Is the Canadian military taking care of trainees?


Former recruit Natasha Howell says her faith in the Canadian Forces is shattered. (CBC)E Soldier recruits injured during basic training in Quebec are accusing the Canadian military of ignoring and mistreating their injuries and leaving them jobless and disabled. “I’m 30 years old and I have to learn how to walk,” said Natasha Howell. “They saw my injury. They knew it and they still didn’t do anything about it nothing.” What the doctors at the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School (CFLRS) at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu told Howell was a sprained ankle in September 2005, required reconstructive surgery two years later after she was discharged. Full Story Do you think the military is taking care of trainees? Should more be done to help people injured while in training? For how long should Canadian Forces be responsible for their trainees?

Should Community Living B.C. be getting more money?
A group of developmentally disabled adults may lose the only stable home they’ve ever known, and the group that runs the Burnaby, B.C. facility says the Campbell government is to blame. “There’s something going on in this province that people need to be aware of and it concerns all of us, as taxpayers and citizens,” said Trudi Shaw, board president of L’Arche Greater Vancouver. “This government seems to be overlooking some of its most vulnerable and marginalized citizens.” L’Arche, an internationally recognized organization, is unique because it not only houses developmentally disabled adults, but strives to give them meaningful roles in the community. Its woodworking shop in Burnaby was one example a thriving workplace for the disabled that L’Arche recently had to shut down, partially due to its budget problems. Full Story Should Community Living B.C. be getting more money from the provincial government? How would you like to see places like L’Arche funded?