Community
I Stood Straighter on Saturday
I Stood Straighter on Saturday
Saturday marked the day I had been thinking about for the past few years. I’d been invited to consider the role of Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of 41 Signal Regiment by then Honorary Colonel Ron Woodward, former President of Red Deer College. Ron and I had spent considerable time together when I served on the RDC Foundation Board between 2006 and 2014. My guess is that during this time together, Mr. Woodward saw something in me that led him to believe I would bring value to the role. Over the ensuing months I attended several dinners and events as a guest of the Regiment, both for me to get a good sense of the role I’d play, and for the army to get a sense of who I am and whether or not I’d be a fit. It is not uncommon for HLCol’s to be from non-military backgrounds as one objective of the HLC program is to create a bridge between the military and the community. Because we will be closely associated for the next 6 years, this part of the process is very important.
My appointment was finalized about a month ago and after a frantic series of appointments to get my “kit” together, and then the subsequent lessons on how to wear the various elements of my combat fatigues and my soon to arrive uniforms. I woke up early, dressed in my CADPAT (Canadian Army Disruptive Pattern) or camouflaged combat uniform to the rest of the world, checked myself closely in the mirror as I fretted about my new beret. I’ve been warned that you’re judged by how your beret fits and looks so it gets a bit more time than the rest. Then I set off to Banff with an incredible sense of both excitement and terror. My first indication that something was different came as I entered Banff National Park. I pulled up to the Park gate with my cash ready to pay the 24-hour fee only to be thanked and waved through.
I arrived at Central Park in Banff where the troops were staging, getting ready to march to City Hall in what I’m told is the first time a military unit has marched in a Canadian National Park with Bayonets fixed. I made my way through a large group of soldiers, some of who noticed my rank and saluted. I awkwardly returned the salute and carried on. And I stood a little taller and pulled my shoulders back. I soon spotted Commanding Officer LC Gilson. Eric, as I know him, is a veteran officer who served as part of the NATO Stabilization Force in Bosnia. He also had the honour of being Guard Commander for the 90th Anniversary and re-dedication ceremony of the Vimy Ridge Memorial in France in 2007. He’s tasked with helping me settle into the role. An engineer by trade, he seems to have a fine sense of humour, something I’ve come to appreciate as I wrestle with how to ask the many questions I have, knowing that each one does nothing to dispel the notion that I’m a rookie.
It’s not too long before I find Honorary Colonel James Graham. While LC Gilson and I will work closely together for the good of the Regiment, it’s really this man who will teach me the ropes for the next few years. He’s a former Signaler, a “lineman”, a role I can tell he is intensely proud of. He’s forthright, decisive, runs a large company, and regularly flies in from some Europe or the United States to lend his support to the Regiment. I’m once again reminded of what incredible shoes I have to fill.
The reason we are all in Banff is for the The “Freedom of the Town” march. This is the greatest honour a town can bestow on a military unit. It’s a historic tradition that signifies respect and trust for the unit and its soldiers. The relationship between the 41 Signal Regiment and the Town of Banff began 40 years ago. In 1976, the 746 Communications Squadron under Commanding Officer Major L. Maes, approached the Royal Canadian Legion in Banff and requested that the Calgary-based Signalers participate in the Remembrance Day Parade. The 41 Signal Regiment continues this annual tradition.
The practice of appointing “Honoraries” to units has been in place in Canada for more than a century. The first Honorary Colonel appointment in Canada was that of Lieutenant-Colonel the Honourable J.M. Gibson, a Provincial Secretary in the Ontario Government. He was appointed as Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel to the 13th Battalion of Infantry in 1895. There are different types of Honorary appointments in the Canadian Army: Colonel-in-Chief, Colonel of the Regiment, Honorary Colonel and Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel. In the Reserve Army, units usually have two Honorary positions: Honorary Colonel and Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel. The Honorary is seen to be the guardian of Regimental traditions and history, promoting the regiment’s identity and ethos and being an advisor to the Commanding Officer on many different issues.
My goal in the next 6 years is to bring awareness to the 41 Signal Regiment and the Army Reserve and the important role it plays. I want to help us all understand how businesses can benefit by supporting their employees who are also members of the Army Reserve. From leadership to project management, there are incredible advantages that can come from the kind of training that’s provided in the Armed Forces. From the experience I’ve had in 35+ years of media and corporate life, this kind of leadership training is not readily available and anything we can do to create better leadership has spinoffs into all areas of society.
I’ve had a camera in hand since I was a teenager and my love of photography will hopefully provide a visual sense of the passion and commitment that I witnessed first-hand this weekend. I will continue to post updates periodically as I go on this 6 year journey as HLCol of 41 Signal Regiment.
Lloyd Lewis, Honorary Lieutenant Colonel, 41 Signal Regiment
Lloyd Lewis is President of Todayville Inc. A veteran of more than 35 years in private television in Western Canada (most recently VP/GM CTV Edmonton), and a musician and photographer, he has a history of community service, currently serving on a number of volunteer Boards including the United Way of Alberta Capital Region, The Alberta Lieutenant Governor Arts Awards Foundation, and Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel 41 Signal Regiment in Alberta.
Red Deer community let’s give a round of applause to the incredible adults shaping the future of our kids. Whether they’re a coach, neighbour, teacher, mentor, instructor, or someone special, we want to know about them!
Tell us the inspiring story of how your nominee is helping kids grow up great. We will honour the first 100 local nominees for their outstanding contributions to youth development. It’s time to highlight those who consistently go above and beyond!
