Archive | July, 2011

Pat Stogran calls $2 billion promised to veterans "smoke and mirrors"

Last September, amidst outrage by soldiers and reports in the media critical of the government’s treatment of veterans, the Harper government promised $2 billion in increased benefits. It was announced at the time that the money would go to “increased financial support for seriously injured Veterans, enhanced monthly income for severely injured Veterans who are unable […]

Talks collapse in Bahrain

Bahrain, a Persian Gulf nation that has been the site of pro-democracy protests over recent months, is entering a new, uncertain phase after the collapse of talks between the main Shiite opposition party and the ruling Sunni elite (Associated Press, “Shiite Party in Bahrain Leaves Talks With Rulers,” New York Times, 17 July 2011). Al […]

Canada makes the wrong move at Conference on Disarmament

Cesar Jaramillo, program officer at Project Ploughshares, argues against the recent decision to boycott the UN Conference on Disarmament (Cesar Jaramillo, “Canada’s disarmament conference boycott is ill-advised,” Kitchener-Waterloo Record, 14 July 2011): Canada’s newly elected Conservative majority government seems to be wasting no time in taking a tough stance on foreign policy, but Canada’s decision […]