An opening of one's knowledge,capabilities, vision and guidance. The Kenaz is about creating a relationship,learning and allowing room for interpretation. When you are in the darkness,an opening with light is the best and most gracious thing to have bestowed upon you. This is a great time for putting energies into new opportunities. Come share my world as I see it.
"It is important to remember he did not die a victim but as a success in the profession he chose-Padre Capt. Claude Pigeon."
I found this fitting song composed by MacPhee, Schram, Howe in my files simply entitled "Ode To The Canadian Soldier "and uploaded to imeem. Please give a listen. The lyrics pay tribute to the men and women who are "Fighting for freedom and staying the course.
Twenty-one-year-old Cpl. Etienne Gonthier died during a road-clearing operation on January 23. Two others were injured in the blast. Gonthier, a combat engineer born in Quebec City, was based in Valcartier, Que., with the 5ieme Regiement du Genie de Combat. He is the 78th Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan since the Canadian mission began in 2002. The two injured soldiers have been released from hospital and have returned to duty.
"ONE spake amid the nations,‘Let us cease
From darkening with strife the fair World’s
light,
We who are great in war be great in peace.
No longer let us plead the cause by might.’
But from a million British graves took birth
A silent voice--the million spake as one--
‘If ye have righted all the wrongs of earth,
Lay by the sword! Its work and ours is
done.’-Poem entitled, "DISARMAMENT" by Canadian poet-John McCrae, more famous for his poem-IN FLANDERS FIELDS"
I found this fitting song composed by MacPhee, Schram, Howe in my files simply entitled "Ode To The Canadian Soldier "and uploaded to imeem. Please give a listen. The lyrics pay tribute to the men and women who are "Fighting for freedom and staying the course.
"With the New Year having just begun, this new tragedy reminds us of the perilous conditions our soldiers are facing in Afghanistan. I salute their merit, their hard work and all the sacrifices they made so fearlessly. On behalf of all Canadians, I would like to tell their families and friends, who are grieving today, that they will not be forgotten."- Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean. I found this fitting song composed by MacPhee, Schram, Howe in my files simply entitled "Ode To The Canadian Soldier "and uploaded to imeem. Please give a listen. The lyrics pay tribute to the men and women who are "Fighting for freedom and staying the course.
Warrant Officer Hani Massouh of the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment – the Van Doos – based out of Valcartier, Que.
Massouh was born in Alexandria, Egypt. Labbe was from Rimouski, Que. They died when their light armoured vehicle flipped over Sunday evening in the region of Nalgham, about 40 kilometres southwest of Kandahar city. The military said they were travelling on dirt tracks, and rain in recent days had made the terrain very difficult. The two fatalities bring the number of Canadian military personnel killed in Afghanistan to 76.
The Celtic Cross spread is one of the most popular Tarot spreads, providing varied insight into many aspects of a complex situation and your role in it. The Cat People Tarot paints a picture of faraway lands trod by mystical archetypes and their feline companions. This deck is a perfect tool for dreamers and idealists, and is a great choice for divining the nature of human imagination.
The card not shown but at the center of the cross, represents the atmosphere surrounding the central issue. The Empress: Feminine progress. Action. Natural energy. Development. Fruitfulness. Accomplishment. Interest in day-to-day details. Mother. Sister. Wife. Marriage. Children. Feminine influence. Material wealth. Evolution. A leader. Decisions founded upon all the facts at hand. The motivator of a successful partner or husband. Businesswoman.
The card visible at the center of the cross represents the obstacle that stands in your way - it may even be something that sounds good but is not actually to your benefit. Four of Cups (Luxury), when reversed: New possibilities. New relationships. New approaches to old problems. New acquaintance. New knowledge.
The card at the top of the cross represents your goal, or the best you can achieve without a dramatic change of priorities. Eight of Pentacles (Prudence), when reversed: Lack of ambition. Vanity. Conceit. Disillusionment, Usury. Hypocrisy. Flattery. Intrigue.
The card at the bottom of the cross represents the foundation on which the situation is based. The Devil: Ravage. Bondage. Malevolence. Subservience. Downfall. Lack of success. Weird experience. Bad influence or advice. Black magic. Unexpected failure. Seeming inability to realize one's goals. Dependence that leads to unhappiness. Controversy. Violence. Shock. Fatality. Temptation to evil. Regression. Self-destruction. Disaster. Astral influence. The tearing apart of one's self-expression to such an extent that the person becomes ineffectual. An Ill-tempered person. Lack of humor except at another's expense. Lack of principles.
