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Afghanistan

Five things we learned from Peter Milliken's speech, and one we didn't

Graham F. Scott

…On analysing the evidence before it and the precedents, the Chair cannot but conclude that the Government`s failure to comply with the Order of December 10, 2009 constitutes prima facie a question of privilege. […] I will allow House Leaders, Ministers and party critics time to suggest some way of resolving the impasse for it […] More »

Wednesday WTF: Government transparency risks being "totally obliterated"

Graham F. Scott

From the Afghan Detainee torture scandal to the Helena Guergis Magical Mystery Police Adventure, governmental transparency is at a dangerously low ebb and risks being “totally obliterated,” says the interim access-to-information commissioner Suzanne Legault. Her report, released yesterday, gave low ratings to 13 out of 24 government institutions on their compliance with requests for information, […] More »
March-April 2010

As governments reject Royal Commissions, public policy suffers

Bruce M. Hicks

For the past six months, opposition parties in Ottawa and in Quebec City have been persistently calling for the appointment of Royal Commissions. At the federal level, the demand has been for an impartial inquiry into the fate of detainees that Canadian troops turned over to local authorities in Afghanistan, and whether or not the […] More »

Wednesday WTF: We watched the PM on YouTube so you don't have to

Graham F. Scott

Most videos on YouTube are total fiascos, but at least they’re entertaining fiascos. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s debut on YouTube—in which he responded with carefully prepared talking points to carefully screened video questions in a carefully pre-taped appearance—was dull because there was nothing at stake. It was like watching a man walk a tightrope across his […] More »

LISTEN: Cover story author John Duncan on the radio today

Graham F. Scott

Professor John Duncan, who wrote the current cover story in the March-April 2010 issue of this magazine about the Canadian military’s plans for the mission in Afghanistan, was interviewed on CIUT 89.5 FM in Toronto this morning. Take 5 co-hosts Crystal Luxmore and Dave Peterson interviewed John about the story, the toll that aerial bombing […] More »
March-April 2010

Interview: Globe and Mail Afghanistan correspondent Graeme Smith

Paul McLaughlinWebsite

Calgary Herald reporter Michelle Lang was the first Canadian journalist to die covering the conflict in Afghanistan. She was killed on December 30, 2009. Her death brought to mind the dangers faced there not just by the military but by the media as well. From September 2005 to February 2009, Globe and Mail reporter Graeme Smith, […] More »

Coming up in the March-April 2010 issue of This Magazine

Graham F. Scott

The March-April 2010 issue of This Magazine will be landing in subscribers’ mailboxes this week and is now on most newsstands coast to coast. (If you haven’t subscribed yet, this is a great time to do it, locking in a great price before the HST comes along. Just sayin’!) As always, the stories will all […] More »
March-April 2010

Canadian military quietly preps for longer Afghan mission

John DuncanWebsite

Canada’s troops are supposed to leave Afghanistan in 2011. As the conflict drags on and the death toll rises, the Canadian government and military plan for the next decade of war—this time with Canadian jets dropping the bombs On Monday, November 3, 2008, while on patrol in Afghanistan, near the village of Wech Baghtu in […] More »

Interview: Glen Pearson, Liberal party critic for International Cooperation

Graham F. Scott

With today’s edition of Verbatim, we’ve got This Magazine associate editor Nick Taylor-Vaisey in conversation with Liberal Party critic for International Cooperation Glen Pearson. You can hear the original podcast of this conversation, as always, on the podcast blog. Nick and Glen discuss Canada’s humanitarian commitments past, present, and future, ranging from Darfur to Afghanistan […] More »

Listen to This #006: Glen Pearson, Liberal party critic for International Cooperation

Graham F. Scott

In this edition of Listen to This, Nick Taylor-Vaisey talks with Glen Pearson, Liberal party critic on International Cooperation and MP for London North Centre. In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, and with the deadline for withdrawing Canadian troops from Afghanistan approaching, Pearson discusses the successes and failures of Canada’s international assistance efforts in […] More »
January-February 2010

For artists embedded in Afghanistan, propaganda concerns linger

Nick Taylor-VaiseyWebsite

Young-adult novelist Sharon McKay has visited some rough parts of the world in search of material for her stories. When she was writing War Brothers, a book that follows five child soldiers through war-torn Uganda, she travelled to that country to interview kids on the ground. For an upcoming book about girls in Afghanistan, titled […] More »