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Gord O'Connor Report Card

Gord O'Connors Report Card - after one month of work

  • I vote for No Lowering flags for Canadian fallen -

    Votes: 29 67.4%
  • I agree Barring media from viewing Canadian fallen arriving Trenton was bad idea

    Votes: 8 18.6%
  • I agree Signing "NATO extension deal" with no input from public was not right way to do it

    Votes: 6 14.0%

  • Total voters
    43
  • Poll closed .

gordjenkins

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Points
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:cdn:

Question 1  What is your opinion about NOT lowering flags on Canadian Federal Buildings when a Canadian soldier has fallen  agree/disagree

Question 2   What is your opinion on NOT allowing media into CFB Trenton when the Fallen Soldier arrives back in Canada  agree/disagree

Question 3 What is your opinion on "extending NORAD Agreement" which was signed "quietly" by DND Minister with minimum input from Cdn Citizens? agree/disagree

So we can prepare his performance report card to send home to his Mother please rate this person
- below 50 % - an" F" mark
-50 to 60 --a " D"
-60 to 75 - a " C " mark
-75 - 90 - a "B "mark
90 plus - an "A" mark
 
1 agree - November 211 is proper day to lower flags

2 disagee - all Canadians should have opportunity to mourn

3 disagree- what else do Americans want us to do Gord??

4 A "C" mark
 
100 percent - agree with all three decisions.

The Americans are our allies and essential to the defence of Canadian air space - why wouldn't we sign?

As for "everyone" having the "right" to mourn...umm, yeah, go ahead...you don't need to see 10 minutes of footage on TV of caskets slow marching from plane to hearse in order to do that. Go to the funeral, or to the Legion, or to the Mess.
 
Some tricky wording in those questions.   ;D

I vote for No Lowering flags for Canadian fallen.  

Are we talking about the Peace Tower or all Canadian Flags?  I would like the decision to lower Flags to be up to the individual, Unit, Municipality, Province, etc.  But the Peace Tower, should only be for Nov 11, the Death of the Monarch (to include the Monarch's representative the Governor General) and the current serving Prime Minister.


 
I agree Barring media from viewing Canadian fallen arriving Trenton was bad idea.

I agree with Michael on this, and I agree with the barring of the media at Trenton.  I do not think it was a bad idea.



I agree Signing "NATO extension deal" with no input from public was not right way to do it

Again, I agree with Michael and Recceguy, that we should sign the NATO extension deal, and input from the public is not required.  We have voted in and duly elected our Representatives to Parliament to make these decisions for us, and should go with those decisions.  That is why we elect our Public Officials at all levels of Government.  The idea that we should have a say in all decisions of Government, at every level, would cripple this country even worse than it is crippled now.
 
#1 - agree - November 11 is proper day to lower flags

#2 - agree - Media does not need to be at rendition ceremony.

#3 - agree - Canadians were already told we would be extending our mission. The NDP's argument was that it should be debated. why???

Reword your questions to properly ask the question. These questions are almost as bad as the PQ sovereignty question
 
I agree with all three of his decisions listed so that would be an "A".


Matthew.  :salute:
 
Straight A's, on these three anyway.
 
I used GAP's format to save a little time.

#1 - agree - November 11 is proper day to lower flags and mourn all;

#2 - agree - The media does not need to be within CFB Trenton when the Fallen Soldier arrives back in Canada.  However
coverage from a distance as was the case recently is a compromise of sorts. 

#3 - agree - To make informed decisions, everyone need to know the facts.  Formal debates often progress into
partisan mud-slinging or party politics rather than attempting to understand the situation clearly.  Some issues
of governence in our system of democracy (and the responsibility we give to the gov't) may not need debates
for ratification.
 
Agree on all three Government moves. 

On the flag issue: I heard O'Connor explain the rationale behind the decision and it makes sense.

On Trenton:  The media have the opportunity to cover the ceremonies in Afghanistan and the funeral
                     so I don't believe there's a need for it to be at Trenton in order to commemorate the   
                     passing of our soldiers. 