The card at the left of the cross represents a passing influence or something to be released. Page of Pentacles, when reversed: An unrealistic person. Failure to recognize obvious facts. Dissipation of ideas. Illogical thinking. Rebelliousness. Wastefulness. Loss. Unfavorable news.
The card at the right of the cross represents an approaching influence or something to be embraced. Six of Wands (Victory), when reversed: Indefinite delay. Fear. Apprehension. Disloyalty. Superficial benefit. Inconclusive gain.
The card at the base of the staff represents your role or attitude. Ace of Pentacles, when reversed: Prosperity without happiness. Misused wealth. Wasted money. Corruption by money. Miserliness. Greed. Fool's gold.
The card second from the bottom of the staff represents your environment and the people you are interacting with. Nine of Wands (Strength): Expectation of difficulties and changes. Awaiting tribulation. Anticipation. Hidden enemies. Discipline. Order. A pause in a current struggle.
The card second from the top of the staff represents your hopes, fears, or an unexpected element that will come into play. Ace of Wands, when reversed: False start. Cloudy outlook. Unrealized goal. Decadence. Empty existence. Vexation. Cancellation of plans.
The card at the top of the staff represents the ultimate outcome should you continue on this course. Knight of Wands: Departure. A journey. Advancement into the unknown. Alteration. Flight. Absence. Change of residence.
What does the Winter have in store for me?
The Cross spread is used to plot the arc of your life and the forces acting on it. It is the most popular spread, giving a very complete view of the situation. Ice Runes are most commonly used for questions about struggle, conflict, and achievement.
The left rune represents an important element of the past. Ger is one of the runes that touches on the cycles of the year, in this case the fall harvest. These cycles are eternal, which is represented in the rune by the fact that it is unchanged by reversal. Ger can represent pregnancy or other forms of fruitfulness, and is especially indicative of the cycles of providence and karma - that which has been sown is now being reaped. This rune can also represent the cycles of wealth, for crops were frequently a sign of wealth.
The middle rune represents a deciding element of the present. Tyr was the Norse god of war. It was through his sacrifice that the great force of chaos, the wolf Fenrir was bound. Here however, you have drawn the rune reversed. This could mean that a sacrifice made will not lead to the desired result. It could also mean a loss, or a victory overturned. This rune warns against entering into conflicts or negotiations, especially ones requiring that an offering or concession be made - the wolf might take your hand and yet remain unbound. Note also that Tyr was the god of law, so there is a suggestion of a wrongdoer who will avoid justice.
The top rune represents a force that works for you. Wunjo is the rune of joy. The reversal of this rune suggests that joy is withheld. Since joy is frequently communal, this rune often suggests loneliness. Alternatively, some have seen Wunjo as the rune of perfection and the rune of the gods. Therefore this rune reversed could signal a feeling of separation from one's deity, or as imperfection in an important work.
The bottom Rune represents a force that works against you. Inguz is the rune of completion and fertility. The presence of this rune suggests that tasks which have been initiated will come to fruition. This rune is associated with Ing and Frey, it is this connection that explains its connotations of both fertility and sexuality. The variant of this rune shown here is reminiscent of the twin strands of life, and of the challenge and rewards of bringing together things complimentary.
The right rune represents the critical element of the future, at the core of the final outcome. Dagez means daylight, and represents divine light. This rune generally refers to dawn (the initial sparking of energy) or to midday (the climax of energy). Both dawn and midday are symbolic of change, but unlike the changes in the perpetual circle of the year which are slow and subtle, the changes over a day are much faster and more dramatic. The breaking of a new day is symbolic of the rapid illumination of dismal circumstances, and is suggestive of Satori. Be careful - although this rune generally suggests a positive change, the symbology of a peaking point suggests that there must be a change downward as well. Fortunately for some, this rune is cyclic and irreversible, and so permanence is not promised - the only thing you can be sure of is an exciting ride.
The awards for those who made the headlines in 2007 in the spirit of this site. The nominees where inspired by the many posts I made this year and cover local, Canadian and International stories that made headlines.
