By EMILY HAWS AUG. 29, 2018 The Hill Times Both Sean Bruyea and federal lawyers defending Minister Seamus O’Regan say if they don’t get their way, freedom of expression could be at risk. Outspoken veterans advocate Sean Bruyea argued with federal lawyers for five hours Friday over a motion to dismiss his defamation case. The Hill Times photograph…
Archive for the ‘Reprisals and Freedom of Expression Issues’ Category
‘He was a gifted broadcaster and is therefore a gifted communicator, and that’s an asset for this government,’ says former PMO staffer Scott Reid. Liberal MP Seamus O’Regan at the ceremony on Aug. 28 in which he was sworn in as Veterans Affairs Minister. Veterans advocates hopes he does more for former military personnel than…
Ultimately, politicians and the public must force change. The removal of incompetent and inept leaders perpetuating a culture of persecution, impunity and intransigence is a start. Then, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s promised openness and transparency can begin. Without transparency and openness, the military and Canada will fail to keep faith with those who have got…
FAIR became a powerhouse of advocacy under the direction of David Hutton, who’s leaving the organization but not advocacy. Hutton’s leaving: Most frustrating for government were David Hutton’s thorough analyses of Canada’s disturbingly weak whistleblower laws and the frequent lame duck operations of the office entrusted to enforce them, the Integrity Commissioner’s Office, write Allan…
Former Air Force intelligence officer Sean Bruyea’s fight with Veterans Affairs Canada for veterans’ benefits and for his own reputation and privacy affected his health, his personal relationships, and his finances. But he’d do it again. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright Sean Bruyea suffered from fits of ‘suicidal ideation, physical and psychological breakdowns,…
By SEAN BRUYEA-THE HILL TIMES- Published: Monday, 06/16/2014 12:00 am EDT Prime Minister Stephen Harper has expressed his admiration for America. Explosive scandals in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the rapid response provide a powerful teachable moment for the PM and the “hero” of Canada’s own veteran scandals, Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino. Although longstanding, wait…
Whistleblowers in our federal public service have become caught in a bureaucratic and political propaganda meat grinder. By SEAN BRUYEA-THE HILL TIMES Published: Monday, 06/02/2014 12:00 am EDT OTTAWA—Canada’s public service integrity commissioner, the clerk of the Privy Council, the president of Treasury Board and Democratic Reform Minister of State Pierre Poilievre all need…
All oversight bodies need to be strengthened with impartial non-bureaucrats to manage them. By SEAN BRUYEA -THE HILL TIMES-Published: Monday, 04/28/2014 OTTAWA—Holding government accountable has been granted a ray of hope. Democracy Watch may proceed with a private prosecution of Nigel Wright for the secretive payment of $90,000 to Senator Mike Duffy. This initiative…
Opening Remarks: Sean Bruyea ACVA April 9 2014 Thank you most sincerely for your invitation to speak today. Nine years ago Parliament passed the legislation we now know as the new veterans charter or NVC. The Elected Members of the House of Commons never debated any of its clauses. They have yet to give serious…
And Canadians are looking on with a common reaction to Ottawa’s gruesome infighting: nausea. By SEAN BRUYEA | Published: Thursday, 10/31/2013 10:51 am EDT OTTAWA—Ottawa is a scary place. It is so frightening that most Canadians avoid thinking about the blood-curdling, or is it blood-boiling, antics of Parliament and its bureaucratic minions. Much…
By: Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press Winnipeg Free Press Online Posted: 02/16/2012 4:21 PM OTTAWA – Veterans Affairs Canada and the independent board that reviews claims of ex-soldiers grappled with allegations of leaked personal information long before a privacy scandal blew up in public. A series of leaked documents show the department and the agency…
Just when Ottawa bureaucrats and politicians thought they would have a quiet week following unsuccessful attempts to placate stakeholders in an Ottawa conference room this week (click here for article), all of Hades breaks loose. One conscientious Canadian reader was supportive of my latest piece (click here) . If only Ottawa was as supportive of…
by Murray Brewster- THE CANADIAN PRESS-2012/02/12 OTTAWA – A prominent, long-standing member of the country’s Veterans Review and Appeal Board had his privacy violated twice in an alleged smear campaign meant to discredit him using his private medical information as ammunition, The Canadian Press has learned. The behind-the-scenes fight involving Harold Leduc has been so…
By Don Leonardo-THE HILL TIMES-February, 13, 2012. Re: “Veterans Board responds to Bruyea,” (The Hill Times, Jan. 30, p. 8, by John Larlee, chairman of the Veterans Review and Appeal Board). I find Mr. Larlee’s letter troubling for a number of reasons. He completely sidestepped the statistical evidence in Sean Bruyea’s article about the Veterans…
Our democratic building can withstand removing the bureaucratic and political façade which fails to cultivate trust through collaboration, coordination and cooperation. Photograph by Jake Wright, The Hill Times Power and Parliament: Should we care that we have lost substantial faith and much trust in Ottawa and its institutions, asks government accountability advocate Sean Bruyea. By…
The reality is that the senior mandarins are the ultimate arbiters of power in Ottawa, not the politicians. And the oft-criticized hyper-centralized culture is centered not in the PMO but in Treasury Board and the PCO. By Sean Bruyea The Hill Times: Published September 19, 2011 OTTAWA—We should be forgiven if we believe that ministers,…
By Jessuca Bruno-THE HILL TIMES-Published August 22, 2011 Today’s vets more educated, know their rights, and need more flexible service than in past generations. Veterans Affairs needs to start innovating if it’s going to serve the wave of veterans coming home from Afghanistan with a host of needs unique to their generation, says veterans advocate…
