chunk_id
stringlengths 5
8
| chunk
stringlengths 1
1k
|
|---|---|
1632_4 | Following a short tour of occupation duty at Yokosuka, Japan, VMF(N)-542 was transferred to Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California. Training during this period was oriented towards night and all-weather fighter tactics and resulted in the squadron being re-designated Marine Night All-Weather Fighter Squadron 542 (VMF(AW)-542) in 1948.
Korean War
After receiving the new twin-engine, radar-upgraded F7F Tigercat, VMF(AW)-542 was ordered to Kimpo Airfield, South Korea in September 1950. From Kimpo, missions including close air support, air interdiction, and reconnaissance flights were conducted against the enemy in Korea. |
1632_5 | Returning to El Toro, CA in March 1951, VMF(AW)-542 transitioned into the jet age by acquiring the F3D Skyknight. The "Skynight" was the first carrier-borne jet night fighter. The Tigers used the F3D-2 to train pilots and Radar Intercept Officers for duty in Korea. During the Korean War, more enemy aircraft were destroyed by F3D's than by all other Navy types. The squadron remained at MCAS El Toro, and in June 1958 accepted the F4D Skyray (affectionately known as the "Ford").
Between August 1959 and November 1963, VMF(AW)-542 made two extended deployments to Atsugi, Japan. On November 2, 1963, the Squadron was re-designated Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 542 (VMFA-542''') and began training in the F-4B Phantom in place of the F-6 Skyray.
Vietnam War |
1632_6 | As a result of the buildup of American involvement in the Vietnam War, VMFA-542 was ordered to Japan in April 1965, followed by redeployment to the Republic of Vietnam a few weeks later. The squadron initially entered the country at Da Nang Air Base on July 10, 1965, and commenced air operations against the enemy shortly thereafter. Its primary mission at this time was to provide air support to Marine ground forces. |
1632_7 | In August 1965, VMFA-542 supported the 7th Marine Regiment in Operation Starlite—the first major American operation of the war. The squadron's first tour in South Vietnam ended in early December 1965 when it redeployed to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. VMA-542 spent three more tours in Southeast Asia. The Tigers returned to South Vietnam late in the winter of 1966 and remained until mid-summer the following year when they again moved to Japan. Beginning that fall, the Tigers began a thirteen-month deployment in the war zone. The Tigers' last combat tour in Southeast Asia started on May 10, 1968. |
1632_8 | While serving in Vietnam, the Tigers furnished air support to ground forces in some of the largest land operations of the war. Included in these operations were: Utah, Texas, Prairie, Union, Kingfisher, Fremont, Allen Brook, Napoleon/Saline, Lancaster, Scotland, Nevada Eagle and Idaho Canyon. Close air support missions were not only flown on behalf of Marine ground personnel but also for American Army units and at times for South Vietnamese forces and for elements of the South Korean Marine Corps. In addition, the Tigers flew bombing missions in both Laos and North Vietnam. After the November 1968 bombing halt of North Vietnam, the Tigers flew escort for reconnaissance missions over that area. Strikes against enemy targets in Laos on the other hand were increased after the bombing halt. Enemy supply lines in Laos were hit especially hard throughout 1969. VMFA-542 dropped over 20,000 tons of ordnance in Southeast Asia from May 1968 to January 1970. The last mission flown by the |
1632_9 | squadron was a night interdiction flight over Laos on January 13, 1970. The rest of the month was spent preparing to leave South Vietnam. On January 30, the first echelon took off from Da Nang; the second echelon left the next day. Included in this flight to the United States were thirty-five tactical jet aircraft. Code name for this major relocation of Marine F-4's was Key Wallop II. |
1632_10 | Post Vietnam and the 1980s
After the Tiger's return to California, VMFA-542 was placed in a cadre status. In April, the strength of the unit was down to one officer. Deactivation eventually came on June 30, 1970. The squadron's deactivation was of a short duration as it was reinstated as an active organization a year and a half later. Rebirth occurred at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina on January 12, 1972. The squadron at this time received the designation of Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 542. Upon reactivation, the Tigers were assigned the new AV-8A Harrier. The Tigers thus became the second Marine squadron to be so equipped.
The Tigers were relocated to MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina in August 1974. During the period of July 1, 1977 through June 30, 1979, VMA-542 was selected as the "Marine V/STOL Squadron of the Year" for two consecutive years. |
1632_11 | April 1986 saw the end of the AV-8A and C models for VMA-542 as the Tigers transitioned to the AV-8B – the Marine Corps' new light attack "Harrier". Even more capable in V/STOL operations, the AV-8B extends the range and payload and incorporates state of the art technology for navigation and weapon delivery. The full transition was complete by May 1986. December 1989 saw the full squadron deployed for six months to Iwakuni, Japan, in support of the Unit Deployment Program (UDP). They returned to Cherry Point in May 1990.