Welcome to the third annual "Kenaz Awards". Still no glitz, no glamour, no expensive bling. Just a cold beer and some cheese to celebrate the stories that made you cheer,jeer,get angry,cry or say 'Good lord!".
Top International Stories The War in Iraq-One statistic sums up the last year in Iraq : 2007 will end as the deadliest for American troops since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, with more than 900 dead.
Politics in Pakistan-
Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in the country in November, arresting political opponents and cutting communication lines. The declaration of emergency came before the Supreme Court was to rule on Musharraf's role as president. The country's constitution was suspended, but Musharraf stepped down as the leader of the military at the end of the month — making him a civilian president. Pakistan was suspended from the Commonwealth due to the actions of Musharraf, who arrested thousands of lawyers and human rights workers who are not supporters.
Burma- Thousands of Buddhist monks and activists protested the military junta in Burma in September. The protests were spurred by a decision in August to double the price of fuel, worsening the situation of impoverished people in the country. The government threatened to use force against the protesters, and on the ninth day of the protest, the country's leaders sent soldiers to end the marches. Images of soldiers firing at unarmed protesters were beamed around the world. A military clampdown in the country silenced the protests and many reported the killings of thousands of protesters.
A jury found Robert William Pickton guilty on six counts of second-degree murder in December. Pickton's victims were women had who disappeared from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. The judge gave Pickton, who was arrested in 2002, the maximum sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole for 25 years. Pickton also faces charges in the deaths of 20 other women. Pickton had pleaded not guilty to all of the 26 charges.
A judge in Chicago sentenced Conrad Black to 6 ½ years in prison and $125,000 in fines, and ordered him to pay $6.1 million in restitution. Black had been found guilty on three counts of mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice in July. The charges relate to the diversion of millions of dollars in non-compete payments from the sale of his Hollinger newspapers. Black was also caught removing boxes of documents from his Toronto office. The sentence was considered to be at the low end of the sentencing guideline.
The Canadian dollar, on a precipitous rise, finally closed above parity with the U.S. dollar in September. For the first time in 31 years, the Canadian dollar was worth more than the American, closing at $1.0052 US on Sept. 28. The loonie had reached parity with the American greenback on Sept. 20, but had dropped before closing. From January until the end of September, the loonie gained 17 per cent against the U.S. dollar. High gold prices contributed to the rise of the Canadian buck, along with the decline of the American dollar.
A man was shocked with a Taser at Vancouver International Airport in October. Police said he was acting irrationally after being held up at customs for 10 hours. Witnesses say the man was shocked at least twice before being handcuffed on the floor where he went into cardiac arrest and died. Robert Dziekanski was moving to Canada from Poland to live with his mother. In November, an independent reviewer was named to look at the use of Tasers after another B.C. man was shocked by a Taser and later died in hospital.
Maher Arar was awarded $10 million and a formal apology from the government in January. In 2002, Arar, a Canadian citizen born in Syria, was arrested at New York's John F. Kennedy airport on his way home from a vacation. He was deported by U.S. authorities to Syria, where he was tortured. Justice Dennis O'Connor conducted an inquiry and found that Arar was involved in no terrorist activities. He also found that the RCMP gave misleading information to U.S. authorities that could have led to Arar's deportation. The U.S. government has refused to take Arar off their watch list despite the apology from Canada.
Menu Foods, a Canadian pet food company, issued a North America-wide recall of its products in March. Owners said the products were making their pets sick and in some cases, killing their animals. FDA tests found that as many as one in six animals died after eating Menu Foods pet food. Tainted wheat gluten from two plants in China that was used in the pet foods is believed to have killed the animals.
A 13-year-old girl from Medicine Hat was found guilty of the first-degree murders of her parents and eight-year-old brother in July. The girl, who cannot be named, is thought to have killed her family because of their disapproval of her relationship with her 23-year-old boyfriend. The girl's boyfriend, Jeremy Steinke, has yet to be tried on three counts of first-degree murder. The girl, who was 12 at the time of the killings, is thought to be the youngest person in Canada to ever be convicted of more than one count of first-degree murder.
Denny Doherty, a founding member of the 1960s folk-pop band the Mamas and the Papas, died at his home in Mississauga, Ontario. He was 66. The cause was not immediately known, his daughter Emberly said. But she said her father had recently suffered kidney failure after surgery for a stomach aneurysm.
