Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 20, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A8 A 8 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015 CANADA / WORLD winnipegfreepress. com The World O TTAWA - Canadian troops exchanged fire with Islamic State extremists during a recent battlefield planning exercise in Iraq, the military revealed on Monday. It also acknowledged its soldiers have helped Kurdish forces by directing coalition air strikes. The officer in charge of the elite special forces, which has been advising local forces in northern Iraq since September, denied that these events represent an escalation of Canada's involvement. " The situation is a lot more nuanced than just saying, if you exchange fire with a belligerent force then all of sudden it's a combat mission," said Brig.- Gen. Michael Rouleau, commander of special operations command. " Our ability to bring airpower is one of the things we can add value to the Iraqi forces with. Moreover, we always deploy with the inherent right to selfdefence. So we have the right to be able to defend ourselves, if we're fired upon." He equated it to the sometimes intense firefights involving Canadian peacekeepers during the Balkans mission in the 1990s. The special forces have, since the end of November, directed 13 air strikes in Iraq, guiding aircraft belonging to the U. S.- led coalition - including a contingent of Canadian CF- 18s - to their targets. That involves being close to the fighting and using sophisticated laser pointers to mark the target for precisionguided bombs. The briefing Monday at National Defence headquarters peeled back some of the layers of secrecy that have surrounded the special forces mission, which has been almost totally overshadowed by the bombing campaign. Rouleau acknowledged Canadian troops have helped Kurdish peshmerga forces plan operations and have visited the largely static First World War- like front to see the situation first- hand. It was during one of those visits that Canadian soldiers, accompanied by Iraqi forces, came under mortar and machine- gun fire. Rouleau says the Canadians used sniper fire and " neutralized" the enemy positions without taking any casualties. The special forces troops have also been providing classroom weapons instruction, including the use of mortars and rocket- propelled grenades. They have a small unit of medics and doctors who not only teach battlefield first- aid, but have helped treat casualties. About 80 per cent of the time, the troops are well behind the front line, said Rouleau, who added he still categorizes the mission as " low risk." When the up- to 69 special forces troops began deploying, Defence Minister Rob Nicholson insisted before a House of Commons committee their role was to assist and not take part in the fighting. Nicholson's assurance was backed up a few weeks later by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who said the special forces were in a " non- combat role." Precisely what sort of assistance they were providing was vague and the best Rouleau was willing to offer at a previous briefing in October was: " We're helping train them in elements like shoot, move, communicate. How you manoeuvre elements around the battle space, how you can most effectively bring your various weapon systems to bear." NDP defence critic Jack Harris says the revelation is troubling. " For months now, New Democrats have been concerned about mission creep," Harris said late Monday. " The Conservatives told Parliament there would be no boots on the ground, and now we have confirmation of ground combat and exchange of fire with ISIL. The minister of defence needs to explain why DND doesn't consider Canadian Forces in combat to constitute a combat mission." U. S. and Canadian commanders, throughout much of the fall, faced questions about why so few airstrikes had been carried out in support of Iraqi forces, who are battling to eject Islamic State fighters from vast swaths of territory overrun last year. The notion they were having problems properly identifying targets was well- known and the U. S. recently boosted its special forces contingent and there were suggestions they would help direct bombers to their targets. A spokesman for Harper drew a line to define what is - and what isn't - combat in the government's view and it involves whether or not Canadian troops are on the offensive. " A combat role is one in which our troops advance and themselves seek to engage the enemy physically, aggressively, and directly," said Jason Mac- Donald. " That is not the case with this mission. " This mission is one in which they are providing advice and assistance to Iraqi forces only and as the general indicated, the bulk of their work takes place well behind the front lines. " That said, we have always been clear that while this is a low- risk mission, it is not without risk and our forces on the ground will protect themselves if fired on in the course of carrying out their mission." - The Canadian Press Canadian troops engage in firefight Soldiers in Iraq have fired weapons at IS extremists, military says By Murray Brewster ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS Brig.