MEDIA BARRED FROM COVERING THE RETURN OF SOLDIERS REMAINS
Lloyd Robertson
CTV Television, Inc., Canada
SHOW: CTV NEWS 23:00:00 ET
April 24, 2006 Monday
LLOYD ROBERTSON: Good evening. Governments here and elsewhere are
always concerned about negative impressions and seldom more so than
when it comes to casualties in military conflict. That’s probably why
the Harper government decided on a new policy today. For the first
time, the media will be barred tomorrow from seeing the flag-draped
coffins of Canadian soldiers being brought back from Afghanistan.
This comes amid growing debate over Ottawa’s insistence that no flags
on federal buildings will be lowered to mark loss of life, except
on Remembrance Day. It’s a plan many in the military agree with,
but as CTV’s chief political correspondent Craig Oliver reports from
Parliament Hill, it stirred argument on this first day back after
a break.
CRAIG OLIVER (Reporter): Lloyd, there was a moment of silent tribute
in the commons today, but it was for the Armenian genocide, not as
in past, for fallen Canadian soldiers. Hardly a word about them. And
on the Peace Tower, the nation’s flag was flying at full mast on
the order of the Conservative government. But that’s not good enough
for the father of Corporal Matthew Dinning, one of the four soldiers
killed on the weekend.
LINCOLN DINNING (Slain Soldier’s Father): Please support your troops.
Those of who you have Canadian flags, lower them, please, as a sign
of respect to the soldiers that were killed.
OLIVER: Throughout the years of the Martin government, the flags were
flown at half-mast whenever soldiers were killed in the line of duty.
Dinning has written his member of parliament requesting that this
practice be restored.
PAUL STECKLE (Liberal-Ontario): They made it very clear what they
felt Mr. Harper should do.
OLIVER: The Defence Minister sought to justify his decision.
GORDON O’CONNOR (Minister of Defence): It has been the tradition
for 80 years to treat every casualty of war or operations, no matter
when it happened or where it happened, equally, and we will do that
by lowering the flags on November the 11th, Remembrance Day.
OLIVER: What tradition? In October 2004, a naval officer was killed
in the crisis aboard the HMCS Chicoutimi. In that case, all MPS,
presumably including O’Connor, unanimously supported a motion from
this Conservative MP.
JAMES MOORE (Conservative): That this house demand the Prime Minister
instruct all federal government buildings to immediately lower all
Canadian flags to half-mast.
OLIVER: Moreover, Canadians will no longer be permitted to see scenes
like this. The Prime Minister’s office is barring coverage of the
ceremonies when Canadians killed in action are brought home for the
last time. This is standard practice in the US.
JACK LAYTON (NDP Leader): They’re modelling their approach a little
bit on the way that George Bush and the American administration has
approached it. I don’t think that’s the right way to go.
OLIVER: The countries in the conflicts in which Canada and American
armies are engaged are in no way similar. Canada’s is not an army of
occupation, and Canada has invaded no one. Still, the Prime Minister’s
office obviously fears that as casualties mount, Canadians will begin
to see Afghanistan as Stephen Harper’s Iraq. Lloyd.
ROBERTSON: Craig, is that an overreaction, as you see it? Is that
fear justified?
OLIVER: It’s an old syndrome. If support drops, blame the media,
but Lloyd, I think that even people who support this mainly, in many
ways, a humanitarian mission are going to now debate whether this
is the way to do it. Perhaps it’s better to say here are the dead,
and these people cannot be seen to have died in vain, which they
would have done, if Canadians leave the field.
ROBERTSON: Does any of what happened today have to do with the families
themselves asking for privacy?
OLIVER: I don’t think so. I think this is the Prime Minister’s office,
the Defence Department, to some extent, concerned that the reality
of this, the grim reality of war, may turn Canadians off on the
mission. In fact, we’ve never heard any members of the public who
are related to any of these people complain to us. On the contrary,
this network and others have been told a number of times that they
appreciate the sensitivity in which we’ve handled these cases. And
in any case, Lloyd, we will be covering the funerals of these dead
Canadians.
ROBERTSON: The family funerals, right. Thanks very much, Craig.
OLIVER: Goodnight, Lloyd.