Ottawa, Ontario - Following a meeting with Defence Minister Gordon O’Conner, M.P. Dean Del Mastro supports the decision to provide privacy from the media during the repatriation ceremony at the Trenton Air Force Base.

M.P. Del Mastro received assurances from the Defence Minister that there will be no attempt to deter media imbedded with the troops to provide live or recorded video feed of the ramp ceremonies that occur whenever our service men and women fall in the line of duty. Citing the importance of freedom of the press and the need for Canadians to understand the significant cost of our freedoms, M.P. Del Mastro was impressed by the compassionate and caring responses provided by Minister O’Conner.

M.P. Del Mastro remarks that, “Minister O’Conner has committed more than half his life to the service of Canada. By virtue of his more than three decades of service to our armed forces, the former Brigadier General has a profound understanding and respect for our service men and women.” Minister O’Conner explained that there are three steps in the repatriation of a fallen soldier, the ramp ceremony at the base, the release ceremony and the funeral ceremony. During the release ceremony which occurs at the Trenton Air Force base, which is the first opportunity for the family to be united with their fallen loved one, Minister O’Conner has decided to ban the media from covering what is a very emotional ceremony to allow privacy for the families to grieve.

The Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of Defence will make every effort to accommodate the media to cover the ramp ceremonies and it will be up to each involved family to determine if they wish to invite the media to cover funeral proceedings. “Following my meeting with the Defence Minister, all I can conclude is that there is no perfect solution to this contentious issue. I support the Minister for wanting to bring consistency to these very difficult issues while protecting those families that want privacy. Clearly this is not an attempt to hide losses from Canadians, we are simply providing the families of Canadian heroes the
privacy to grieve that many of them want.” remarks M.P. Del Mastro.