The Honourable Gordon O'Connor, Minister of National Defence, issued the following statement today on the deaths of Sergeant Craig Paul Gillam and Corporal Robert Thomas James Mitchell
"The Government of Canada notes that United States Congress has passed the Homeland Security Appropriations Act. This legislation provides for an extension for those travelling by land and sea on the deadline for the implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).
The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance for Canada,
on behalf of Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
The family of Mark Graham was devastated to learn of his death in Afghanistan. Mark joined the Canadian Forces in 2004 and was posted to Afghanistan in August 2006.
Our son, Private Michael Spence, from Russell, Ontario, was seriously wounded in the friendly fire incident in Afghanistan on Monday. He is responding well to the treatment he is receiving at the Landstruhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. He has moved his fingers and toes and has even attempted to speak to the doctors. Due to his positive recovery so far, we hope that he will be repatriated to Ottawa as early as Friday September 8, 2006.