- Gen. Michael Rouleau says Canadian soldiers have a right to self- defence. Death called self- inflicted BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Argentina's government said Monday a prosecutor who had accused President Cristina Fernandez of shielding Iranian suspects in the nation's deadliest terror attack died of a self- inflicted gunshot wound inside his locked apartment, a declaration sure to be closely scrutinized. Alberto Nisman, who had been investigating the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people, was found in the bathroom of his apartment late Sunday, hours before he was to testify in a Congressional hearing about the case. Investigating prosecutor Viviana Fein said the preliminary autopsy found " no intervention" of others in Nisman's death. However, Fein said she would not rule out the possibility that Nisman was " induced" to suicide because the gun was not his. UN critical of Boko Haram THE UN Security Council condemned the recent escalation of attacks by Boko Haram on Monday, in its first formal reaction to the activities of the Nigerian extremist group that seized the world's attention last year with the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls. In a presidential statement approved by all 15 members, the council expressed deep concern Boko Haram's activities are undermining peace and stability in central and west Africa. The statement was sponsored by Nigeria, which had been reluctant to have the council discuss the Islamic militant group despite being a member of the Security Council. Speakers honour King Jr. ATLANTA - Speakers honouring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at his spiritual home in Atlanta repeated the same message on his national holiday Monday: We've come a long way, but there's still much to be done to fulfil the slain civil rights activist's dream. The holiday came against the backdrop of recent nationwide protests over the deaths of unarmed black men and boys at the hands of police around the country. King's daughter, the Rev. Bernice King, urged those gathered at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta for the 47th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Annual Commemorative Service to act out against injustice. But she also said they should heed her father's message of non- violence. Cuba reaches out to U. S. HAVANA, Cuba - Cuba's foreign minister told a group of U. S. senators and congressmen Monday his country is open to greater diplomatic and trade ties but the congressional delegation did not meet President Raul Castro, the man who will make many of the key decisions about the new U. S.- Cuban relationship. The U. S. delegation, led by Sen. Patrick Leahy, met for several hours with Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, who told the legislators Cuba welcomed U. S. President Barack Obama's loosening of the U. S. trade embargo, which would permit more travel to Cuba and economic links, including exports of telecommunications equipment and wholesale goods for use by the country's small private sector. - The Associated Press EDMONTON - The wife of an RCMP officer shot in the head at a casino north of Edmonton broke down Monday as she spoke of saying goodbye to her gravely injured husband. " We're saying our goodbyes today and then from there, he'll be in a better place," Shelly MacInnis- Wynn said at an evening news conference. " Today's the day we say goodbye to Dave." Const. David Wynn has been in hospital since he was gunned down early Saturday morning and was not expected to survive. She thanked the RCMP, the city of St. Albert and people in Nova Scotia, where Wynn worked as a paramedic before joining the Mounties. Wynn's sister, Dawn Sephton, thanked the medical teams at two Edmonton hospitals for the care they gave her younger brother. " As a family I would ask you to continue to support and respect the RCMP and the phenomenal job that they do in the service of all Canadians," Sephton said. The 42- year- old father of three was one of two officers shot at the Apex Casino in St. Albert as they investigated a stolen pickup truck. The other officer, auxiliary Const. Derek Bond, was shot in the arm and torso and faces a long recovery. The family's statement came as court and parole board documents revealed the violent criminal background of the shooter, who was found dead in a home not far from the scene. The documents show Shawn Rehn, 34, had a long history of assaults, weapons convictions, break- ins and drug use that stretched back to his teenage years in the mid 1990s. " You are a dangerous person who has demonstrated blatant disregard toward the criminal justice system as well as lack of respect to the public in general," the Parole Board of Canada said when it denied Rehn day parole in 2006. " Your crimes are continuous and increasing