DND is listening!

Documents obtained by Ceasefire.ca released under the Access to Information and Privacy Act reveal that the Department of National Defence has been tracking Ceasefire.ca and Rideau Institute President Steven Staples as part of its routine media monitoring.

The released documents reveal that a 2 October 2011 Ceasefire.ca blog post entitled U.S. Air Force vows to protect the F-35 program from cuts was among the items that appeared on the radar of departmental officials.

Op-Eds and statements made by Steven Staples that were included in articles written by others also formed part of their records.

The following are excerpts from the documents:

 In an opinion peace published in the Victoria Times Colonist and the Hill Times, Steven Staples, president of the Rideau Institute, argued the purchase of a fleet of F-35 stealth fighters is a “fiscally irresponsible” decision given “record-high military spending, coupled with a record-high federal deficit.  He added that the purchase can be compared to the words of former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who warned of the political influence of an immense military establishment and large arms industry.

President of the Rideau Institute Steven Staples argued [in an article by Ottawa Citizen reporter David Pugliese on the delay in the delivery of the F-35s]: “they changed their story on this jet costing $75 million each and now they’re changing their story here.  The public should have no faith in what the government or military is saying about the F-35.

To be clear here, we at Ceasefire.ca have no objection to DND keeping track of the public comments we and others make about the F-35 and other aspects of defence policy. We want the government to hear what we’re saying!

We just hope they’ll learn something now and then.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Tags: Ceasefire.ca, DND, F-35, National Defence, Rideau Institute, Steven Staples