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The "Did Minister Sajjan 'Order' Sikh's To Be Airlifted?" Merged Thread

Bruce Monkhouse said:
Just read the beginning of a story in the Globe and Mail that he requested 100 soldiers to perform with some Punjabi pop star a few months ago.
(On my phone and not a subscriber so it disappeared on me)
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Would they have been able to source that many Sikhs from the area or was he planning some TD and flights?
 
ModlrMike said:
www.theglobeandmail.com

Cabinet minister Harjit Sajjan requested 100 soldiers to perform with Punjabi pop star Diljit Dosanjh

Canadian Armed Forces commanders rejected the idea of having soldiers serve as backdrops at Dosanjh’s concert
www.theglobeandmail.com www.theglobeandmail.com
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So a private entertainment business requested Canadian Forces resources through the MP in whose riding the event was going to take place. While it may be entirely coincidental that the MP and the entertainer may share a cultural background and was not a factor in making the request through his office, that may be unlikely. Even so, the response from the Minister, as reported, appears to be text book. It was forwarded to the appropriate Minister (MND) along with a recommendation (even that was not out of line - I would have weighed the potential PR benefit in much the same way) and then it was staffed as any other request for resources would be.

The Canadian military doesn't receive requests for resources in support of entertainment events quite like our neighbours to the south. But we have in the past and have provided support in the past. Discounting the entertainment units (Snowbirds, Skyhawks, CG) and participation at sporting events, the CF have supported a few films and TV shows with equipment and "permitted" uniformed pers to participate. As far as I know, when pers participated in those activities the companies producing the shows were required to pay the soldiers (who were on leave at the time).

So what makes this story any different, other the racial heritage of the Minister and the entertainer?
 
Blackadder1916 said:
So a private entertainment business requested Canadian Forces resources through the MP in whose riding the event was going to take place. While it may be entirely coincidental that the MP and the entertainer may share a cultural background and was not a factor in making the request through his office, that may be unlikely. Even so, the response from the Minister, as reported, appears to be text book. It was forwarded to the appropriate Minister (MND) along with a recommendation (even that was not out of line - I would have weighed the potential PR benefit in much the same way) and then it was staffed as any other request for resources would be.

The Canadian military doesn't receive requests for resources in support of entertainment events quite like our neighbours to the south. But we have in the past and have provided support in the past. Discounting the entertainment units (Snowbirds, Skyhawks, CG) and participation at sporting events, the CF have supported a few films and TV shows with equipment and "permitted" uniformed pers to participate. As far as I know, when pers participated in those activities the companies producing the shows were required to pay the soldiers (who were on leave at the time).

So what makes this story any different, other the racial heritage of the Minister and the entertainer?
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I would hardly classify the Snowbirds, CG and Skyhawks as "entertainment units" as their raison d'etre is attraction. I'd also assign a secondary effect to CG of tourism and summer employment.

The devil may be in the details. Was the request for Sikh soldiers only? Who was paying for it? Was the request for "participation" or "support"?

If the request was for CAF support, then, given that CAF participation in the national 80th anniversary D-Day event in Moncton was very limited, I'd say the decision to not support this was strongly driven by resources.

A lot of hay has been made in the past over the use of CAF uniforms in the entertainment industry. It's actually permitted under CCC 419 whereby the CAF supports the production through the provision of uniforms and equipment (a good example would be "Hyena Road"), providing the lawful authority rerquired under 419.

However, given our recent diplomatic spat with India, the optics of this support would have been quite bad in my opinion, both inside Canada by supporters of the Modi government and in India. That Sajjan didn't see that is amazing. Or maybe he did, and wanted to make a point?
 
Haggis said:
A lot of hay has been made in the past over the use of CAF uniforms in the entertainment industry. It's actually permitted under CCC 419 whereby the CAF supports the production through the provision of uniforms and equipment (a good example would be "Hyena Road"), providing the lawful authority rerquired under 419.
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Royal Canadian Air Farce😉
 
The Bread Guy said:
Also here if that link doesn't work for you.
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Thanks for the link because ... paywall.

But, wait what. If I read this article properly CAF twice rejected the request and yet I see a photo on G&M with soldiers clearly on stage. Is the G&M using photoshopped or AI images now?

Genuinely puzzled. :unsure:
 
FJAG said:
Thanks for the link because ... paywall.

But, wait what. If I read this article properly CAF twice rejected the request and yet I see a photo on G&M with soldiers clearly on stage. Is the G&M using photoshopped or AI images now?

Genuinely puzzled. :unsure:
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Those look like the US Army ACU (the ugly gray ones, before the Multicam). But it’s a small picture so I can’t really tell.
 
dimsum said:
True. But I was responding specifically to @FJAG ‘s question. I doubt most Canadians would even get to the picture part.
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Here's the thing. I saw the headline and photo - neither of which mention that the CAF turned it down - and was paywalled on the article. It wasn't until a clear link was posted on this forum that I could read it and see what actually happened. That wasn't until an hour later. Until then, I was PO'd and under the mistaken impression the CAF had actually gone along with it.

More and more I find photos and headlines that are polar opposites from the article. One doen't need a lying press when one has sloppy editors.

🍻
 
Blackadder1916 said:
So a private entertainment business requested Canadian Forces resources through the MP in whose riding the event was going to take place. While it may be entirely coincidental that the MP and the entertainer may share a cultural background and was not a factor in making the request through his office, that may be unlikely. Even so, the response from the Minister, as reported, appears to be text book. It was forwarded to the appropriate Minister (MND) along with a recommendation (even that was not out of line - I would have weighed the potential PR benefit in much the same way) and then it was staffed as any other request for resources would be.

The Canadian military doesn't receive requests for resources in support of entertainment events quite like our neighbours to the south. But we have in the past and have provided support in the past. Discounting the entertainment units (Snowbirds, Skyhawks, CG) and participation at sporting events, the CF have supported a few films and TV shows with equipment and "permitted" uniformed pers to participate. As far as I know, when pers participated in those activities the companies producing the shows were required to pay the soldiers (who were on leave at the time).

So what makes this story any different, other the racial heritage of the Minister and the entertainer?
Click to expand...
Multiple people and events request support for flypast every year. Some are entertained, most are not. Largely left at the units’ discretion.
 
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