The Gulf War & the 1990s
In August 1990, the Tigers deployed to the Bahrain in support of Operation Desert Shield. After three months at that location, the squadron deployed to King Abdul Aziz Naval Base, Jubail, Saudi Arabia as part of the most forward deployed fixed wing group in theater. |
1632_12 | Within twelve hours of arrival in Bahrain, Tiger pilots were standing 24-hour combat alerts. The alert status lasted until five hours after the commencement of Operation Desert Storm on January 17, 1991, when the first division of VMA-542 Harriers launched to suppress Iraqi artillery positions in Southern Kuwait. From that day forward. Tiger "Harriers" flew a sustained combat sortie rate until the end of hostilities on February 27, 1991.
On February 22, two days prior to the initiation of the ground offensive, the Tigers of VMA-542 surged to a schedule of 58 sorties per day as the final battlefield preparation was initiated. These final prep fires included Mk77 Napalm delivered on trench lines in the area where the Marine Expeditionary Force breaching operation would occur. In addition, the Tigers continued targeting of enemy artillery and armor, which could be brought to bear against the Allies during their breaching operations. |
1632_13 | Throughout these forty-two days of conflict the Tigers of VMA-542 flew more than 1000 combat sorties amassing over 1200 flight hours while delivering over one thousand tons of ordnance on the enemy. When the war commenced, VMA-542 responded by delivering more ordnance, flying more sorties, and accruing more combat hours than any other V/STOL squadron in theater. On February 23, Capt James “Trey” Wilbourn III was lost during a night attack approximately 5 miles north of Ali Al Salem when he was struck by enemy ground fire and crashed near the target after delivering his ordnance on the enemy position. Additionally, on February 25, Capt Scott “Vapor” Walsh was struck by an IR SAM while flying against Iraqi armored forces counterattacking the 2nd Marine Division. Walsh eventually ejected near Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base and evaded capture until rescued by elements of Marine Task Force Ripper. |
1632_14 | The Tigers returned to MCAS Cherry Point in April 1991. Shortly thereafter the squadron was selected to introduce the new Radar/Night Attack AV-8B Harrier II Plus to the fleet in 1993.
On August 8, 1997, the squadron deployed 12 aircraft to Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. The deployment training got off to a strong start but was daunted by the loss of one of the jets piloted by Capt Samuel H. Smith. After several days of flight suspension, the word came that time-consuming inspections would have to be conducted on the aircraft before they could be flown again. These inspections revealed internal engine damage in four of twelve of the aircraft, requiring complete engine replacement.
September marked a recovery period as the squadron deployed two jets and approximately 25 Marines back to Yuma Arizona to support the fall Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) course. |
1632_15 | The squadron's detachment aboard returned to Cherry Point on October 12, 1997, after being deployed for nearly six months. A Capabilities Exercise (CAPEX) was conducted on October 7–10, and just as the operational tempo hit top gear, the squadron experienced yet another setback on October 16, when one of the jets was lost in Dayton, Ohio.
May 1999 marked the return of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit boat detachment from combat operations in Kosovo. Their support of NATO operations was the first in armed conflict since Desert Storm. They successfully flew 38 combat sorties deployed aboard the .
Global War on Terror
The squadron deployed to Al Asad Airbase in Al Anbar Province in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom during 2004–2005 and 2007–2008.
Operation Odyssey Dawn
On March 20, 2011, VMA-542's Detachment A as part of VMM-266 (Reinforced), 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (26th MEU) launched air strikes from the against Libya as part of Operation Odyssey Dawn.
. |
1632_16 | Operation Enduring Freedom
March 2008 – October 2008
Future Plans
VMA-542 plans to start transitioning to F-35Bs in 2023.
See also
United States Marine Corps Aviation
List of active United States Marine Corps aircraft squadrons
List of inactive United States Marine Corps aircraft squadrons
Notes
References
Bibliography
Web
VMA-542's official website
542
USNavyFS0542 |
1633_0 | The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries.
The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Western Association on October 28, 1887. It began operations in the 1888 season, and lasted through the 1891 season.
