution #: 004
Account #: 6418137
Name: Jeff Rose-Martland for Fabien Melanson

OR
Cheques & Money Orders
Payable to: Jeff Rose-Martland for Fabien Melanson

Send to: Fix Fabien's House
4 Neville Pl.
St. John's, NL
A1E 2E7

(Regarding the Our Duty site - we seem to have bee caught up in the Google java-browser-hijack along with 20,000 other sites. If you try to get to ourduty.org via facebook link or a search engine, you get security warnings and/or nothing. If you click here: http://ourduty.org I hope you will get there. If not, copy/paste the address into your browser and you will get there fine. The site itself is safe, the hijacking/malware appears to occurs when coming in from facebook or search engines. We are working on fixing that.)

Now on The Huffington Post

2012-03-28T12:43:00.001-02:30

I am pleased to say that my work is now on the Huffington Post!

A few weeks ago, Our Duty released an analysis of the Veterans' Affairs 2010 Client Satisfaction Survey. When i sent out the press releases, I sent one to HP. About a week later, the Canadian editor replied and asked if I could turn it into a blog. I jumped at the chance; its not often an editor contacts the writer for work.

This is the result.

I'm pleased with it. Huffington is giving me the opportunity to say what I think about the survey, instead of just analyzing it, and I'm always happy to give my opinion on something. ;) Huffington are also willing to consider anything else I care to submit.

Here's a bit about my experience with the Post, for those who may be getting their first break.

Huffington does not pay for your articles. However, given that they have editors and a high-profile, HP is an excellent writing credit. (As you know, one of the things about being a writer is that you need other people to say you are good, otherwise people don't take you seriously.)

Next: Huffington does not work like a standard press platform. While they want items that are timely (the editor was concern that I was writing about something from 2010), they also don't seem to suffer from the immediacy of, say, newspapers. It took about two weeks to get my post up.

Part of the reason for that was scheduling: week 1, the editorial staff was short-handed. After I bugged and bothered, I finally got a response requesting that I make my submission more timely. I did a quick edit and had it sent back within 48 hours (it was a weekend, so I didn't rush). After another week of silence, I needed to be a pain-in-the-ass again: I had updated my post by hooking it to the federal budget, and budget day was less than 3 days away. This time, it turns out the Editor was on vacation, but she interrupted her break to give it a read and send it to the posting staff (for which I am grateful).

My advice? When submitting to the Huffington Post, make your blog timely but not time sensitive. Write about something current which is either ongoing (say, robocalls right now) but not dated (like Elections Canada officials testifying today). Huffington is not looking for news-stringers; they have staff that handles that. What they want from you as a blogger is insight, analysis, and relevancy...but not immediacy.

It helps if you give the blogs-section a good skim before you begin; that should give you some good ideas on timeliness.

So I need to offer special thanks to Danielle Crittenden, both for giving me the opportunity and for putting up with my impatience. You should check out her blog as well. There a great article on vaginal drinking. (no, I'm not making that up.)

On Response Rates

2012-03-24T14:08:00.000-02:30

We have a multitude of ways to communicate with each other: phone, fax, email, social media, instant messaging. I'm sure if I looked, I could probably even find a telegram service (legit, not stripper). All this technology, all these ways of contacting the right person to get your issue addressed, and what do these people do?

Ignore everything.

Phone calls are handled by people who take messages or, more often, by electronic message boxes. In either case, your message will likely be ignored. Email goes unread. E-messages and social media posts go unanswered. Faxes get shredded or filed, no response. We have all these communications methods and, when it comes to reaching the person you need to contact, you might as well be standing on the roof shouting for all the good it does. And the more "important" the person, the less likely you are to hear from them.

And if you do hear from their assistant, you frequently get the worse-than-silence response: a promise that your issue will be reviewed and you will be contacted. In other words, stop trying to reach us; we've already trashed your communications. Then there's the ever-popular out-of-the-office message: "I am out of the office and will be returning on XXX. If this is urgent, please contact..." Well, if it’s not urgent, you leave your message and expect that person will get back to you when they ARE in the office. Apparently, that is not the case. It seems that out-of-the-office is now an excuse to dump every message that came in during that time, as if they never occurred.

And then, there's my own private hellish torture: the people who contacted ME, and asked/offered something, who then disappear, leaving me clicking refresh on my email every 10 minutes for the next month.

Common courtesy in communications has gone the same way as politeness on the internet: down the sewer of self-importance. One would think it would be easier to actually speak to the individual than to continue finding new ways of avoiding them.