Hamilton News
The passing of Bill Sturrup. Sturrup was Mr. Hamilton. As a reporter, he was everywhere. He was the voice of CHML, the Ticats, Bulldogs and others. His legacy will echoes on. Anyone who has attended a Bulldogs game can atest to the sheer excitement his voice drummed up when he belted out the trademark Hamilton BUULLL-dogs call that shook the walls of Copps Coliseum every time the team hit the ice. Bill Sturrup passed away after a bout with cancer.
I was extremely sad to read that former CHML and CKOC radio personality Bob Sherwin had passed away. He died at Hamilton General hospital after suffering a severe heart attack. Sherwin has been a fixture on Hamilton radio since the 1970's. I have fond memories of listening to his weekly Big 500 countdown on CKOC as a kid. I know god has a master plan for all of us but why take the good souls so young? Mr. Sherwin was only 52.
Three good news stories to report from the 'Hammer' today. A north end park was cleaned up and the area BIA is committing itself to keeping it that way. Hamilton will soon be one local calling area and a shake-up at city hall should bring some respect back.
Wackjob Award
Hamilton Community News columnist Kevin Werner needs to take a few sensitivity courses before his dumb witted opinions do serious damage to either his career or those they are targeted at.
Tragic Story
Loser of the Year
It was a big year for celebrity prison sentences, though not necessarily for actual hard time served. Actor Lindsay Lohan spent 84 minutes in a Los Angeles jail in November after pleading guilty to drunk driving and cocaine possession. She'd been sentenced to one day in prison. In August, Nicole Richie was in jail for only 82 minutes of a four-day sentence for driving under the influence of drugs.
Hamilton City Councilor's-Interruptions, childish out bursts, insults short of "your mother!". A local playground? No, a meeting of Hamilton council. The playpen squabble? Extending local calls to the suburbs. The answer so obvious; to borrow a phrase from a popular info-commercial "so easy, even a child could do it!"
Hamilton city council and the Mayors office continues to fumble their chances to help the city grow and attain new levels of prosperity and optimism. Instead they let it continue to decay with rampant pollution, poverty, corruption and scandal.
Anthony Di Cenzo, a Hamilton landlord, portraying himself as a totally innocent patsy in his role in a sophisticated criminal operation after a massive marijuana grow operation was discovered in his east end apartments is totally unbelievable.
Hamilton Councillor Merulla hails himself as the self imposed deity of the elderly and poor of Hamilton. The truth is Mr. Merulla is a self absorbed "hypocrite" who rarely visits the neighbourhoods he claims to fight for in city council.
The only thing missing was the eerie violin music, the stogies and the dimly lit backroom, but all the characters of a scene straight out of the 'Godfather' where present. Sam 'The Bully' Merulla played the lead thug, trying to persuade Bob 'Red Light' Bratina and Brian 'Flip-Flop' McHattie into back tracking on their decision to agree with a transit fare hike. All under the cover of an off camera, extremely fishy out of chambers meeting.
Injustice Award
Ontario Superior Justice Fletcher Dawson for giving Stephen Papadopoulos only an extra day in jail on top of the five years and three months he has spent in custody awaiting his trial for his part in the beating death of Matthew Daly in 2001.
The families of Lucas Deane, Paul Haggerty and the entire community deserve to read today's report on how Hamilton police botched the surrender of accused double-murderer Corey Rogers.
Wacky and Strange Stories of the Year
Young chimpanzees outperformed university students in a series of short-term memory tests. Japanese scientists from the Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University matched up three five-year-old chimps and their mothers against adult humans in a test that asked participants to recall a sequence of numbers from one to nine. In both tests conducted, one of the chimps came out on top.
Think you could survive being shot twice? How about frozen for two days? A Florida duck beat both odds and stunned at least one Tallahassee couple. After Perky the duck was shot by a hunter, he was presumed dead and thrown in the family's refrigerator by the hunter's wife. Two days later the wife opened the fridge to a very much alive and quacking duck.
In an effort to make the act of pizza eating more exciting and to increase pie sales, a Winnipeg company is offering up pornographic images inserted under each pizza. Porno Pizza has raised more than a few eyebrows for its racy gimmick and even claims many of its customers are women. It's all above board, too: customers must show ID proving they are 18 or older.