A separate Western Association was formed in January 1894 with clubs in Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois and Missouri – with a team in faraway Denver, Colorado, added in 1895. This league ceased operations in 1898, but was revived again for the following season. It was renamed the Central League in 1900. In 1901, two leagues were called the Western Association. One had eight teams in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Indiana; it folded after only one year. The other loop, confusingly located in the same geographic area, was the former Interstate League; it reverted to its original identity in 1902. |
1633_1 | The most long-lived Western Association played between 1905 and 1954. Originally the Missouri Valley League, it existed for 42 years during that half century, suspending operations during both world wars and for one season (1933) during the Great Depression. It was largely a Class C circuit, meaning it was a lower minor league, above only the Class D level. |
1633_2 | Cities represented 1888-1891, 1893-1899, 1901
Bloomington, IL: Bloomington Blues 1899
Burlington, IA: Burlington Spiders 1895; Burlington Hawkeyes 1896, 1898; Burlington Colts 1897
Cedar Rapids, IA: Cedar Rapids Bunnies 1896-1899
Chicago, IL: Chicago Maroons 1888
Columbus, OH: Columbus Senators 1901
Davenport, IA: Davenport Onion Weeders 1888
Dayton, OH: Dayton Veterans 1901
Denver, CO: Denver Grizzlies 1889-1890; Denver Mountaineers 1891; Denver 1895
Des Moines, IA: Des Moines Prohibitionists 1888-1890, 1894-1897
Duluth, MN: Duluth Whalebacks 1891
Dubuque, IA: Dubuque 1895-1899
Fort Wayne, IN: Fort Wayne Railroaders 1901
Grand Rapids, MI: Grand Rapids Woodworkers 1901
Indianapolis, IN: Indianapolis Hoosiers 1901
Jacksonville, IL: Jacksonville Jacks 1894; Jacksonville 1895
Kansas City, MO: Kansas City Blues 1888; 1890-1891; Kansas City Cowboys 1893
Lawrence, KS: Lawrence Farmers 1893
Lincoln, NE: Lincoln1890; Lincoln Rustlers 1891; Lincoln Treeplanters 1894-1895 |
1633_3 | Louisville, KY: Louisville Colonels 1910
Marion, OH: Marion 1901
Milwaukee, WI: Milwaukee Brewers 1888, 1890-1891; Milwaukee Creams 1889
Minneapolis, MN: Minneapolis Millers 1888-1891
Omaha, NE: Omaha Omahogs 1888-1890; Omaha Lambs 1891; Omaha Omahogs 1894-1895
Ottumwa, IA: Ottumwa Giants 1898-1899
Peoria, IL: Peoria Distillers 1894-1896; Peoria Blackbirds 1897-1898
Quincy, IL: Quincy Ravens 1894-1895; Quincy Bluebirds 1896; Quincy Little Giants 1897; Quincy 1898-1899
Rock Island, IL & Moline, IL: Rock Island-Moline Islanders 1894, 1898-1899
Rockford, IL: Rockford Forest City 1895-1897; Rockford Roughriders 1899
Springfield, IL: Springfield 1895
St. Joseph, MO: St. Joseph Clay Eaters 1889; St. Joseph Saints 1893; St. Joseph Saints 1894-1898 |
1633_4 | St. Louis, MO: St. Louis Whites 1888
St. Paul, MN: St. Paul Apostles 1888-1891
Sioux City, IA: Sioux City Cornhuskers 1888-1891
Toledo, OH: Toledo Mud Hens 1901
Topeka, KS: Topeka Populists 1893
Wheeling, WV: Wheeling Stogies 1901
1905 League
Teams in Joplin, Missouri, Leavenworth, Kansas, Sedalia, Missouri, Springfield, Missouri, and Topeka, Kansas joined from the Missouri Valley League. Teams from Guthrie, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma joined from the Southwestern League. A new team in Wichita, Kansas formed and joined the league.
1905
1906
The teams in Guthrie and Sedalia folded. The St. Joseph, Missouri team moved from the Western League. A new team in Webb City, Missouri formed and joined the league. The St. Joseph team, with a record of 16-24, moved to Hutchinson, Kansas, on July 12, where their record was 39-60.
1907
1908
The Leavenworth team folded, and a new team in Enid, Oklahoma, formed and joined the league, |
1633_5 | 1909
Topeka and Wichita moved to the Western League. Oklahoma City moved to the Texas League. Hutchinson moved to the Kansas State League. Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and Muskogee, Oklahoma, joined from the Oklahoma–Kansas League. New teams in Guthrie, Oklahoma, and Pittsburg, Kansas formed and joined the league. The Joplin team, with a record of 20-43, moved to El Reno, Oklahoma on July 4, where their record was 16-46. The Webb City team, with a record of 35-39, moved to Sapulpa, Oklahoma on July 18, where their record was 29-20.
1910
The Pittsburg and Springfield teams folded. New teams in Joplin, Missouri, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, formed and joined the league. The Muskogee and Tulsa teams both folded on July 22, and the Bartlesville and El Reno teams both folded on July 31. |
1633_6 | 1911
The teams in Enid and Guthrie folded. New teams in Coffeyville, Kansas, Fort Smith, Arkansas, Independence, Kansas, Muskogee, Oklahoma, and Tulsa, Oklahoma formed and joined the league. The Joplin and Springfield teams folded May 10, the Coffeyville and Independence teams June 14, and all other teams and the league itself on June 19.
1914 League
New teams in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Joplin, Missouri/Webb City, Missouri, McAlester, Oklahoma, Muskogee, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Tulsa, Oklahoma formed and created the new league.
1914
Joplin-Webb City, with a record of 22-46, moved to Guthrie, Oklahoma on July 10, where they had a record of 2-10, and then to Henryetta, Oklahoma on July 22, where they had a record of 11-36.
Oklahoma City beat Muskogee 4 games to 2 for the championship.
1915
Henryetta folded. Teams from Denison, Texas, and Paris, Texas, joined from the Texas–Oklahoma League. A new team formed in Sherman, Texas, and joined the league. |
1633_7 | Oklahoma City beat Muskogee 4 games to 3 for the championship.
1916
Denison beat Tulsa 4 games to 2 for the championship.
1917
Paris, with a record of 16-12, moved to Ardmore, Oklahoma, on May 10, where they had a record of 41-86.
All teams, and the league itself, folded.
