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 The Conference of Defence Associations
(CDA), in concert with the Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs
Institute (CDFAI), is pleased to announce that Mr. Bruce Campion-Smith has
been chosen as the recipient of the 2005 Ross Munro Media Award. From
the excellent list of nominees, the selection committee also concluded
that Chris Wattie, of the National Post , is deserving of an
honourable mention.
Mr. Bruce Campion-Smith, of the
Toronto Star, has covered Canadian defence issues for many years
and produced well-grounded articles of exceptional quality on the
Canadian Forces. His knowledge of the subject matter, fairness in
reporting, and writing skill are truly exemplary.
The Ross Munro Media Award was initiated in 2002 to recognize Canadian
journalists who have made a significant and extraordinary contribution
to increasing public understanding of Canadian defence and security
issues. Recipients of the award have produced outstanding work
regarding the efforts of the Canadian Forces in preserving Canadian
democratic values.
Previous recipients of the Award are
Stephen Thorne, Garth Pritchard, and Sharon Hobson.
The Ross Munro Media Award Selection Committee was chaired by
Lieutenant-General (Ret’d) Richard Evraire, Chairman CDA. Other
members of the Selection Committee were Dr. Jack Granatstein, Canadian
Military Historian; Mr. Peter Kent, Deputy Editor of Global TV News,
Co-host of "MoneyWise," and president of the Canadian Foreign
Correspondents Association; Mr. Stuart Robertson, of O’Donnell,
Robertson & Sanfilippo; and Colonel (Ret’d) Charles Keple,
Vice-Chairman CDA, Public Affairs.
The Award was presented at the CDA Institute’s Vimy Award Dinner,
November 18, 2005, in the Grand Hall of the Canadian Museum of
Civilization, Gatineau, Quebec.
Acceptance speech delivered by Bruce Campion-Smith
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good evening.
First my congratulations to Mr. Southam for winning the Vimy award.
As well, I'd like to tip my hat to Chris Wattie, of the National Post,
who received an honourable mention this year. I had the pleasure of
sailing with Chris to the Gulf of Mexico on HMCS Toronto in September
for the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. One day, the crew let us join
in the small arms drill on the flightdeck. Chris and I were standing
side-by-side, each holding a loaded MP5 sub machinegun. If ever there
was a front line of the Toronto newspaper wars, that was it. But we
both survived and I’d happily go abroad with Chris again.
Thank you to the Conference of Defence Associations and the Canadian
Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute for this award. It is a great
honour and a delightful surprise. As a journalist who covers Canada's
military, it is humbling to receive an award named after Ross Munro, a
wartime journalist who set the high bar in the field.
I wouldn't be up here without the help of a great many people,
starting with my wife Lori. Fortunately, there haven't been any
six-month deployments. But there have been enough late nights,
last-minute trips and cancelled vacations to test anyone's patience.
So to her, my son David and daughter Alison, thank you.
Thank you to Susan Delacourt, the Ottawa bureau chief of the Toronto
Star, for letting me take a break from covering the politics of the
Hill to go off and wander military bases. I sometimes feel like I’m
playing hooky. And thank you to the Toronto Star for understanding
that the work of Canada’s military is an important story at many
levels, and for devoting people and money to cover it.
Thank you to the public affairs officers in the Canadian Forces for
answering my endless questions. They are in many ways, unsung heroes.
I don't think the other military men and women realize how hard these
people work to get the message out.
During my time on the beat, I've been able to tap the expertise of
many academics and former military leaders who have always been happy
to explain the ins and outs of the armed forces. Their knowledge has
helped immensely and I thank them all for taking time to chat, people
like Alain Pellerin, Richard Gimblett, Lewis MacKenzie, Martin
Shadwick.
Looking back, I've had some wonderful opportunities on the beat this
year.
The highlight has to be a journey to The Netherlands in the spring,
accompanying veterans who were going back for the 60th anniversary of
VE-Day. Staring out across the Canadian War Cemetary in Groesbeek on a
drizzly May morning, where I saw only tombstones, they saw old
friends, colleagues, buddies. For me, the trip put the tremendous
sacrifices of their generation in perspective.
At other points during the year, I had the chance to crawl in the dirt
at Petawawa, sail on the navy ships to Louisiana, kick the tires on
Hercules transports in Trenton. Not too hard, since the planes are 40
years old.
Along the way, I was reminded about the many great stories there are
to be told about the Canadian Forces, the work it does, the people who
serve.
I’d like to leave the senior leadership with one thought. I encourage
you to let these stories be told. For all the stories we did tell this
year, inevitably, there were others you didn’t get to read, because of
red tape or lingering mistrust of the media.
I’ll wrap up with just one example of where things went right this
year. I owe a special thanks to Commander Stuart Moors, commander of
HMCS Toronto. He welcomed Chris and I onboard his frigate in September
for a trip to the Gulf of Mexico. He gave us free run of the ship and
set a tone of cooperation that was embraced by the sailors and
officers, and made our job easy.
The forces have made good progress when it comes
to openness and transparency. I think it’s critical that trend
continue in the year ahead, to ensure that Canadians are informed
about the work of the military as it takes on a greater profile in
Canada's foreign policy and as troops take on a more dangerous role in
Afghanistan.
Thank you very much.
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