Veterans Affairs Canada has awarded $4 million in funding to 23 organizations across the country serving veterans and their families. “We’re supporting some remarkable organizations doing vitally important work on behalf of veterans and their families,” said Minister of Veterans Affairs Lawrence MacAulay in the March announcement. Since 2018, the Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund has provided support to 60 organizations involved in research and development of innovative community-based services for veterans.  This year’s funding will help provide wellness programs for female veterans, support the social and emotional well-being of all veterans, their families and caregivers, develop programs for Indigenous veterans, and tackle homelessness among veterans.   The Veteran Resource Guide f...

The Legion National Foundation board has agreed to disburse more than $350,000 in donations to support programs for veterans, service members and youth across the country.  “This is the first year significant donations have come in,” said Sam Laprade, the foundation’s development director. The foundation has raised about a million dollars by hosting the digital poppy campaign and through donations from individuals and corporations. The funds will be used to support projects across the country.  Veterans’ House, a new facility that provides supportive housing and rehabilitation services for 40 veterans in Ottawa, will receive $200,000. Victoria’s Cockrell House, which provides shelter, food and support services to homeless and under-housed veterans, will receive $100,000. The Perley and ...

A small bird caused the crash of a Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbird in 2020 which claimed one life.   The Snowbirds had been doing flyovers of Canadian communities in a show of support for frontline COVID-19 workers across the country. They were leaving Kamloops for Comox, B.C., on May 17. Two CT-114 Tutor aircraft took off, but one went into a steep nosedive at low altitude.  Aboard were pilot Captain Richard MacDougall and public affairs officer Captain Jennifer Casey, who is believed to have become briefly entangled with her ejection seat and whose parachute failed to fully open.  The aircraft crashed into a neighbourhood about two kilometres from the airfield. No one on the ground was injured, but Casey was killed and MacDougall seriously injured.  The investigation into the cra...

The Métis National Council has launched the Métis Veterans Legacy Commemorative Program and wants to hear from communities and individuals seeking funding for local commemorative initiatives.   “As a nation, we will finally tell the stories of the sacrifices made by our veterans, by appropriately and respectfully recognizing the losses, pain and anguish war leaves behind,” David Chartrand, vice-president of the Métis National Council, said in the February announcement.  Up to $200,000 is available for creating monuments and space for commemoration, hosting ceremonies and educational initiatives.  The program’s objective is “to leave a strong, honest portrayal and a legacy to the thousands of Métis men and women who fought for Canada, but who were forgotten when they came home,” said Cha...

An independent external review of harassment and sexual misconduct in the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces has been announced.  “It is clear we have not lived up to our responsibility to protect members from harassment and misconduct,” National Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said in the announcement in April. The review is an initial step in building a system that better responds to complainants while holding perpetrators to account, he added.  Former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour will head the review, which will recommend how an independent reporting system, free from the chain of command, can be established for those affected by misconduct.  In addition to recommending changes that can be made as the review progresses, Arbour is being asked to identif...