1920 League
New teams in Chickasha, Oklahoma, Drumright, Oklahoma, Enid, Oklahoma, Fort Smith, Arkansas, Henryetta, Oklahoma, Okmulgee, Oklahoma, Pawhuska, Oklahoma, and Springfield, Missouri were formed. The new American Association was formed. The team with the best record in the first half of the season played against the team with the best record in the second half of the season for the championship.
1920
Enid and Okmulgee tied 3 games to 3 in the championship round.
1921
Chickasha beat Fort Smith 4 games to 3 for the championship.
Springifled beat Independence (of the Southwestern League) 2 games to 1
Ardmore (of the Texas–Oklahoma League) beat Chickasha 2 games to none |
1633_8 | 1922
Chickasha moved to the Oklahoma State League. Drumright folded. The team from Joplin, Missouri joined from the Western League, and a new team in McAlester, Oklahoma formed and joined. The Pawhuska team folded on August 16, forfeiting the remainder of their games.
1923
The team from Ardmore, Oklahoma joined from the Texas–Oklahoma League. The team in McAlester folded July 19, and the Henryetta team folded July 21.
Ardmore beat Okmulgee 4 games to 2 for the championship.
1924
Ardmore moved to the Oklahoma State League, and Enid moved to the Southwestern League. Teams from Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Hutchinson, Kansas, Muskogee, Oklahoma, and Topeka, Kansas, joined from the Southwestern League. The Bartlesville team, with a record of 19-23, moved to Ardmore, Oklahoma on June 8, where their record was 56-59. The Joplin team, with a record of 25-24, moved to Bartlesville on June 16, where their record was 44-63. |
1633_9 | 1925
The teams in Bartlesville and Hutchinson folded. Topeka moved to the Southwestern League. A new team in Independence, Kansas, formed and joined the league.
Ardmore beat Muskogee 4 games to 1 for the title.
1926
The team in Independence folded. A new team in McAlester, Oklahoma, formed and joined the league. Ardmore moved to Joplin, Missouri on July 14. The teams in McAlester and Muskogee folded on July 20.
1927
The team in Joplin folded. A team from St. Joseph, Missouri, joined from the Western League, and one from Topeka, Kansas joined from the Southwestern League. A new team in Muskogee, Oklahoma, formed and joined the league. The team in St. Joseph, with a record of 38-32, moved to Joplin on July 7, where their record was 35-28.
1928
The team in Okmulgee folded, and a new team in Independence, Kansas, formed and joined the league.
Joplin beat Independence 4 games to 2 for the title. |
1633_10 | 1929
Topeka moved to the Western League. A new team in Shawnee, Oklahoma, formed and joined the league. The Muskogee team moved to Maud, Oklahoma, on August 22.
1930
The Maud team moved back to Muskogee, Oklahoma.
The Independence Producers played the first Night game in the history of Organized Baseball.
Independence beat Joplin 5 games to 4 for the title.
1931
The Shawnee team folded. A new team in Bartlesville, Oklahoma formed. |
1633_11 | 1932
The Joplin team, with a record of 2-1, moved to Topeka, Kansas, on May 6, where their record was 36-37. The Independence team, with a record of 12-10, moved to Joplin, Missouri, on May 23, where their record was 7-10, to Independence, Kansas, again on June 10, where their record was 4-12, and finally to Hutchinson, Kansas, on July 20, where their record was 35-36. The Muskogee team, with a record of 18-16, moved to Hutchinson, Kansas, where their record was 19-32, on June 8, and folded on July 18. The Fort Smith team, with a record of 23-29, moved to Muskogee on July 1, where their record was 25-51. The Topeka team folded July 18.
Springfield beat Bartlesville 5 games to 4 for the title. The Atchinson and Springfield teams moved to the Western League. The Belleville and Muskogee teams, and the Western Association itself, folded.
1934 League |
1633_12 | The new League and all six member teams were created. The season was broken into halves, with the first half and second-half winners competing in the championship. The founding teams were in Bartlesville, Oklahoma; Hutchinson, Kansas; Joplin, Missouri; Muskogee, Oklahoma; Ponca City, Oklahoma; Springfield, Missouri; and rumor had it Tahlequah, Oklahoma (the Indians) played special games with the league teams in the duration of the 1930s, but was not officially part of the 1930s Western Association.
1934
Ponca City defeated Springfield in a one-game playoff for the first-half title. Springfield defeated Ponca City 4 games to 3 for the league title.
1935
Springfield changed their name to the "Cardinals".
Ponca City beat Springfield 5 games to 4 for the championship.
1936
Ponca City won the title over Joplin 5 games to 2.
1937 |
1633_13 | Joplin beat Muskogee 4 games to 3 and Springfield beat Hutchinson 3 games to 1 in the first round of playoffs. Springfield beat Joplin 4 games to 3 for the title.
1938
New teams in Fort Smith, Arkansas and Salina, Kansas were formed.
Ponca City beat Fort Smith 3 games to 1, and Hutchinson beat Springfield 3 games to 2, in the first round of the playoffs. Ponca City beat Hutchinson 4 games to 1 for the championship.
