Perhaps it is appropriate Minister Blackburn chose to use the phrase "drawing a line in the sand" when recently describing his government’s refusal to address the New Veterans Charter’s Lump Sum award. The battlefields of Afghanistan are arid, the sands Canadian soldiers have trod upon these past nine years have truly been bloodied with Canadian sacrifice. 152 two valiant soldiers have been slain in Afghanistan.
Bullets, RPGs and homemade improvised explosive devices have wounded hundreds, perhaps thousands, of our troops. The Taliban’s weapon of choice, the IED, is particularly vicious, designed to create as many terrible injuries as possible. Our soldiers have sustained multiple amputations and very serious injuries as the consequence.