Canada Corps mobilised!

[bossi]

Sorry, but to me this seems devoid of imagination - merely a cheap knockoff of the US Peace Corps.

Hmmm ... their website isn't up and running yet, they're preparing to release a logo to be worn as a lapel pin or on tshirts ... geez - just when I thought I'd seen the apex of Alternate Service Delivery running amok, now the Liberals are "... mobilizing Canadians from across the country to go overseas ..." (i.e. launching unarmed, untrained, maybe even unpaid civilian volunteers into countries at risk of becoming terrorist hotbeds, because it's too expensive to send ... armed, trained personnel who could defend themselves when push comes to shove ... ?   What rocket scientist thought this would be a good idea ... unless they were looking for a way of undercutting the CF, and justifying further cuts to the Defence budget ...?   Then again, perhaps it's Darwinian selection ... and we can cull the herd ...)

Small wonder I'm underwhelmed (... and I'd be interested to find out if Andrew Graham is related to the MND ...)

Canada Corps finally gets a start in Ukraine
By ALEXANDER PANETTA
 
OTTAWA (CP) - A federal program designed to send thousands of Canadians around the globe on nation-building projects will finally get its feet wet by monitoring elections in Ukraine and Palestine.

The Canada Corps, which has languished in obscurity since its unveiling 10 months ago, is to field monitors during the critical votes over the coming weeks.

Initially touted by Prime Minister Paul Martin as a uniquely Canadian contribution to global stability, the Canada Corps will send 500 volunteers for Ukraine's pivotal Dec. 26 presidential runoff.

"It really is a perfect example of what the Canada Corps is and will be," said Andrew Graham, a spokesman for the Canadian International Development Agency, or CIDA .

"It's mobilizing Canadians from across the country to go overseas - the Ukraine, in this case - to help it at a key point in its transition to democracy."

The idea behind the Canada Corps is that poorer nations with fragile governments, justice systems, schools and hospitals run a greater risk of becoming terrorist hotbeds.

Through a website that has yet to be launched - it is expected within days - the program promises to put interested Canadians in touch with organizations working abroad and to fund various projects.

"It'll be sort of a one-stop shop, a clearing house for all the different programs that Canadians could apply for that will take them overseas," Graham said.

The program hopes to attract Canadians with special skills, including judges and lawyers, hospital administrators, and people who speaks foreign languages.

Canada Corps' initial two-year budget of $15 million has been boosted by an additional $3.5 million for the Ukrainian project, and the fund is expected to grow along with the program.

The election monitors in Ukraine will actually be working with Canadem, a civilian human rights organization funded by CIDA.

Aileen Carroll, the federal minister responsible, concluded the Canadem initiative was ideal for the Canada Corps.

The corps program got off to a faltering start when it was suddenly announced in Martin's first throne speech last February. Few details were available, and critics suggested the prime minister was making up policy on the fly.

Initially placed under the auspices of the Foreign Affairs Department, the Canada Corps was subsequently deemed an imperfect fit. The program bounced to CIDA several months ago.

Some of the program's basics are just now falling into place. In addition to a new website, Canada Corps is preparing to release a Maple Leaf logo that volunteers will carry with them throughout the world on lapel pins or clothing.

 

[mdh]

Should be called Canada Bores....

 

[pbi]

This may not be such a bad thing. Watch and shoot.


Oh-sorry..........

Watch and DON'T shoot. Cheers.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

PBI, ;D

 

[enfield]

And this is different from Canada World Youth, CUSO, CIDA, Foreign Affairs Overseas Youth Internship, and a host of other Government-funded organizations dedicated to sending Canadians overseas to help? It appears that once again, the Government has re-invented the wheel.... ta-da!

 

[canuck101]

Well the government is swimming in our money and they don't want to give us tax cuts or put it in the Armed Forces.They have to keep making up next organizations to waste our hard earned money.  There most be some liberal friends still out there that don't have a plum job yet.

Cheers

 

[bossi]

Not 100% certain whether this is part of the Canada Corps deployment ... but it sounds like it:

Honest eyes going to Ukraine
T.O. couple join Canadians monitoring election
By SARAH GREEN, TORONTO SUN, Thu, December 16, 2004

TORONTO FIRE Capt. Mike Strapko has learned a quick lesson about election fraud as he prepares to travel to Ukraine to monitor the upcoming presidential vote. There were burly men outside polling stations during last month's elections, offering the equivalent of $5 to needy voters to take in ballots already marked.

SPOIL BALLOT

Vote counters wore pins on their fingers, ready to prick a hole and spoil a ballot.

"It's just amazing the fraud that went on," said Strapko, 44, who will travel with his wife, Natalia Wirt, 40, to Ukraine next week. "It's so corrupt, it's almost comical."

Strapko is one of 1,000 Canadians heading to the Ukraine on behalf of the Canadian government and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress to monitor the crucial Dec. 26 elections.

Strapko's family is of Ukrainian heritage and his wife was born there. The couple, along with a friend who was the maid of honour at their 1998 wedding, are expected to monitor polling stations in Odessa.

Strapko said he was moved by huge demonstrations in Ukraine and around the world, including here in Toronto, appealing for a true election.

Political chaos followed a Nov. 21 runoff vote, which Ukraine's Supreme Court ruled was marred by fraud. During the Orange Revolution, thousands of supporters of opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko poured into Kiev's streets.

OWN MONEY

Strapko's travel arrangements are not finalized, but he said he is prepared to spend his own money, if necessary. "You have to get there and do something," he said.

The Toronto Professional Fire Fighters' Association will give $500 to the Ukrainian Canadian Congress today.

 

[RCD]

This is the new Canadian Army of 21st century
There cheaper than our current army!