Artists are often inspired by the most unusual objects and ideas but some inspirations border on the plane morbid and wrong. A project from Eindhoven's Design Academy in the Netherlands takes inspiration from funerals and ways of remembering the dead. Some of the exhibits like Bleeding 'till Death, borrow ideas from ancient cultures who's loved ones erect living memorials to the dead. The piece features flowers arranged like bed-ridden patients and attached to transfusion pouches filled with dye. Another piece consists of seeds for every person who has died in war, to be planted in their memory.
Iron Man Award
The kid with the iron will and the one who had every citizen in Hamilton last summer full of emotion after he was brutally beaten in an unprovoked attack has returned to school. A remarkable achievement for Drew Lee, considering he had to be induced into a coma for 12 days at McMaster Children's Hospital and had casts on both legs because of his injuries from the Aug. 5 assault.
Still Unresolved Story-Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino has a rather sinister track record, one that includes police brutality, racist policing, use of excessive force against protesters and bathhouse raids and other homophobic policing.
And now nearing the two year anniversary of the occupation of Caledonia by native activists protesting a housing development being built on what they claim is their land, the cries for Fantino to resign, once again rage with the ferocity of a banshee cry.
Looking ahead to 2008
It will be a leap year with 366 days, the extra one, of course, in February, which has a rare five Fridays. It will also be the first year in which just over 52 per cent of Canadians will enjoy a statutory holiday in that dark month now that Ontario has joined Alberta and Saskatchewan in legislating a legal Family Day for the third Monday in February.
The U.S., Russia, possibly Britain and perhaps even Canada are all bracing for national elections with the potential to set new directions. After eight years of George W. Bush, a new President is bound to have an impact well beyond the year itself.
China's hosting of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, beginning Aug. 8. With thousands of professional athletes and millions of people from around the world expected at the games, the international spotlight will shine on China as never before. Is it up to the scrutiny? A telling moment will be in March when organizers are set to complete a new Olympic stadium in the shape of a bird's nest.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will no doubt continue through 2008, the White House is expected to lower troops levels in Iraq by the end of the summer. President Bush is coming under pressure from the U.S. military to shift troops from Iraq to Afghanistan. Violence is said to be dropping in Iraq but rising in Afghanistan.
Canada's troops, stationed in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, have another full year of fighting the Taliban as they are not scheduled to come home before February 2009.
2008 is the International Year of the Potato, of sanitation, of languages, and of planet Earth. It's also the Chinese calendar's Year of the Rat, officially starting on Lunar New Year in early February. According to astrological descriptions, it means a year of hard work, enterprise, renewal and activity as rats are seen as clever, resourceful and quick-witted creatures.
Imagine; if you can; you're up to your knees in the muck of a waterlogged fox hole. It is the evening of 24 December 1914 and you are on the dreaded Western Front.
Hunched over, you cautiously make your way over to a fellow soldier and take over the watch. You exchange pleasantries, briefly before your exhausted and mud-spattered colleague shuffles off towards his dug out for some much needed rest, if you can call it that. The horrors of war are making it increasingly harder to remain optimistic in your belief that in the New Year your nation's army will march towards a victory.
The pain in your frost bitten feet, snap you back from your glorious dream. You stamp your feet in a vain attempt to return feeling. All is quiet when jovial voices call out in both German and English. Then the men from both sides start singing carols and songs. Next come requests not to fire, and soon the unthinkable happens: you start to see the shadowy shapes of soldiers gathering together in no-man's land laughing, joking and sharing gifts.
Many have exchanged cigarettes, the lit ends of which burn brightly in the inky darkness. Plucking up your courage, you haul yourself up and out of the trench and walk towards the foe.
The meeting of enemies as friends in no-man's land was experienced by hundreds, if not thousands, of men on the Western Front during Christmas 1914. Today, 93 years after it occurred, the event is seen as a shining episode of sanity from among the many bloody chapters of War.
For the complete story visit http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/christmastruce.htm
These are the current weather and traffic conditions in the City of Hamilton courtesy of Ontario Ministry of Transportation highway cameras. Right click on the picture and select reload image, this will bring up the upto date photo with curent date and time. Or if you don't like to reload or wish to view other cameras along the QEW or 403 please visit and view their cam shots which reload automatically.