1939
Ponca City moved to St. Joseph, Missouri. Bartlesville folded. A new team formed in Topeka, Kansas.
1940
Fort Smith beat Muskogee 3 games to none, and St. Joseph beat Topeka 3 games to 1, in the first round of the playoffs. St. Joseph beat Fort Smith 3 games to none for the championship.
1941
On June 3, the St. Joseph Ponies (10-22) moved to Carthage, Missouri and became the Carthage Browns and an affiliate of the St. Louis Browns. They had a record of 30-74 in Carthage, and ended in last place. |
1633_14 | 1942
The two teams with the worst records of the previous year, Carthage and Salina, folded. The league returned to a 1st-half vs. 2nd-half winners championship format.
Fort Smith beat Topeka 4 games to 3 for the title.
1943–1945
The League suspended play because of World War II.
1946
Springfield moved to St. Joseph. New teams formed in Leavenworth, Kansas and Salina, Kansas. Because of the playoff format, the team with the best overall record, the newly formed Leavenworth Braves, did not qualify for the playoffs.
Hutchinson beat Fort Smith 4 games to 2 for the title.
1947
The playoffs format was changed again this year.
Muskogee beat Salina 3 games to 2, and St. Joseph beat Topeka 3 games to 2, in the first round of the playoffs. St. Joseph beat Muskogee 4 games to 3 for the championship. |
1633_15 | 1948
The Hutchinson Cubs moved to Springfield, Illinois on July 21. Their record after the move, of 18-45, was worse than their record in Hutchinson, 25-42. No playoff system is known of for this year, so presumably the best overall record is the league champion.
1949
Springfield moved back to Hutchinson again, changing their name and losing their affiliation. This season, St. Joseph had the best winning percentage in the history of this incarnation of the league. Perhaps coincidentally, Leavenworth had the worst winning percentage in the history of this version of the league in the same year.
1950
Leavenworth, who ended the previous year with the all-time worst winning percentage in this incarnation of the league, folded. Fort Smith moved to Enid, Oklahoma and a new club from Springfield, Missouri joined.
1951
Springfield folded, and a new team started up in Fort Smith.
1952
This year, the league returned to the 1st-half winner vs. 2nd-half winner playoff format. |
1633_16 | 1953
Salina folded, having made the playoffs only once in its seven years of existence. The Fort Smith Indians changed their name to the Fort Smith-Van Buren Twins, and a new team started in St. Joseph, Missouri with a bang.
St. Joseph beat Joplin and Hutchinson beat Topeka in the first rounds of the playoffs by 3 games to zero each. Hutchinson beat St. Joseph for the championship 4 games to 1.
1954
After having changed its name and finishing with the worst record in the league the previous season, Fort Smith folded. New teams started up in Blackwell, Oklahoma, Iola, Kansas, and Ponca City, Oklahoma.
Blackwell beat Topeka 3 games to zero, and St. Joseph beat Muskogee 3 games to 2 in the first round of the playoffs. Blackwell beat St. Joseph 4 games to 1 for the title. After the season, Blackwell joined the Sooner State League, and the other seven teams, and the league itself, folded. |
1633_17 | The Western Association prospered during the minor league baseball boom that followed World War II, with its clubs in Topeka, Kansas, and St. Joseph, Missouri, drawing over 100,000 fans and most of its eight clubs tied to major league farm systems. But the bust that followed in the early 1950s, caused by the Korean War, the advent of television, and a retrenchment in MLB farm systems, also buffeted the WA. It finally disbanded after the 1954 season, its champion Topeka club, a Chicago White Sox affiliate, drawing half the number of fans the team had drawn during the late 1940s.
References
Johnson, Lloyd and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997.
Sumner, Benjamin Barrett. Minor League Baseball Standings:All North American Leagues, Through 1999. Jefferson, N.C.:McFarland. |
1633_18 | Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States
1888 establishments in the United States
1894 establishments in the United States
1901 establishments in the United States
1905 establishments in the United States
1934 establishments in the United States
Baseball leagues in Missouri
Baseball leagues in Oklahoma
Baseball leagues in Kansas
Baseball leagues in Arkansas
Baseball leagues in Texas |
1634_0 | The Gulf of Carpentaria () is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is generally defined as a line from Slade Point, Queensland (the northwestern corner of Cape York Peninsula) in the northeast, to Cape Arnhem on the Gove Peninsula, Northern Territory (the easternmost point of Arnhem Land) in the west. |
1634_1 | At its mouth, the Gulf is wide, and further south, . The north-south length exceeds . It covers a water area of about . The general depth is between and does not exceed . The tidal range in the Gulf of Carpentaria is between . The Gulf and adjacent Sahul Shelf were dry land at the peak of the last ice age 18,000 years ago when global sea level was around below its present position. At that time a large, shallow lake occupied the centre of what is now the Gulf. The Gulf hosts a submerged coral reef province that was only recognised in 2004.
History
Yulluna (also known as Yalarnga, Yalarrnga, Jalanga, Jalannga, Wonganja, Gunggalida, Jokula) is an Australian Aboriginal language. The Yulluna language region includes the local government boundaries of the Shire of Cloncurry. |
1634_2 | Kayardild (also known as Kaiadilt and Gayadilta) is a language of the Gulf of Carpentaria. The Kayardild language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Mornington Shire Council.