To nominate, visit Events (sparcreddeer.ca)
From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy
B.C. recently decriminalized the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs. The resulting explosion of addicts using drugs in public spaces, including parks and playgrounds, recently led the province’s NDP government to attempt to backtrack on this policy
Fuelled by the deadly manufactured opioid fentanyl, Canada’s national drug overdose rate stood at 19.3 people per 100,000 in 2022, a shockingly high number when compared to the European Union’s rate of just 1.8. But national statistics hide considerable geographic variation. British Columbia and Alberta together account for only a quarter of Canada’s population yet nearly half of all opioid deaths. B.C.’s 2022 death rate of 45.2/100,000 is more than double the national average, with Alberta close behind at 33.3/100,00.
In response to the drug crisis, Canada’s two western-most provinces have taken markedly divergent approaches, and in doing so have created a natural experiment with national implications.
B.C. has emphasized harm reduction, which seeks to eliminate the damaging effects of illicit drugs without actually removing them from the equation. The strategy focuses on creating access to clean drugs and includes such measures as “safe” injection sites, needle exchange programs, crack-pipe giveaways and even drug-dispensing vending machines. The approach goes so far as to distribute drugs like heroin and cocaine free of charge in the hope addicts will no longer be tempted by potentially tainted street drugs and may eventually seek help.
But safe-supply policies create many unexpected consequences. A National Post investigation found, for example, that government-supplied hydromorphone pills handed out to addicts in Vancouver are often re-sold on the street to other addicts. The sellers then use the money to purchase a street drug that provides a better high — namely, fentanyl.
Doubling down on safe supply, B.C. recently decriminalized the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs. The resulting explosion of addicts using drugs in public spaces, including parks and playgrounds, recently led the province’s NDP government to attempt to backtrack on this policy — though for now that effort has been stymied by the courts.
According to Vancouver city councillor Brian Montague, “The stats tell us that harm reduction isn’t working.” In an interview, he calls decriminalization “a disaster” and proposes a policy shift that recognizes the connection between mental illness and addiction. The province, he says, needs “massive numbers of beds in treatment facilities that deal with both addictions and long-term mental health problems (plus) access to free counselling and housing.”
In fact, Montague’s wish is coming true — one province east, in Alberta. Since the United Conservative Party was elected in 2019, Alberta has been transforming its drug addiction policy away from harm reduction and towards publicly-funded treatment and recovery efforts.
Instead of offering safe-injection sites and free drugs, Alberta is building a network of 10 therapeutic communities across the province where patients can stay for up to a year, receiving therapy and medical treatment and developing skills that will enable them to build a life outside the drug culture. All for free. The province’s first two new recovery centres opened last year in Lethbridge and Red Deer. There are currently over 29,000 addiction treatment spaces in the province.
This treatment-based strategy is in large part the work of Marshall Smith, current chief of staff to Alberta’s premier and a former addict himself, whose life story is a testament to the importance of treatment and recovery.
The sharply contrasting policies of B.C. and Alberta allow a comparison of what works and what doesn’t. A first, tentative report card on this natural experiment was produced last year in a study from Stanford University’s network on addiction policy (SNAP). Noting “a lack of policy innovation in B.C.,” where harm reduction has become the dominant policy approach, the report argues that in fact “Alberta is currently experiencing a reduction in key addiction-related harms.” But it concludes that “Canada overall, and B.C. in particular, is not yet showing the progress that the public and those impacted by drug addiction deserve.”
The report is admittedly an early analysis of these two contrasting approaches. Most of Alberta’s recovery homes are still under construction, and B.C.’s decriminalization policy is only a year old. And since the report was published, opioid death rates have inched higher in both provinces.
Still, the early returns do seem to favour Alberta’s approach. That should be regarded as good news. Society certainly has an obligation to try to help drug users. But that duty must involve more than offering addicts free drugs. Addicted people need treatment so they can kick their potentially deadly habit and go on to live healthy, meaningful lives. Dignity comes from a life of purpose and self-control, not a government-funded fix.
Susan Martinuk is a senior fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and author of the 2021 book Patients at Risk: Exposing Canada’s Health Care Crisis. A longer version of this article recently appeared at C2CJournal.ca.
Deborah Birx Gets Her Close-Up
US firms like BlackRock are dropping their climate obsession while Europe ramps theirs up
Extreme Weather and Climate Change
Jordan Peterson slams CBC for only interviewing pro-LGBT doctors about UK report on child ‘sex changes’
-
Censorship Industrial Complex2 days agoDesperate Liberals move to stop MPs from calling Trudeau ‘corrupt’
-
Health1 day agoTransgender activists are threatening the author of scathing UK report on child ‘sex changes’
-
conflict1 day agoCol. Douglas Macgregor torches Trump over support for bill funding wars in Ukraine and Israel
-
Frontier Centre for Public Policy1 day agoThe end of Canada: The shift from democracy to totalitarian behavior in the ‘pandemic era’
-
COVID-192 days agoInquiry shows Canadian gov’t agencies have spent $10 million on social media ads for COVID jabs
-
International1 day agoBiden admin expands Title IX to include ‘gender identity,’ sparking conservative backlash
-
Alberta1 day agoAlberta’s baby name superstar steals the show again
-
Business2 days agoFederal government’s ‘fudget budget’ relies on fanciful assumptions of productivity growth