march2009

	Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa will soon be designated by Parliament as a "national" cemetery. "Establishing a national cemetery in Canada's capital will serve as an important symbol of Canadian unity and pride and a means of preserving and promoting Canada's rich history and our diversity," said Environment Minister Jim Prentice March 5 after tabling the legislation. About 75,000 Canadians are buried in Beechwood, including former prime minister Sir Robert Borden, Poet Archibald Lampman and Tommy Douglas, a former premier of Saskatchewan. The cemetery, already considered to be a National Historic Site, is home to the National Military Cemetery, and the RCMP Memorial Cemetery.
	A Canadian Forces CC-150 Polaris arrives March 6 at CFB Trenton carrying the bodies of three Canadian soldiers killed in a roadside bomb in Afghanistan three days earlier. Dead are Warrant Officer Dennis Brown, a reservist and a special constable with the Niagara Regional Police in St. Catharines, ON., Corporal Dany Fortin, based at Bagotville, PQ, and Corporal Kenneth O'Quinn, based at CFB Petawawa. Their deaths raise the Canadian military death toll to 111 since the Afghan mission started over seven years ago.
	The bodies of three Canadian soldiers killed in a roadside bomb in Afghanistan March 3 are lowered separately from a Polaris aircraft onto the tarmac at CFB Trenton, ON., March 6. Dead are Warrant Officer Dennis Brown, a reservist and a special constable with the Niagara Regional Police in St. Catharines, ON., Corporal Dany Fortin, based at Bagotville, PQ, and Corporal Kenneth O'Quinn, based at CFB Petawawa, ON.
	Defence Minister Peter MacKay stands at attention as the caskets of three Canadian soldiers killed in a roadside bomb in Afghanistan March 3 are carried to waiting hearses on the tarmac of CFB Trenton, ON., March 6.
	As above
	Mishelle Brown, wife of Warrant Officer Dennis Brown, wipes tears from her eyes behind the hearse carrying his body. Brown was a reservist and a special constable with the Niagara Regional Police in St. Catharines, ON. "I met my dream come true," she told reporters at a news conference in St. Catharines a day earlier. "Nobody can take that way from me. No roadside bomb can take that away from me. It can take away my future with him but it can't take away my past. I love him and I want the whole world to know that."
	Tears flowed freely on the tarmac at CFB Trenton, ON., March 6 as the bodies of three fallen soldiers arrived from Afghanistan. The three, Warrant Officer Dennis Brown, of St. Catharines, ON., Corporal Dany Fortin, based at Bagotville, PQ, and Corporal Kenneth O'Quinn, based at CFB Petawawa, ON, were killed by a roadside bomb March 3.
	For family and friends of Corporal Kenneth O'Quinn -- a time of deep sorrow..
	Mothers, wives and children of the slain soldiers watch and grieve quietly as the caskets are carried to nearby hearses.
	Mourning the loss of a loved one
	Soldiers, police and members of the public stand behind a wire fence at CFB Trenton March 6 to view the repatriation ceremony and pay their respects to the trio of fallen soldiers.

	LCdr. Stephen Merriman watches from the tarmac at CFB Trenton as the motorcade carrying the bodies of the three soldiers killed in Afghanistan March 3 moves off the base. Merriman, who is 8th Wing Chaplain for the base, offered prayers for each of the soldiers and their families.
	Jenna, the 12-year-old step-daughter of Warrant Officer Dennis Brown, holds a flag out a window as the motorcade prepares to leave CFB Trenton for Toronto along the "Highway of Heroes."
	Canadian CF-18 fighter jets from Cold Lake, Alta., scrambled to intercept a Russian long-range bomber three days before the Feb. 19 visit to Canada of U.S. President Barack Obama. North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) detected the bomber heading for Canada, Defence Minister Peter MacKay told reporters at a news conference in Ottawa. However, the aircraft did not enter North American air space. Russia said the long-range bomber was on a planned flight that was part of "regular military training and air patrol plans in the northern latitudes," and that adjacent countries were informed of the flight "in good time," the CBC reported.
	Canada's Foreign Affairs department has issued an advisory to Canadian travellers to exercise a "high degree of caution" before leaving on spring break trips to Mexico, where drug-related violence is rising in some states. "Armed clashes between security forces and drug groups are commonplace in certain areas and could occur at any time without warning," the travel report states. It says that Canadians should be particularly vigilant in northern Mexico and all cities bordering the United States, particularly when travelling to the cities of Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez. The resort areas of Mexico have largely been unaffected by the increase in violence but on Feb. 3, a few days after this photo was taken in Cancun, police found the bullet-riddled bodies of a retired brigadier general and two others. The trio was reported to be part of a protection team for the mayor of Cancun. Seven people, believed to be members of a drug cartel hit squad, were arrested on Feb. 12.
File photos	Canadians win Nations' Cup The Canadian show jumping team of (Clockwise from top left) Ian Millar, Yann Candele, Eric Lamaze, Keean White) finished first at the $75,000 Nations’ Cup event in Wellington, Fla. Feb. 27. The team members, all from Ontario, were led by 62-year-old, Millar, a nine-time Olympic medal-winner, who came up with two fault-free rides. Great Britain and Ireland tied for second spot in the competition while the defending U.S. team came in fourth.