On NORAD:    Public discussion?  How many members of the public even know what NORAD is?
                    No doubt this would quickly fall into the usual political grandstanding

I believe most of the turmoil on these issues is being driven by the media.  When I heard O'Connor interviewed you could, quite literally, hear the interviewer sighing disrespectfully.



 
I agree the flag should not be lowered provided that the rule applies to the Peace Tower only.

I'll take a completely different track regarding Trenton- a few journalists approved by the families might be permitted on the airfield. [the hometown crew, preferably and not the the larger media outles]. No  live coverage, but DND can provide some stills approved by the families.

I'm onboard with the NORAD plan.

Overall, I would still rate O'Connor a "B" for not taking the right approach on items 1 and 2- he should have been better prepared for  the inevitable shitstorm that followed.

Given that there is now an increasing likelihood of another election being forced in the next weeks, I guess we will all get to see what Canadians really think.

   
 
Three out of three from me, too, despite poor wording of the questions and some clumsiness in implementation/explanation.
 
I agree with banning the media in Trenton as it happened. I think there could be a compromise where they have a separate area where the media are kept so that they can film only the casket and not the people in attendance. Or, have Cbt Camera film the ceremonies, and then release their film to all the media outlets. That would satiate the need for the media to be there.

I also feel that the Canadian public has no right to mourn with us and the families. As so many eloquent editorals and letters to the editors state, I paraphrase:

"If you feel the need to show support the fallen, then speak up and ensure that the CF gets the direction and support it needs to do the job you expect of us, and not allow DND budget cuts and having money transferred over for whatever social program is the flavour of the day."

Back on topic...
agree on all 3.

A+ on those decisions, B overall, cause there are a lot of acquisition details to sort out...we'll see how it goes.
 
3/3 here too...

However, -C overall unless the stated party defence policies become tempered with a sharp dose of realism.  Watch and shoot...the budget next week may tell all.
 
Don't lower the flag...ban the media (unless the family requests otherwise...)...and of course sign.  Jack Layton wants to debate it?  Wow there's a surprise.  I bet he debates whether to change his clothes every day.    ::)
 
gordjenkins said:
Question 1  What is your opinion about NOT lowering flags on Canadian Federal Buildings when a Canadian soldier has fallen  agree/disagree
agree in principle - but the specific Peace Tower flag issues should be handled by the Speaker rather than the PM.
gordjenkins said:
Question 2   What is your opinion on NOT allowing media into CFB Trenton when the Fallen Soldier arrives back in Canada  agree/disagree
disagree
gordjenkins said:
Question 3 What is your opinion on "extending NORAD Agreement" which was signed "quietly" by DND Minister with minimum input from Cdn Citizens? agree/disagree
agree but with a renewable rather than indefinite term. It seems it may not have been signed yet:
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=9560300d-c229-4ec6-a113-257a24f9e42e&k=29786
gordjenkins said:
So we can prepare his performance report card to send home to his Mother please rate this person
- a " C " mark - O'Connor's experience as an ex 1-star is valuable but his lobbying connections should have been thrashed out while Opp Def spokesman to let the fuss recede a bit before moving up.  His handling of Trenton was abominable, admitting after a while that despite wishing to spare the families, he hadn't actually consulted them and appearing to be no more than a PMO puppet.  Must be more his own person especially given that Laurie Hawn could have been a candidate for his job were it that he is in Alberta and Harper had to limit his picks from there.
 
I have similar questions about which flag that others have expressed, but otherwise I agree except for one point. I was from Ontario, but I've now been in BC for a few years. If I remember correctly, November 11 was not a holiday. Is this still true? It is in BC and everyone has the day off. There's parades all my city (Vancouver), old war planes fly over head, parties start mid-afternoon...I think participating in these events make November 11 more real than a couple of minutes out of a regular work day do. So, if we are going to formally honour our fallen on November 11, I think I'd much rather do it here, where I can see the parades and laugh and talk and remember for the entire day.

Cheers
 
3/3

I would like to request the questions be reworded
I nearly voted Quebec out of the country the same way  ;)

:cheers:
 
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