I'm happy too hear that the city of Hamilton is reversing its decision to block controversial worker safety ads from appearing in local bus shelters. Hamilton and Windsor were the only Ontario cities to reject the assault to the norm marketing campaign produced by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario (WSIB).
Several cities agreed to run modified versions of this ad, which features an impaled construction worker in a puddle of blood. Full colour, no modification -- runs in Ottawa.Black and white with no blood -- runs in Oshawa, Ajax, Whitby, Clarington, St. Catharines, Welland, Niagara Falls, Kitchener, Cambridge, Waterloo, Brantford, Guelph.Black and white with warning box -- runs in Mississauga, Markham, Oakville, Pickering, Newmarket, Richmond Hill.Black and white, no modification -- runs in London, Toronto.
There's also a television ad that shows a young woman slipping in a restaurant kitchen and scalding her face with hot oil. Graphic? For sure. Over the top? Not at all. It's a very effective ad showing the real dangers that occur. I've witnessed this type of injury in a place I once worked, work place safety can't be over stressed.
Some people will be offended by the ads in the bus shelters and television. Some will be angry that small children might see the disturbing image. But is it worse than small children seeing overtly sexual clothing ads in bus shelters? Or imitating the sexually suggestive moves and lyrics found in videos. If a WSIB ad makes a worker more aware of the dangers around them, doesn't that out weight all other concerns?
Certainly, the "Top Chef" ad is graphic and disturbing. But it's no more graphic than scenes of violent death we see on prime-time television or in movie theatres. In an age when kids have become immune to images of blood, gory body parts and dead bodies, maybe the graphic nature of the WSIB campaign is what it takes to shake us up, to make us take notice and really think about the safety of our workplaces.
There's no doubt we need employers -- from company presidents to shop-floor supervisors -- to take notice and ensure proper and safe training. Again I've seen some questionable practices. But workers also need to know and understand their rights and responsibilities; they need to ask questions if they don't know.
A heart would be a start, but City Hall needs a major boost in "testicular fortitude" as well. What Hamilton needs are more bureaucrats who think outside the box like the BIA, instead of ones who keep banging nails into the downtown coffin.
Members of the Hamilton Downtown Business Improvement Area say they are perpetually at loggerheads with city hall every time they offer a solution to rid the downtown of its image as a dirty, unsafe destination.
Overflowing garbage receptacles, street litter and disregard for the BIA's planned landscape design that featured plants best suited to survive fumes from waiting buses are some of the headaches members say they've faced. They also complain about hassles for the BIA in putting up Christmas lights.
And when the BIA wants to try something new -- like closing part of King Street for the Santa Claus parade or hanging lamppost banners that advertise sponsoring businesses -- the BIA often gets a "No, you can't do that." Without any logical reason.
Other BIA brainstorms:
The relocation of bus stops from around Gore Park, in effort to alleviate the unpleasantness to diners on outdoor patios from the exhaust fumes. The BIA has requested the bus stops be moved somewhere else downtown.
The BIA wants the city to find a way to get absentee landlords sitting on derelict buildings to either sell or improve their buildings so they can be put back in use.
The BIA isn't asking the city to pave the streets in gold, just get rid of the crap and spruce the place up. Is that to much to ask?
The Canadian death toll in Afghanistan has risen by two. Corp. Nicolas Raymond Beauchamp of the 5th Field Ambulance in Valcartier and Pte. Michel Levesque of the Royal 22nd died early Saturday morning. The two latest casualties brings Canada’s death toll to 73 soldiers since Canada joined the mission in Afghanistan five years ago. I found this fitting song composed by MacPhee, Schram, Howe in my files simply entitled "Ode To The Canadian Soldier "and uploaded to imeem. Please give a listen. The lyrics pay tribute to the men and women who are "Fighting for freedom and staying the course.
Corp. Nicolas Raymond Beauchamp of the 5th Field Ambulance in Valcartier.
Killed while riding in a Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) that hit an IED (improvised explosive device) on a road north of a Canadian forward operating base near Bazar-e Panjwaii.
*Update* December 30, 2007 Canadian Gunner Jonathan Dion, 27, based in Valcartier, Que., was killed when his T-LAV struck a roadside bomb about 20 kilometres west of Kandahar City. Four other soldiers suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Dion, with 5e regiment d'artillerie legere du Canada, was the 74th Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan since the mission began in 2002. It was the first overseas operation for Dion, who was due to return to Canada in March.