The first European explorer to visit the region (and Australia) was the Dutch Willem Janszoon (whose name is also written as Jansz) in his 1605–06 voyage. His fellow countryman, Jan Carstenszoon (or Carstensz), visited in 1623 and named the gulf in honour of Pieter de Carpentier, at that time the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. Abel Tasman also explored the coast in 1644. The region was later explored and charted by Matthew Flinders in 1802 and 1803.
The first overland expedition to reach the Gulf was the Burke and Wills expedition, led by Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills which left Melbourne, Victoria in August 1860 and reached the mouth of the Bynoe River in February 1861. |
1634_3 | Geography
The land bordering the Gulf is generally flat and low-lying. To the west is Arnhem Land, the Top End of the Northern Territory, and Groote Eylandt, the largest island in the Gulf. To the east is the Cape York Peninsula and Torres Strait which joins the Gulf to the Coral Sea. The area to the south (like the Cape York Peninsula, part of Queensland) is known as the Gulf Country.
The Gulf Country supports the world's largest intact savanna woodlands as well as native grasslands, known as the Carpentaria tropical savanna. The woodlands also extend up the west and east coast of the Gulf. They are dominated by Eucalyptus and Melaleuca species from the family Myrtaceae. |
1634_4 | The climate is hot and humid with two seasons per year. The dry season lasts from about April until November and is characterized by very dry southeast to east winds, generated by migratory winter high pressure systems to the south. The wet season lasts from December to March. Most of the year's rainfall is compressed into these months, and during this period, many low-lying areas are flooded. The Gulf is prone to tropical cyclones during the period between November and April. The gulf experiences an average of three cyclones each year that are thought to transport sediments in a clockwise direction along the Gulf's coast. |
1634_5 | In many other parts of Australia, there are dramatic climatic transitions over fairly short distances. The Great Dividing Range, which parallels the entire east and south-east coast, is responsible for the typical pattern of a well-watered coastal strip, a fairly narrow band of mountains, and then a vast, inward-draining plain that receives little rainfall. In the Gulf Country, however, there are no mountains to restrict rainfall to the coastal band and the transition from the profuse tropical growth of the seaside areas to the arid scrubs of central Australia is gradual.
In September and October the Morning Glory cloud appears in the Southern Gulf. The best vantage point to see this phenomenon is in the Burketown area shortly after dawn.
It has been hypothesized that the Gulf experienced a major asteroid impact event in 536 AD. |
1634_6 | Coral reefs
The Gulf of Carpentaria is known to contain fringing reefs and isolated coral colonies, but no near-surface patch or barrier reefs exist in the Gulf at the present time. However, this has not always been the case. Expeditions carried out by Geoscience Australia in 2003 and in 2005 aboard the RV Southern Surveyor revealed the presence of a submerged coral reef province covering at least in the southern Gulf. The patch reefs have their upper surfaces at a mean water depth of , were undetected by satellites or aerial photographs, and were only recognised using multibeam swath sonar surveys supplemented with seabed sampling and video. Their existence points to an earlier, late Quaternary phase of framework reef growth under cooler-climate and lower sea level conditions than today. |
1634_7 | Major rivers
In the Top End, the Roper River, Walker River and Wilton River flow into the Gulf. The Cox River, Calvert River, Leichhardt River, McArthur River, Flinders River, Norman River and the Gilbert River drain the Gulf Country. A number of rivers flow from the Cape York Peninsula into the Gulf, including Smithburne River, Mitchell River, Alice River, Staaten River, Mission River, Wenlock River, and Archer River.
Industry
Extensive areas of seagrass beds have allowed commercial shrimp operations in the Gulf. Zinc, lead and silver is mined from the McArthur River zinc mine and exported via the Gulf. Another zinc mine, Century Zinc is in the gulf on the Queensland side of the border. It exports its product through the port facility at Karumba. The cattle industry is also a very important part of the regional economy in the gulf. |
1634_8 | According to the then Chairman of the Gulf of Carpentaria's Commercial Fisherman's Organisation, Gary Ward, the number of sightings of Indonesian vessels fishing illegally in the gulf's waters increased in early 2005. By 2011, the numbers of illegal fishing boat interceptions had declined significantly with the cause attributed to enforcement efforts and education programs in Indonesia.
Major port plan
In 2012, a major new port located to the west of Karumba and rail connection to the North West Minerals Province was proposed by Carpentaria Rail. The advantages of a port at Karumba compared to Townsville was that it was three or four days closer to Asia via shipping routes. Additionally, expansion is taking place of the Bing Bong Port which services the McArthur River zinc mine, awarded the Northern Territory Earth award. |
1634_9 | Physiography
The Gulf is one of the distinct physiographic sections of the larger (and surrounding) Carpentaria Basin province, which in turn is part of the larger East Australian Basins physiographic division.
