Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 06, 2012, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A7 winnipegfreepress. com CANADA / WORLD WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 A 7 with the installation of 28 Years 5 WINDOWS InstalledIn s t a l le d $ $ 49 49 m onth! a month! for as low as The last windows your home NISBY HOME RENOVATIONS LTD. 888- 2288 www. nisby. ca Be Power Smart Through Manitoba Hydro at 3.9% The last windows your home will need. We offer... LIFETIME WARRANTY sign up for exclusive events and offers at swankboutique. ca Unit 7 - 1170 Taylor Ave. 475.1671 Mon., Tues., Wed., Fri. 10 - 6; Thurs. 10 - 7; Sat 10 - 5: 30; Sun 1 - 5 Winnipeg's Fashion Authority Carrying the Largest Number of International Designers for Both Women & Men earn * Third item must be of equal or lesser value ni ., Tu t Un BUY TWO GET ONE FREE Get a 3rd item free with your purchase of two regular priced Men's or Women's Summer Fashions or Accessories. ENDS JUNE 10 TH LONDON - Pealing church bells, the crack of ceremonial rifle fire and the thunderous din of iconic Royal Air Force fighters couldn't drown out Britain's deafening cheers Tuesday as throngs of well- wishers marked the final day of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. As a Lancaster bomber soared over Buckingham Palace, flanked by a Hawker Hurricane and Spitfire fighters, the sovereign - ignoring ever- present rains - waved to the soaked, sprawling crowd from the balcony, capping four days of unparalleled pomp and pageantry that made it clear the country's affections for the monarchy remain far from depleted. In a rare televised statement, the Queen called the celebrations " a humbling experience." " I will continue to treasure and draw inspiration from the countless kindnesses shown to me in this country and throughout the Commonwealth," the monarch said during the two- minute pre- recorded broadcast. Throughout the festivities, which honoured the Queen's six decades on the throne, her husband Prince Phillip was not at her side: The Duke of Edinburgh, who turns 91 this weekend, was hospitalized Monday with a bladder infection. - The Canadian Press O TTAWA - Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is dialling back the blame he once placed on his department's officials for a misleading citizenship ceremony broadcast on the Sun News Network last fall. Kenney criticized civil servants when it was revealed six bureaucrats reaffirmed their oath of citizenship alongside three or four bona fide new Canadians during a televised ceremony last October. But he was striking a decidedly different tone Tuesday after The Canadian Press published the bureaucrats' version of events - that the network was actively involved in the decision to use civil servants as stand- ins. During the Sun News broadcast, the hosts referred to the group as new Canadians who had " finally" received their citizenship. Last February, when The Canadian Press first reported on the ceremony, Kenney placed the blame squarely on his bureaucrats, saying they had " handled the situation inappropriately." His staff also went out on Twitter and in various media outlets saying neither Sun News nor the minister's office knew about the stand- in bureaucrats - even apologizing on air to the network. The network had said its viewers were " deceived" by a bureaucrat. But in a series of emails obtained by The Canadian Press, senior government officials insisted the Sun News network was actively involved in the decision to use bureaucrats in place of actual new Canadians. The opposition demanded Tuesday Kenney apologize to public servants. " It now turns out that the minister's line that bureaucrats deceived the network was not true, and that they knew all along that these were not real new citizens," said Liberal party whip Judy Foote. " Why did the minister deceive Canadians and try to make public servants take the blame for this fiasco?" Said NDP MP Jinny Simms: " Will the minister now admit the truth and apologize to the citizenship employees he blamed for his scheme? Kenney's response was markedly different than the one he took four months earlier. " At every citizenship ceremony, Canadians are invited to reaffirm, including public servants," he said. " In this case, public servants could not get enough new Canadians to fill the studio, so some of them reaffirmed their citizenship, which was perfectly normal and legitimate." Kenney made no mention of the Sun News Network. After The Canadian Press began asking questions last February about how the Citizenship and Immigration Canada ( CIC) employees were passed off as new Canadians, the department assembled background facts. An email that circulated among officials laid out what happened. " Just to clarify, ( name or names withheld) Sun TV did know about CIC employees filling in because some of the citizens who said they would come to reaffirm did not show up," says a bureaucrat, whose name was withheld because the message was sent by BlackBerry PIN. " It was a last- minute decision that was made just before air time by Comms ( communications) and ( Sun News name withheld) to roll with when the citizens didn't show. " Also it seemed that the hosts of the show were not wellbriefed because they kept saying these were new citizens taking the oath that day." When asked Monday about whether anyone at the Sun was told beforehand about the use of bureaucrats, Luc Lavoie, a spokesman for Sun News Network, said in an email to The Canadian Press: " Sun News has reviewed this incident thoroughly. We consider this matter closed and have no further comments." - The Canadian Press Kenney's new tune on citizenship snafu Sun TV knew about fake immigrants, officials say By Jennifer Ditchburn PETER MACDIARMID / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The British Royal Air Force Red Arrows fly over Buckingham Palace in celebration Tuesday. Queen humbled by reception OTTAWA - An oft- maligned 2010 news conference to announce a plan to buy 65 stealth fighters cost taxpayers more than $ 47,000, say documents tabled in Parliament. The figure was revealed by Defence Minister Peter MacKay in a written response to an Opposition question. Liberal defence critic John McKay wanted details about the event, which saw MacKay, Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose and Treasury Board President Tony Clement pose with an F- 35 mock- up built by manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The response shows Lockheed Martin offered the model and transported it " to Ottawa via flatbed transport truck" at no charge. The money was wellspent, Clement said Tuesday after question period. " We decided to give a visual portrayal of what we were talking about," he said. " We had over 100 stakeholders who were there, who were invited because they are experts in the field of the fighter jets. I don't think we have to make any apologies about that." Jay Paxton, a spokesman for the defence minister, said almost half the $ 47,313 spent by National Defence went to an audio- visual company that helped stage the event. The resulting photos showing MacKay sitting in the cockpit of the plane, have been resurrected virtually every time the F- 35 makes news. That's one expensive photo, the Liberals crowed. " I think in the military they call it the hero shot," McKay said. " This was 47 grand for the minister to park his posterior in the airplane and smile for cameras." Because MacKay is at a defence conference in the Far East, it was left to associate defence minister Julian Fantino to defend the photo op in the House of Commons. " The announcement to replace Canada's aging fleet of CF- 18s was considered significant and necessary to ensure public, media and industry awareness," Fantino said. - The Canadian Press MacKay's F- 35 announcement cost $ 47K Peter MacKay A_ 07_ Jun- 06- 12_ FP_ 01. indd A7 6/ 5/ 12 10: 07: 58 PM ;