Comments on: Denis Coderre: Military Sensitivity

By: The Invisible Hand

The Invisible Hand — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 11:03:00 +0000

“Liberal defence critic Denis Coderre is calling on the federal government to build a Canadian Forces base for native soldiers.”

“Mr. Coderre also said he plans to meet aboriginal leaders to gauge their support for the native base.”

Ass/u/ming that the CP has summarized Coderre’s comments accurately, it seems pretty clear that he is calling for a base specifically for native soldiers, not merely building a base for anyone in a native-populated area.

By: balbulican

balbulican — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:09:44 +0000

Agreed. I can’t tell from the post or the source article what the intent actually is.

By: Abattoir

Abattoir — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 13:59:58 +0000

If this base is designed to be exclusively for natives, then this idea is spectacularly idiotic. Not only would it fly in the face of what Canadians believe in, it would stir up resentment in many areas of the country.

If this is a regular base built in a region of the country with a high proportion of aboriginals, and our forces need another base, then the idea may have merit. I’ll reserve judgement until I learn more.

By: balbulican

balbulican — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:40:24 +0000

You referred to the proposed Restigouche base as a “ghetto”. I didn’t see any suggestion in the article that Aboriginal recruits would be restricted to Restigouche - presumably applicants would be processed on a regional basis like any other recruit. Did I miss something? It seemed to me that the intent was to increase Aboriginal recruitment by putting a base in a predominantly Aboriginal region, which seems logical.

By: Caveman

Caveman — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 02:52:56 +0000

If one remembers that the Liberals have never had a grasp of the intricacies of international affairs since Pearson and defence since St-Laurent, it all comes together. Denis Coderre is a provincial, small-intellect politician in the Trudeau mode (another Liberal who was not intelligent enough to grasp that there was a wider world outside our borders). That Dion appointed him defence critic is yet another example of Liberal inability to see beyond their grasping for power - and is an insult to the men and women serving our country here and overseas, each one of whom is a better man or woman than most of those who sit in Parliament - especially in opposition.

By: Conrad

Conrad — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:28:57 +0000

“What was the thought process that led Stephane Dion to give Coderre the defence critic position?”

You mean that Dion actually has the power of thought? This is just another indication of the Liberal implosion.

By: Smarter than Denis

Smarter than Denis — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:20:45 +0000

Oh oh, sounds like ol’Denis may have strategized this beaut in Claude Boulay’s chalet over waaaaay too much vino. Old habits are hard to break you know.