By Canadian Press

In the news today: Ottawa fails Afghan interpreters, CAF updates medical standards

Jan 22, 2025 | 2:17 AM

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Afghan interpreters failed by Ottawa: report

A military watchdog says Ottawa should financially compensate Afghan Canadians who served as interpreters for the Canadian Armed Forces in Afghanistan and later suffered mental distress.

A report by the ombudsperson for the Department of National Defence says the language and cultural advisers who worked during Canada’s involvement in the Afghanistan conflict were ultimately failed by the department.

Robyn Hynes says Ottawa should order independent assessments and determine on a case-by-case basis if they need compensation for suffering from conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

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Ottawa hired 81 of these advisers to work from 2006 to 2014 in the war-torn country on prolonged deployments outside the safety of bases.

CAF updates medical standards to aid recruitment

The Canadian Armed Forces is no longer automatically disqualifying applicants with certain medical conditions such as allergies and ADHD, as it works to improve its numbers and grow the size of Canada’s military.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan said the four medical conditions that will now be evaluated when people apply are attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, asthma and allergies.

Carignan said previously any applicants that arrived with an allergy were immediately disqualified.

“Nowadays, with the technology available to us, that might not be the case unless you have a very, very severe case of allergy that within the trade or, you know, operational fields that you are choosing, you may not have access to the medical support to allow you to, you know, to proceed,” she said.

N.L. contractors refuse blame for backhoe bandits

As the hunt for Newfoundland’s so-called “backhoe bandits” continues, some contractors are taking umbrage at calls from officials to better secure heavy equipment on job sites.

Robert Crowley said someone stole a $400,000 front-end loader from his construction site and used it to smash into a nearby bank in Holyrood, N.L., last month. However, he was incensed when the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary responded to another bank robbery this month — aided by a stolen excavator — by asking contractors to install more locks and alarms on their machinery.

“My machine was secured. My machine had the master key taken out of it and had the key taken out of it,” he said in a recent interview. “Why is it my expense? Why is it always the little guy’s expense?”

“They got let out of jail the same day,” he added about the perpetrators. “You don’t think there’s a problem there?”

Families, students feel strain in school strike

Educational assistants work with Diana Halabi’s daughter, Zahea, from the minute they take her off the school bus until she gets back on it.

The workers help take off her shoes and jacket, guide her to her seat and help her complete her schoolwork. The non-verbal 12-year-old has helped with everything from eating to using the washroom.

However, a strike by more than 3,000 educational support workers means Zahea can’t attend school in person because there is nobody to support her. Halabi, a single parent, is working from home to make sure her child is taken care of, adding to her own work schedule.

Zahea’s teacher now sends online links to optional, one-hour meetings to replace instructional time, which has thrown off her routine.

B.C. public sector union contract talks start

Contract talks between the British Columbia government’s unionized public sector workers start today with a union leader forecasting a difficult round of bargaining.

B.C. General Employees’ Union President Paul Finch says the contract for 34,000 provincial government workers expires March 31, but talks are starting earlier.

Finch says the union is cognizant of the financial and economic challenges facing the province, but its members have been facing an affordability crisis and a rising cost of living.

He says it’s too early to discuss the union’s wage demands but suggests there is a “high probability of a dispute this round of bargaining.”

University of Guelph to lead agri-food network

The University of Guelph is leading the creation of a network meant to spur investment in Canadian agri-food innovation, including developing new technologies to address pressing issues like climate change.

The university received an almost $16.3 million government grant over five years to support the platform, called Sustainable Food Systems for Canada, or SF4C. The platform is designed to help agri-food entrepreneurs grow their businesses.

Canada’s agriculture industry is facing several major challenges, in particular climate change, said Rene Van Acker, interim president and vice-chancellor at the University of Guelph.

He says technology can help farmers face that challenge.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2025

The Canadian Press

<!– Photo: de9e3afc718d7f6437702c7d4b516421df518fe1d40d289b5ea0a0db7bd14027.jpg, Caption:

Gen. Jennie Carignan, Chief of the Defence Staff, participates in an interview in her office at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

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