So I want to ask, appeal, implore, BEG you to change your methods. If you don’t now and never will communicate with those who are trying to reach you, then at least be honest about it. Take your contact info off your websites. Set your outgoing message to something like "Don't bother; I'm not going to respond."

And, above all, don't call people; make promises, and then bail. That is the worst form of rudeness there is.

For their own good.

2012-03-24T13:39:00.000-02:30

Whatever happened to pro bono publico? The idea that lawyers would do work to help the public in order to ensure equality before the law and to help individuals who could not afford to pay them? Where did that concept go?

Last August, the GG said law firms in Canada donate less than 3% of their time to this fundamental legal ideal. 3%? You could have knocked me over with a feather. Because, as near as I can tell, that might be a couple of firms using ALL of their time, while the rest don't do any pro bono work.

Because I've been pitching a simple case for a veteran who was mistreated. There is nothing complex or convoluted and it should be able to be resolved with a few letters written. I've approached dozens of lawyers and SIX pro bono societies. Response rate? 1. Not 1%, 1 response. And repeated querying of the societies supposedly dedicated to doing this work has not resulted in a single word. In my experience, the GG's estimate is grossly overinflated.

Which leads me to suspect that every negative thing said about lawyers may be true. Because if not one will step up to help an impoverished veteran, then the profession really believes pro bono pocketo.

Money, money everywhere, but not a cent to help

2012-03-24T12:36:00.001-02:30

Since I started fundraising for Our Duty, I have found it very difficult to listen to any news story that discusses money.

To date, our biggest donations have come from veterans on fixed incomes, who have scraped together a few bucks out of their meagre pensions to support us. It is amazing that they did and we appreciate every one.

BUT

Listen to any news cast you hear about hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars changing hands, as profit, as waste, as the fine-points in a negotiation, as the net-worth of a company that makes crap. All that money, flowing all around. And people like me, who are out there trying to fix a problem or make the world better; we have our hands out, saying please help me help others. And the money whirls past, like in some pathetic game show booth.

A percent of a percent of the funds being discussed would turn any organization into a major force. If would take operations out of basement or garage and into an office. It would let the volunteer staff stop worrying about their own bills and focus on doing what they do best. It would enable travel to significant events. It would buy ads to help spread the messages.

But you try getting those funds. Damn near impossible.

I'm afraid to add up the number of volunteer hours behind Our Duty or to tally the costs we have contributed. I don't want to know how much we have donated because then I will be even more angry and disillusioned. Especially since I know a lot of that time and energy has gone into fruitless funding appeals.

And the most aggravating part is the silence. Letters, emails, phone calls, faxes - most are completely ignored. Perhaps 1 in 1000 actually gets a response and that’s a 'no'. The rest just disappear, like you flushed a great wad of your time and effort down the toilet.

The Haves not only won't help, they won't even listen. Which creates our current situation: Those with the least to give, give the most.

And that is heartbreaking.

Dear Jeff Skoll

2012-02-20T22:50:00.001-03:30

(Yes, this is a letter to Jeff Skoll. You may read along. You may even comment. Even better, you can print this off and give it to Jeff, if you know him. For that matter, if you know someone of similar mind and bank account, you can give this to them, too.)

We don't know each other and we probably don't have much in common. I've shopped on eBay, I write, and I'm Canadian. That's probably the end of the list.

Oh, one more thing: I also champion the underdog.

I've read a lot about your philanthropy over the past 24 hours, and I admire the way you are approaching it. Good job. I am always glad to see someone following their moral duty, especially when the only thing driving it is their own drive.

In fact, I have admired many who have done this: people who stick to their guns, who declare that a thing is right, and who do it regardless of harm to themselves. I have a list of names: Romeo Dallaire, Linda Keen, Pat Stogran...and you. And others. Oh, its not that giving away your money is the big deal; many wealthy do so. It is the WAY you are doing it. I can see that you are personally involved in doing what is right and your money happens to be the tool you have handy.

As for me, I too feel this drive, this thing inside that tells me to stand up and point at things that are wrong. 18 months ago, this drive kicked in as I watched a man lose his job for standing up for what is right. Col Pat Stogran, Canada's first Veterans' Ombudsman, lost his position because he was too outspoken. Upon learning this, his first response was "Oh, you thought THAT was outspoken??? Tune in to tomorrow's press conference!" And so he did hold a press conference and he blew the lid off a slew of problems at Veterans' Affairs.

