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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080523.wbernier23/BNStory/National/home
I was reading the globeandmail this morning and found this a very interesting read. This Minister is not helping himself in the least.
DANIEL LEBLANC AND STEVEN CHASE
From Friday's Globe and Mail
May 23, 2008 at 3:00 AM EDT
OTTAWA — Federal officials scrambled yesterday to rent a high-priced Russian plane to ship helicopters to Myanmar because they could not deliver on Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier's public pledge to provide Canada's new C-17s for the job, sources said.
As officials quickly discovered, none of the recently purchased cargo lift aircraft were immediately available, contrary to what Mr. Bernier promised in Rome two days ago.
Senior federal officials said Canada's military was caught off guard by Mr. Bernier's promise to airlift World Food Program helicopters into the cyclone-ravaged country or neighbouring Thailand.
"Canada is there to help the people of Burma and we have a C-17 available," Mr. Bernier said after meeting with the WFP's director. "We'll do this flight as quickly as possible."
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But sources said the Department of National Defence could not move quickly enough to fulfill Mr. Bernier's vow, given that two of Canada's four C-17s are undergoing work and the other two are in prescheduled use.
Foreign Affairs confirmed that it will have to rent an Antonov to ship the helicopters instead of using the Boeing C-17s, which the Harper government purchased with great fanfare last year at a total cost of $3.4-billion.
"The transportation of helicopters on behalf of the World Food Program is an urgent mission," Bernier spokesman Neil Hrab said. "In order to alleviate human suffering as quickly as possible, a commercially chartered aircraft will be used to fly four helicopters from Ukraine to Thailand simultaneously."
He said it's possible a Canadian government-owned plane may be used later. "A C-17 may be used for follow-on missions - this is still being assessed."
When the government received its first of four C-17s last year, it declared the new fleet would allow Canada to fulfill its missions "without having to rely on our allies or contractors."
Asked why Mr. Bernier announced a C-17 was available to transport the helicopters, Mr. Hrab said that at the time it was considered the best tool for the job. "At the time of the WFP's request, a C-17 appeared to be the best option to move the WFP helicopters. However, the other aircraft was available immediately."
The scramble will not help Mr. Bernier's reputation, which has taken hits in Ottawa over miscues on the foreign-policy front and opposition attacks about his recent relationship with a woman who had past ties to bikers.
"It doesn't look good," a senior Conservative official said of Mr. Bernier's C-17 promise.
The Tory official said there is anger in government circles that Ottawa now has to rent an aircraft to do the work. "It remains to be seen who is going to pick up the tab," the official said.
Mr. Bernier committed a diplomatic gaffe earlier this year when he publicly suggested that Kandahar Governor Asadullah Khalid, who faced allegations of corruption and involvement in torture, should be removed from office. The Harper government later had to issue a statement quoting Mr. Bernier as retracting the comment.
Mr. Bernier is also still being ridiculed for a photo-op in Afghanistan last year where he handed out Jos. Louis cakes to soldiers risking their lives for Canada.
An official said that there is one Canadian C-17 in Europe and another in Southeast Asia; a third is undergoing maintenance in Canada, and a fourth is being upgraded in the United States. Known as Globemasters, with cavernous interiors, the C-17s can carry a payload of 77,500 kilograms and can fly 4,400 kilometres without refuelling.
The World Food Program, which is based in Rome, is the United Nations's food relief agency. Mr. Bernier had asked what assistance was required and the agency replied that it needed cargo planes more than money.
The early May cyclone in Burma has left 78,000 Myanmarese dead and another 56,000 missing, according to the latest estimates. As many as 2½ million more are said to be vulnerable to disease and famine.
I was reading the globeandmail this morning and found this a very interesting read. This Minister is not helping himself in the least.
DANIEL LEBLANC AND STEVEN CHASE
From Friday's Globe and Mail
May 23, 2008 at 3:00 AM EDT
OTTAWA — Federal officials scrambled yesterday to rent a high-priced Russian plane to ship helicopters to Myanmar because they could not deliver on Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier's public pledge to provide Canada's new C-17s for the job, sources said.
As officials quickly discovered, none of the recently purchased cargo lift aircraft were immediately available, contrary to what Mr. Bernier promised in Rome two days ago.
Senior federal officials said Canada's military was caught off guard by Mr. Bernier's promise to airlift World Food Program helicopters into the cyclone-ravaged country or neighbouring Thailand.
"Canada is there to help the people of Burma and we have a C-17 available," Mr. Bernier said after meeting with the WFP's director. "We'll do this flight as quickly as possible."
Related Articles
Recent
Canadian cargo plane to deliver helicopters to Myanmar
But sources said the Department of National Defence could not move quickly enough to fulfill Mr. Bernier's vow, given that two of Canada's four C-17s are undergoing work and the other two are in prescheduled use.
Foreign Affairs confirmed that it will have to rent an Antonov to ship the helicopters instead of using the Boeing C-17s, which the Harper government purchased with great fanfare last year at a total cost of $3.4-billion.
"The transportation of helicopters on behalf of the World Food Program is an urgent mission," Bernier spokesman Neil Hrab said. "In order to alleviate human suffering as quickly as possible, a commercially chartered aircraft will be used to fly four helicopters from Ukraine to Thailand simultaneously."
He said it's possible a Canadian government-owned plane may be used later. "A C-17 may be used for follow-on missions - this is still being assessed."
When the government received its first of four C-17s last year, it declared the new fleet would allow Canada to fulfill its missions "without having to rely on our allies or contractors."
Asked why Mr. Bernier announced a C-17 was available to transport the helicopters, Mr. Hrab said that at the time it was considered the best tool for the job. "At the time of the WFP's request, a C-17 appeared to be the best option to move the WFP helicopters. However, the other aircraft was available immediately."
The scramble will not help Mr. Bernier's reputation, which has taken hits in Ottawa over miscues on the foreign-policy front and opposition attacks about his recent relationship with a woman who had past ties to bikers.
"It doesn't look good," a senior Conservative official said of Mr. Bernier's C-17 promise.
The Tory official said there is anger in government circles that Ottawa now has to rent an aircraft to do the work. "It remains to be seen who is going to pick up the tab," the official said.
Mr. Bernier committed a diplomatic gaffe earlier this year when he publicly suggested that Kandahar Governor Asadullah Khalid, who faced allegations of corruption and involvement in torture, should be removed from office. The Harper government later had to issue a statement quoting Mr. Bernier as retracting the comment.
Mr. Bernier is also still being ridiculed for a photo-op in Afghanistan last year where he handed out Jos. Louis cakes to soldiers risking their lives for Canada.
An official said that there is one Canadian C-17 in Europe and another in Southeast Asia; a third is undergoing maintenance in Canada, and a fourth is being upgraded in the United States. Known as Globemasters, with cavernous interiors, the C-17s can carry a payload of 77,500 kilograms and can fly 4,400 kilometres without refuelling.
The World Food Program, which is based in Rome, is the United Nations's food relief agency. Mr. Bernier had asked what assistance was required and the agency replied that it needed cargo planes more than money.
The early May cyclone in Burma has left 78,000 Myanmarese dead and another 56,000 missing, according to the latest estimates. As many as 2½ million more are said to be vulnerable to disease and famine.
