Letter to the Editor

Globe and Mail Published Thursday the 16th of February 2006.

 

Defensively speaking

Hugh Winsor is absolutely right when he declares that those who are critizing Minister of National Defence Gordon O'Connor for his past lobbying activities "are missing the point". ("There's Nothing Wrong..." 14 Feb). There is no evidence at all that Mr. O'Connor has done anything that would preclude him from ensuring that the Department of National Defence has the personnel, equipment and financial resources to carry out the tasks assigned by the Government. Indeed, as Mr. Winsor points out, the Minister's past activities as a soldier and a defence consultant will stand him in good stead as he strives to carry out his party's promises.

 

Gord O'Connor and I served together in Germany in Canada's NATO Brigade during the height of the Cold War in the early 1970s - he in an Armoured Regiment and I in an Infantry Battalion. At that time, he was a determined professional who strove mightily to train his soldiers to the very best of his ability. Still possessed of that determination and fixed on a worthy goal - to improve the lot of the Canadian Forces - he entered politics to use his knowledge and   experience to that end. All of us who are convinced that our military needs all the support the government and public will provide are pleased that he will have his chance to do just that.

 

Alex Morrison, Royal United Services Institute, Halifax, NS

 

 

 

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