Citizens like you and I, we don't pay too much attention to veterans. We know people enlist in the RCMP and the Canadian Forces. We know they get hurt and killed. We stand proud of Canada's role in peacekeeping. We wear our poppies on Remembrance Day. But otherwise, we don't think much about them. Part of that is because we don't want to think too much about the horrors they see and the things they endure. The other part is that we think they are taken care of. After all, this is Canada! Of course they are looked after! No one would even debate the need and there has never been a debate about funds. We pay our taxes, secure in the knowledge that, of all government departments, Veterans' Affairs will be run properly and the vets looked after.

Which, of course, is completely naive when you think about it.

But Col Stogran changed all that for me. He told me, a civilian, what was really going on. And the veterans themselves, in comments on the press coverage, also told me the horrors of this department. Within 48 hours, I had found the Col and offered to help spread the word (having some measure of social media skills). He accepted.

A week later, I had a campaign, a website, and a name for the organization: Our Duty. The purpose? To fix Veterans' Affairs and to make sure that we take care of our veterans, at least in the way we thought we had been.

What's wrong over there? Well, there's the big things: failure to cover exposure to Agent Orange/White/Purple and depleted uranium. Pension clawbacks. Replacing a monthly pension with a much smaller lump-sum award. Then there's the small things: thousands of pages of policy. Staffing problems. Case mangers carrying a load of 1000+ claims. Years-long processing times and decades long appeals processes. And then there's the dirty things: passing around the private medical files of any critic. Cutting benefits to those same critics. Trying to get veterans who stand up for themselves committed to mental hospitals. Yes, Jeff, its happening in your Canada.

Outraged? So am I. Motivated? Well, I am. So much that I have been labouring long and hard this past year-and-a-half. OurDuty.org has become Our Duty Inc - a registered not-for-profit. We even have a board of directors. And a bank account containing $10 (our treasurer's recycling money).

And that's the problem: Our Duty is broke. We have the drive to make things happen. We have the knowledge and will to solve the problems. We have the desire to stand and declare That Is Wrong!

But we don't have any money to do it.

We've donated thousands of hours in manpower, and we would gladly do so again, if we could just figure out how to pay our bills. Our Duty could have a major impact, if we had enough cash to buy a few ads once in a while, to help spread the word. And if we weren't all stressed out about making ends meet. Because, as you know, advocacy doesn't pay. At least, advocating for veterans doesn't pay.

In the land of the government grant, we can't get funds. Veterans' themselves are broke. The provinces say that veterans are a federal issue. The Feds are hardly going to fund a group that is critical of them. Philanthropists don't want to upset the government by funding advocacy. And no one wants to sponsor a group that speaks truth to power.

Except, perhaps, you.

Jeff Skoll, you like underdogs? Here's one. Our Duty, a group of rogue citizens committed to fixing an entire government department, provided we can find a way to feed our families while we do that.

Jeff, you're a Canadian. You know how important those uniforms are, the blue beret and the red serge. You know what the Battle of the Somme means. And Rwanda. And Suez. Haiti. The Balkans. Afghanistan. And so on. You know that Canada made those commitments and sacrifices, not for glory, but for humanity. We have sent our fellow citizens to the furthest outposts of the globe, to bring peace and aid, or, when everything else fails, to bear witness to atrocities so that someone will know. Our fellow citizens answer to call to fight, to rescue, to bag sand and shovel snow, to fly in blizzards and to march on ice, to get maimed or killed, because it is necessary.

Jeff, my fight is also necessary. Someone, some civilian, an unbiased third party, needs to wade into this fight and bring stability. Veterans are biased one way; politicians and bureaucrats the other. Citizens are the employers of both sides. We can make the peace and fix the problems. We can do it. All it takes is clarity of vision, will to change, and drive to labour. And a few bucks to pay for the gas.

Jeff Skoll: your veterans need you. Your government needs you. Your nation needs you. I need you. Will you help me make this right?

Best Regards,
Jeff Rose-Martland
President, Our Duty inc.
http://ourduty.org

P.S. I am putting this letter into an electronic bottle and casting it adrift on the seas of cyberspace in the hope it finds you.

Communications Pro seeks income!

2011-07-12T11:59:00.004-02:30

I've been looking for a paying gig for a while now. (Volunteering is great but it doesn't pay the bills.) I've done the usual upload-your-resume-to-our-site (and wonder for 6 months if we receive it, looked at it, or if the network just dumped it in the recycling bin in order to save everyone a lot of bother) and so-far, it's been a fruitless activity. So I'm putting it out there for the world to see. If you think my skills can fit your needs, contact me!

Employment or contract. Free consultations.
---------------------------------------------
Jeff Rose-Martland's Resume - 12 July 2011
Jeff Rose-Martland

139 Campbell Ave , St. John’s, NL , A1E 2Z7 , (709) 739-1842 , rose_martland@yahoo.ca

Profile

- Media professional with 26 Years combined experience [Traditional, New, and Social media].

