In this episode, pushing back on delivery date for new fighter jets, Canadian Rangers losing out on health benefits and Vanguard is gearing up to host the Shipbuilding Technology Forum 2018.
Show Notes:
The Royal Canadian Air Force may have to keep its aging CF-18s airborne even longer than already expected after industry sources warned that the Trudeau government is planning to push back the delivery date for its new fleet of fighters.
Word of the likely delay comes with the government moving ahead with the purchase of used fighter jets from Australia as a temporary stopgap alongside its existing CF-18s, rather than the original plan of buying brand new Super Hornets from U.S. aerospace giant Boeing.
Canadian Rangers losing out on health benefits
The Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces are failing to ensure that Canadian Rangers, many of whom are Inuit, First Nations or Métis, receive health care benefits and entitlements available to other reservists, Canada’s military watchdog said in a report released recently.
Gary Walbourne, the National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces ombudsman, launched an investigation in 2016 aimed at figuring out why many Canadian Rangers don’t receive the health care benefits that they’re entitled to.
In his final report based on that investigation, Walbourne found many Rangers often don’t report injuries sustained while they’re on duty and don’t know about benefits they’re entitled to from Veterans Affairs Canada or how to apply for them.
“Respondents interviewed who self-identified as having sustained an injury while on duty were subsequently asked if they had considered submitting a claim to Veterans Affairs Canada—the vast majority responded that they did not,” Walbourne said in his 31-page report.
Shipbuilding event
Vanguard is gearing up to host the Shipbuilding Technology Forum 2018. This is an annual event that is produced by Vanguard Magazine to facilitate a discussion between government, military and industry.
Scheduled for March 1, 2018, the Shipbuilding Technology Forum will be held at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa. This one-day conference is intended to showcase emerging technologies, address a range of marine and shipbuilding issues as well as ship repair and the advantages they provide for growth and export. To learn more or register to attend, go here.