By SEAN BRUYEA-THE GLOBE AND MAIL-Last updated Wednesday, Jun. 08, 2011 3:51PM EDT Sean Bruyea (REUTERS) For the first time in decades, a federal election witnessed all parties promising assistance for our serving and retired Canadian Forces personnel. Debate on the issue quickly died, but the problems confronting our veterans remain painfully alive. Those problems…
An unnecessary bruise upon the CF’s reputation is the continued practice of deducting pain and suffering payments from injured veterans’ reduced income under long-term disability. By Sean Bruyea-THE HILL TIMES (Defence Policy Issue)-May 30, 2011. It is often said that a nation is judged on how it treats its most vulnerable. Canada’s treatment of injured…
(The following article (at the link below) is excerpted from the 2011 report compiled and released by the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression “REPORT CARD” on the state of freedom of expression in Canada. This article articulates the reasoning for the government of Canada’s reprehensible grade in how it (mis)treats and deters whistleblowers from providing…
With a majority Government, CJFE says it’s time for Prime Minister Harper to keep his promises to reform the Access to Information system Canadian Journalists for Free Expression-CNW-May 9, 2011. TORONTO, May 9 /CNW/ – For the second year in a row, the Harper government has received a failing grade from Canadian Journalists for Free Expression…
By Sean Bruyea-THE HILL TIMES-April 11, 2011 OTTAWA—Just prior to the election campaign kick-off, Veterans Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn showed just how out of sync he and some in the department are with veterans and Canadians, not to mention Canadian law and Treasury Board policies. He recently made a number of public comments in Alexandria,…
By David Hutton-THE HILL TIMES-March 21, 2011. Photograph by Jessica Bruno, The Hill Times In the spotlight: Former public sector integrity commissioner Christiane Ouimet, pictured at the House Public Accounts Committee on March 10 on the Hill. Former integrity commissioner Christiane Ouimet’s testimony to the House Public Accounts Committee seemed to be all about her:…
By Ian Bron, Allan Cutler-THE HILL TIMES-March 21, 2011. When Christiane Ouimet was appointed as the first integrity commissioner in 2007 there was no reason to think anything but the best: her long service in the bureaucracy seemed free of blemishes, and she had experience in investigations and training in law When Christiane Ouimet was…
By Sean Bruyea-THE HILL TIMES-March 21, 2011. In a most bizarre déjà vu, history repeated itself on March 11 when the House passed Bill C-55. The bill was sold as the fix-for-all that ails veterans’ legislation originally passed in 2005, legislation which replaced lifelong payments for pain and suffering for injured soldiers with a one-time…
By Jessica Bruno-THE HILL TIMES-March 21, 2011. The gag order on former public sector integrity commissioner Christiane Ouimet’s $500,000 exit deal with the government is the most concerning part of the arrangement, says prominent lawyer Paul Champ. “If this was a private sector settlement then that would make sense, but we’re dealing with a significant…
By Jessica Bruno-THE HILL TIMES-March 14, 2011. Former disgraced public sector integrity commissioner Christiane Ouimet, who defiantly refuted Auditor General Sheila Fraser’s scathing report last week of her office and her conduct on Parliament Hill, may get the chance to tell her side of the story again when she’s called before the House Public Accounts…
By Jessica Bruno-THE HILL TIMES-January 17, 2011. Photograph by Jake Wright, The Hill Times Tricks of the trade: Canada’s Privacy Commissioner Stoddart, ‘You have to reassure employees on two things: of the integrity of the mandate about having a healthy working environment, and that’s respectful of its employees.’ Canada’s Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart, who was…
By Ken Rubin-THE HILL TIMES-December 6 2010. OTTAWA—Ottawa under the Harper government operates with the principle that only a few insiders need to know what’s really going on. This results in tightly-controlled spin on what is said and makes a mockery of public access. For example, more than 900 Army personnel are to be stationed…
By Perry Gray-THE HILL TIMES-November 15, 2010. Cynthian Münster, The Hill Times Time for a royal commission: Perry Gray is a retired Canadian Forces intelligence officer and a chief editor of veterans.info. OTTAWA—Considering the national outcry against the so-called “New Veterans Charter” and the lump sum these past few months, it is interesting to note…
By David Hutton, Allan Cutler, and Duff Conacher-THE HILL TIMES-November 1, 2010. The following is letter sent to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, NDP Leader Jack Layton, and Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe last week. It is ironic that, even while we were preparing this letter to you, calling for (among other…
By Tim Naumetz-THE HILL TIMES-October 25, 2010 The federal government appears ready to settle a $400,000 lawsuit by veterans advocate Sean Bruyea after Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart’s ruling that the Veterans Affairs Department contravened the Privacy Act by circulating his confidential personal information and medical files. Mr. Bruyea’s lawyer would say only that following a…
By Jessica Bruno-THE HILL TIMES-October 25, 2010 Christiane Ouimet, Canada’s first federal public sector integrity commissioner, who resigned last week as her office is being investigated by Auditor General Sheila Fraser, will be called before the House Government Operations Committee to explain the situation surrounding her departure. “The committee agreed that we should call the…
By Ian Bron-THE HILL TIMES-October 18, 2010 Jake Wright, The Hill Times Whistleblower: Sean Bruyea, pictured on the Hill. OTTAWA—For the past few months the media have been making revelation after revelation about the management of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The first issue to hit the headlines dealt with the misrepresentation of the New…
By Jack Granatstein-THE HILL TIMES-October 18, 2010 The Department of Veterans Affairs has a proud record. Founded in 1944 to care for and reintegrate into civil society the more than one million men and women who served in the Canadian Armed Forces in the Second World War, DVA was an ornament of government. The Veterans…