- Expert Social Media Marketer and Internet Content Developer.

- 11 Years experience in Public Relations and Promotions.

- Proficient researcher with exceptional planning, organizing, and problem-solving skills.

- Veteran of fast-paced environments who is able to achieve excellent results under pressure.

- Accomplished and award-winning author.

- Professional speaker who delivers messages effectively to diverse audiences.

- Talented communications professional able to develop and execute strategies for target groups.

Attributes

- An exceptional communicator: passionate, engaging, and highly creative. Organized and detail oriented, a dynamic individual who sets priorities and achieves deadlines. An enthusiastic, results-oriented professional who works equally well independently or with a team. Superior interpersonal communications skills. Talented leader in customer service.

Professional Experience

PUBLICITY & PUBLIC RELATIONS

- 15+ Years experience in promotions.

- 12+ Years experience in public relations.

- Communications Director for Hunger-Strike Veteran Fabien Melanson, solely designed and

executed the media campaign.

- Communications Director for Our Duty

- Publicity director and keynote speaker for the provincial committee of the Canadian Veterans

National Day of Protest rally, 6 November 2010.

- Developed and conducted media campaigns for advocacy, book promotion, and live

entertainment.

COMMUNICATIONS

- 15+ Years experience as a writer.

- 11+ Years experience as a radio announcer.

- 3+ Years experience as frontline customer service agent in a contact centre environment.

- Author of three books: Game Misconduct, Call Centre: The Musical, and Please Hold! Ruminations of an

Agent.

- Writing credits include The Newfoundland Quarterly, The Telegram, Broadcast Dialogue, NL Press,

Canadian Stories, The Hill Times, The Montreal Tribune, and other national newspapers.

- Ambassador Team - Communications Sub-Team, 2006-08, Convergys Customer Management.

Responsible for creating content for monthly internal publication.

SOCIAL MEDIA and INTERNET

- 16 Years experience in Internet use and electronic communications

- 14 Tears experience in Social Media, from chat rooms to current trends

- Highly skilled in the use of Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn,

EmpireAvenue and other social networks for promotion.

- Manage online presence for freelance work, Game Misconduct (novel), and Our Duty (advocacy).

- Social media consultant and publicist for veterans’ advocacy groups and events.

- Manage two websites: design, generate content, basic HTML knowledge.

- Knowledgeable of embedding techniques and multimedia site content.

- Generate and distribute content via blog. Experienced live-blogger for events.

- Proficient with Search Engine Optimization and Analytics.

Select Accomplishments

- Recipient of the 2005 Percy Janes First Novel Award.

- President of advocacy group Our Duty.

- Provincial Coordinator 2010 Canadian Veterans’ National Day of Protest - NL.

- Guest Panellist for the 2010 Winterset in Summer literary festival.

- Finalist for the 2009 CBC Creative Non-Fiction Award.

- Guest lecturer in 2009 for Henry Stewart Talks, Contact Center Management, by personal request of

Stagg, A.M. (ed.), former chair of the U.K. Contact Centre Organization

Employment History

- FABIEN MELANSON – Communications Director, Social Media Coordinator – May 2011 – Present

- OUR DUTY - Founder, President, Policy Analyst, Public Relations, 2010 - Present.

- FREELANCE - Writer / Social Media Marketer, 2002 – Present.

- CONVERGYS CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT CANADA - St. John’s, NL - Customer Service

Representative II, July 2005 - November 2008; Ambassador Team - Communications Sub-Team, 2006 - 2008.

- UN CONFERENCE ON THE GOVERNANCE OF THE HIGH SEAS AND THE

UNITED NATIONS FISH AGREEMENT - St. John's, NL - Ministerial Driver, May 2005.

- VOCM - STEELE COMMUNICATIONS - St. John's, NL - Announcer / Operator, 1999 - 2004.

- JUNO AWARDS - St. John's, NL - Offsite Performance Co-ordinator, April 2002.

- FREELANCE - Associate Producer, St. John's, NL - Shakespeare By the Sea, 1998; Recycled Shakespeare Company, 1997-1999; Headstrong Todd Productions, 1997-1999.

Education

- ELECTRONICS COMMUNICATIONS ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIST

College of the North Atlantic - St. John's, NL - 1989 to 1992.

- PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES: Theatre, Video Production, Telecommunications,

Customer Communications, Others - Memorial University and Convergys Online.

Writing Samples and References Available Upon Request.