in seriousness and often resulted in serious psychological, emotional and financial harm to victims." Six years later, before Rehn left jail on statutory release on different charges, the board said his " reintegration potential is assessed as low." He was rearrested in July 2013 with a fellow parolee who had convictions for armed robbery. Police searched Rehn's car and found a crack pipe, pellet pistol and knives. The parole board rebuked Rehn for ignoring bans on having firearms. RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson remarked on Rehn's criminal history, particularly a series of overlapping firearms bans. Paulson said it may provoke an examination of the police and justice system that allowed Rehn to be free. " I've been policing for 30 years and I've never seen anything the likes of this," Paulson said on the weekend. The former pipefitter and oilsands worker's criminal record, made public Monday by Alberta Justice, details a lengthy list of 57 convictions, starting in April 1999 when he was ordered jailed for two months for theft and break and enter. Parole Board Of Canada documents show Rehn served two federal jail terms as an adult. Collectively, he was sentenced to serve more than 12 years in custody, but it's not clear how much of that time he actually spent behind bars. On the day he died, he was still facing 30 charges for four separate offences, including fraud, resisting a peace officer, escaping lawful custody, possessing a prohibited firearm, failing to appear in court, failing to stop for police, dangerous driving and multiple charges of breaching bail conditions. - The Canadian Press Officer's wife says tearful goodbye RCMP constable shot at casino not expected to live By John Cotter and Dean Bennett JASON FRANSON / THE CANADIAN PRESS RCMP deputy commissioner Marianne Ryan comforts Shelly MacInnis- Wynn, wife of Const. David Wynn, on Monday. POPE Francis is firmly upholding church teaching banning contraception, but said Monday Catholics don't have to breed " like rabbits" and should instead practise " responsible parenting." Speaking to reporters en route home from the Philippines, Francis said there are plenty of church- approved ways to regulate births. But he said most importantly, no outside institution should impose its views on regulating family size, blasting what he called the " ideological colonization" of the developing world. African bishops, in particular, have long complained about how progressive, Western ideas about birth control and gay rights are increasingly being imposed on the developing world by groups, institutions or individual nations, often as a condition for development aid. " Every people deserves to conserve its identity without being ideologically colonized," Francis said. His comments, taken together with his defence of the Catholic Church's ban on artificial contraception during the trip, signal he is increasingly showing his more conservative bent, which has largely been ignored by public opinion or obscured by a media narrative that has tended to highlight his populist persona. On the trip, Francis gave his strongest defence yet of the 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, which enshrined the church's opposition to artificial birth control. He warned against " insidious attacks" against the family - a reference to gay marriage proposals - echoing language often used by overwhelmingly conservative U. S. bishops. And he insisted that " openness to life is a condition of the sacrament of matrimony." At the same time, however, he said it's not true that to be a good Catholic " you have to be like rabbits." On the contrary, he said " responsible parenthood" requires that couples regulate the births of their children, as church teaching allows. He cited the case of a woman he met who was pregnant with her eighth child after seven Cesarean sections. " That is an irresponsibility!" he said. The woman might argue that she should trust in God. " But God gives you methods to be responsible," he said. He said there are many " licit" ways of regulating births that are approved by the church, an apparent reference to the Natural Family Planning method of monitoring a woman's cycle to avoid intercourse when she is ovulating. During the Vatican's recent meeting on the family, African bishops denounced how aid groups and lending institutions often condition their assistance on a country's compliance with their ideals: allowing health- care workers to distribute condoms, or withdrawing assistance if legislation discriminating against gays is passed. " When imposed conditions come from imperial colonizers, they search to make people lose their own identity and make a sameness," he said. " This is ideological colonization." - The Associated Press Pope says Catholics need not breed ' like rabbits' By Nicole Winfield ALESSANDRA TARANTINO / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Pope backs ' responsible parenthood.' A_ 08_ Jan- 20- 15_ FP_ 01. indd A8 1/ 19/ 15 11: 12: 40 PM ;