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Contact: Mercedes Deutscher, News Editor
M41 news@theotherpress.ca

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And more!

National Defence Minister orders
suicide prevention as a priority
for soldiers and veterans

» “In a sense, these are our forgotten casualties.”

Olivia Levesque
ae The Argus (Lakehead University)

n the day before

Remembrance Day, the
Globe and Mail released an
investigation that had been
in the works for months with
the Canadian Armed Forces.
The investigation, known as
“The Unremembered,” released
disturbing statistics of the
number of soldiers and veterans
who had taken their own lives
after serving in Afghanistan. The
numbers show that Canada isn’t
just losing troops overseas, but
losing them here at home too.

Since the beginning of

the 13-year NATO-led Afghan
mission, 54 military personnel
and veterans have committed

suicide, according to the statistics

released by The Globe and Mail.
The number of suicides since
the beginning of the mission
in Afghanistan number more

: than one-third of the number

: of Canadian troops who were

: killed in action during the

: conflict itself. It’s a sad reality,

: yet it seems those returning

: from deployment face a war on
: Canadian soil almost as deadly
: as the one they faced overseas.

National Defence Minister

: Harjit Sajjan has responded to the :
: investigation by issuing an order:
: to Canada’s top military leader to
: make suicide prevention a major

: priority within the Armed Forces.
: The investigation has also shown
: that the number of suicides

: has increased over the past year

: amongst returning veterans as

: well, as 14 suicides were recorded
: since the beginning of 2014.

Another startling statistic

: reported in the investigation

: is that out of the 158 soldiers

: who died during Canada’s

: Afghan mission, 6 took their

: own lives. Sajjan said, ina

: statement following the release:

: “Throughout my career, I have
: seen first-hand the demands

: of military service, and the

: sometimes enormous impact it
: can have on members and their
: families. This is particularly

: relevant given our long combat
: mission in Afghanistan.” Sajjan
: isalso an Afghanistan veteran

with three tours of duty.
The military, who is

: responsible for ensuring health

: care is delivered to soldiers,

: already has a suicide prevention
: plan in place, but with the

: recent statistics, it is evident

: that steps need to be taken to :
: provide sufficient help to veterans :
: suffering with both physical

: issues and mental health issues,

: such as PTSD or any deployment
: related struggles. All are :
: contributing factors to the suicide :
: rates for returning soldiers. :

“The military will spend

: a fortune to train a soldier to
: go to war. They need to spend

 

: that same amount of money to

: repair that soldier when they

: come back,’ said military veteran
: Darrell McMullin to the Globe

: and Mail in an interview after

: the investigation was released.

released by the Canadian armed
: forces and the investigation by

: the Globe and Mail has upset

: many, Canadians remain hopeful
: that with the newly-appointed

Image via thinkstock

: National Defence minister's

: background and understanding,

: the next necessary step to

: prevention will be taken.

: No plan has been released

: regarding a plan of action in

: suicide prevention for soldiers,

: but Minister Sajjan has expressed
: in many press releases that he is

: committed to this issue, making

: ita priority, and he is determined
: to “identify a way forward.”

Although the information

 

Attack at Planned Parenthood
clinic leaves three dead

» Suspect in custody, motives remain unclear

 
  
 

Mercedes Deutscher
News Editor
M news@theotherpress.ca

n November 27, three
were killed and nine
were injured after Robert
Lewis Dear, 59, laid siege with
a gun toa Colorado Planned
Parenthood clinic for five hours.
Dear surrendered
after officers took a hold
of the building.
Amongst the deceased
was Garrett Swasey, a police
officer who responded to
the standoff. The two other
victims, who have not yet been
identified, were civilians.
However, the actions of the
police officers who managed to
enter the building resulted in
the lives of many being saved.
Most were able to escape the
building, and those who couldn't

: remained unharmed by locking
: themselves in several rooms.

Dear had also reportedly

placed improvised explosives
: around the building, although
: none of them had detonated.

According toa

: neighbour, Dear lived in
: relative seclusion with no
: electricity or running water.

“You can tell his personality

: is just off. The way he looked at
: you, the way he talked, he just

: seemed off” said his neighbour,
: James Russell, to CBC.

Russell explained that Dear

: often spoke erratically and had

: a difficult time keeping to one

: topic. However, two topics that

: had never been mentioned

: by Dear were religion and

: abortion. For the time being,

: there have not been any reliable
: sources to suggest a motive or

: reason behind Dear’s attack.

“We don't have any

: information on this individual’s
: mentality, or his ideas or

: ideology,’ stated Colorado

: Springs police Lt. Catherine

: Buckley, as covered by CBC.

In a national address,

: Barack Obama said: “We don’t

: yet know what this particular

: gunman’s so-called motive

: was for shooting 12 people,

: or for terrorizing an entire

: community, when he opened

: fire with an assault weapon

: and took hostages at a Planned
: Parenthood center in Colorado.”

Obama once again brought

: forth the issue of gun control,
: saying that it was urgent to

: enforce stricter gun-control

: so that such attacks do not

: become normalized.

In the aftermath of the

: attack, many took to Twitter
: under the presumption that the

  

> attack was a terrorist attack in the :
: name of the pro-life movement.

: sex educator and activist,

: tweeted: “Livid and devastated
: about the Planned Parenthood
: shooting. I’m sick to my

: stomach that we continue to

: arm misogynists with guns.”

Image via Reuters/Lucas Jackson

vandalized since September, and

: there has been multiple incidents
: at other clinics over the past year,

: including one invasion and one

: arson, as reported by CNN.

: Despite the crimes

: committed against Planned

: Parenthood, there will

: reportedly be no drawback

: On its provision of services.

Laci Green, an American

Three other Planned

Parenthood clinics have been