See also
Mangrove tree distribution
References
External links
Morning Glory Cloud video footage and video of the Gulf Region around Burketown
Morning Glory Cloud meteorology
Aerial Video of Sweers Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria
Video of Burketown and the Gulf from the air
Video of discovery of coral reefs in the Gulf of Carpentaria
Carpentaria
Carpentaria
Bodies of water of the Northern Territory
Physiographic sections
Bodies of water of Queensland
Drainage basins of Australia
Maritime history of the Dutch East India Company |
1635_0 | Jason Thomas Kenney (born May 30, 1968) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 18th and current premier of Alberta since 2019, and as leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) since 2017. He was the last leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party (PC Party) before the party merged with the Wildrose Party to form the UCP. Prior to entering Alberta provincial politics, Kenney served in various cabinet posts under Prime Minister Stephen Harper from 2006 to 2015. |
1635_1 | Kenney studied philosophy at the University of San Francisco, but returned to Canada without completing his degree. In 1989, he was hired as the first executive director of the Alberta Taxpayers Association before becoming the president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. Kenney was elected to the House of Commons in the 1997 federal election for the Reform Party. In 2000, he was re-elected as a Canadian Alliance candidate and then was re-elected five times as a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada. |
1635_2 | Following the Conservative victory in the 2006 federal election, Kenney was appointed parliamentary secretary to the prime minister of Canada. In January 2007, he was sworn into the Privy Council as the secretary of state for multiculturalism and Canadian identity. Kenney held the post of minister for citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism from October 2008 to July 2013, when he became minister of employment and social development and minister for multiculturalism. In February 2015, he was named minister of national defence. Kenney was considered a potential party leader following the defeat of the Conservative government in October 2015 and resignation of Stephen Harper as leader. |
1635_3 | In July 2016, Kenney announced his intention to run for the leadership of the Alberta PCs in that party's 2017 leadership election. Kenney resigned his seat in Parliament on September 23, 2016, after sitting in the House of Commons for over 19 years. He was elected party leader on March 18, 2017, on a platform of merging with the Wildrose Party. He served as leader until the merger was effected on July 24, 2017. Kenney was then elected United Conservative Party leader on October 28, 2017.
On April 16, 2019, Kenney led the United Conservative Party to a majority government in the 2019 Alberta general election, defeating the previous government led by Rachel Notley of the New Democratic Party. Two weeks later, Kenney was sworn in as premier. In 2021, Kenney has come under criticism for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic from members within the UCP and the general public, triggering a leadership review scheduled for April 2022. |
1635_4 | Early life and career
Kenney was born on May 30, 1968, in Oakville, Ontario, the son of Lynne (Tunbridge) and Robert Martin Kenney. His father was a teacher at Appleby College and was of Irish heritage. Kenney's grandfather was jazz musician and big band leader Mart Kenney.
Kenney attended the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Saskatchewan, a private Catholic high school of which his father was president. Kenney may have been inspired to enter politics following a brief discussion with former prime minister John Diefenbaker. |
1635_5 | Kenney studied philosophy at the University of San Francisco, a Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, but failed to complete his coursework. It was there that he discovered conservatism. During his time in California, Kenney was interviewed by CNN for a segment exploring religious values. In the segment, where he was credited as "Jason Kenny – Anti-abortion Activist," he argued against Jesuit professors who declared free speech as essential to a university. Allowing pro-choice activists on campus, Kenney argued, was "destroying the mission and the purpose of this university." In the student newspaper, the San Francisco Foghorn, he suggested that giving a platform to pro-choice groups would mean the school had no basis to refuse a similar platform to pedophiles or to the Church of Satan. |
1635_6 | The Archbishop rejected Kenney's petition that summer, and he never returned to complete his undergraduate degree. Instead, Kenney returned to Canada to begin work for the Saskatchewan Liberal Party. He was "very involved in the young Liberals" as a young man, and in 1988 served as executive assistant to Ralph Goodale, the leader of the provincial party at the time. Not long after, in 1989, Kenney was hired as the first executive director of the Alberta Taxpayers Association, which advocated for fiscal responsibility. In 1990, Kenney was named president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, a self-described taxpayer's advocacy group that scrutinizes governmental expenditure from a conservative perspective.
In opposition (1997–2006) |
1635_7 | Kenney was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1997, at the age of 29. He was elected as a member of the Reform Party of Canada, which later became the Canadian Alliance. While a member of the House of Commons, Kenney served as co-chair of the United Alternative Task Force, national co-chairman of Stockwell Day's campaign for leadership of the Alliance, and national co-chair of the Canadian Alliance's 2000 election campaign. While on the Opposition benches between 1997 and 2006, Kenney served in a number of prominent roles in the shadow cabinet, including deputy House leader for the Official Opposition, critic for Canada–United States relations, critic for national revenue, and critic for finance.
He was a member of a group of Reform Party MPs that were known as the Snack Pack due to their habit of eating greasy food and ridiculing the ruling Liberals. |
1635_8 | Kenney supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq and suggested that the Chrétien government's refusal to support the war would damage Canada's relationship with the United States.
Kenney was a member of the Canada Tibet Committee and hosted the Dalai Lama in 2010.
Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister (2006–2007)
On February 6, 2006, Kenney and Sylvie Boucher were appointed as parliamentary secretaries to the prime minister, Stephen Harper. That August, when two opposition MPs suggested removing Hezbollah from Canada's list of terrorist organizations, Kenney came under fire for comparing the organization to the Nazi Party. Later, he rebuked Prime Minister of Lebanon Fuad Saniora for Saniora's criticisms of Canada, invoking the $25 million CAD that the country received from Canada in reconstructive assistance during the 2006 Lebanon War.
Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity (2007–2008) |
1635_9 | On January 4, 2007, Kenney was sworn in as the secretary of state for multiculturalism and Canadian identity, and as a Privy Councillor. In this capacity, Kenney served as the Harper government's representative to ethnic communities in Canada, and made frequent appearances at ethnic community events across the country.
In early 2008, Kenney posted an announcement on his website, declaring that the Canadian government recognized the flag of the Republic of Vietnam as the symbol of the Vietnamese-Canadian community. Further, he declared that "attempts to disparage [the flag] are a deeply troubling attack on one of Canada's ethnic communities and on the principles of multiculturalism." In May 2008, he made a speech at an Army of the Republic of Vietnam rally, lending support to the program. |
1635_10 | That same month, Kenney launched the Community Historical Recognition Program (CHRP), which established $13.5 million CAD in funding over five years for commemorative projects by ethno-cultural communities that had been subject to discriminatory Canadian immigration and wartime policies. By the project's conclusion in 2013, all of the funds had been utilized, save for $500,000 that was earmarked for education about the Chinese head tax, and was left unspent when one Chinese community group failed to file the required paperwork. Because more than thirty other projects involving the Chinese-Canadian community had been funded through the CHRP, Kenney considered the project a success and declined to release the funding, citing the conclusion of the program. In 2013, Kenney said in his remarks on the end of the CHRP program that the government was "committed to recognizing and educating Canadians about the experiences of those pioneers who overcame such heavy burdens. Their experiences |
1635_11 | mark an unfortunate period in our nation's history. We must ensure that they are never forgotten." |
1635_12 | Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism (2008–2013)
In 2008, Kenney became Minister of Citizenship and Immigration in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinet shuffle of October 30, while retaining responsibility for multiculturalism, which he had been given in 2007.
In April 2009, Kenney officially launched Asian Heritage Month to "better understand the rich diversity the Asian Canadian community brings to Canada". Kenney noted that:
There were 32 Liberal MPs from the GTA, and of the hundreds of ethnocultural events I attended in the past five years going from Scarborough to Mississauga, typically there were no Liberals there ... They treated the ethnic communities like passive vote banks owed to them through the supposed myth of Pierre Trudeau. They mailed it in. |
1635_13 | While speaking in Jerusalem in December 2009 about Canadian government funding of human rights organizations, Kenney said, "We have de-funded organizations, most recently, like KAIROS who are taking a leadership role in the boycott [of Israel]. We're receiving a lot of criticism for these decisions ... but we believe we have done these things for the right reasons, and we stand by these decisions." He later added in a letter to the Toronto Star that, "While I disagree with the nature of KAIROS's militant stance toward the Jewish homeland, that is not the reason their request for taxpayer funding was denied." |
1635_14 | In 2010, Kenney blocked any reference to gay rights in a new study guide for immigrants applying for Canadian citizenship. Internal documents show an early draft of the guide contained sections noting that homosexuality was decriminalized in 1969, but Kenney, who fought same-sex marriage when it was debated in Parliament, ordered those key sections removed when his office sent its comments to the department. |
1635_15 | On June 26, 2010, Kenney announced changes to the Skilled Worker Immigration Program. For their applications to be processed, skilled worker applicants are now required to either have an offer of arranged employment or be qualified in one of 29 eligible occupations out of the 520 described in the National Occupational Classification (NOC). A cap of 20,000 applications per year for the skilled workers class was also introduced. As of July 1, 2011, a maximum of 10,000 Federal Skilled Worker applications will be considered for processing in the subsequent 12 months. Within the 10,000 cap, a maximum of 500 federal skilled worker applications per eligible occupation will be considered for processing each year. |
1635_16 | Kenney has said that his reform of the immigration point system fixed problems with the previous immigration system. He also claimed to have made the new system more efficient in accepting migrants who could make the best contributions to the Canadian economy. The Canadian Experience Class Program was created to attract more international students who qualify as a graduate in the program, with an increased focus on youth, job skills, and a fluency in English or French. And at the same time, the immigration department imposed a new language requirement for the Federal Skilled Workers (FSW) program. Many of these changes were made to reduce the processing times for immigration applications. Vancouver immigration lawyer Richard Kurland said that these changes would guarantee "no more backlogs." Kenney, however, decided to delete the backlog of 280,000 skilled worker applications, and a lawsuit by the deleted applicants failed to preserve the applications. |
1635_17 | Kenney has asserted that the generosity of the immigration system was not to be abused. "I held town hall meetings across the country to hear from victims of marriage fraud. In addition to the heartbreak and pain that came from being lied to and deceived, these people were angry. They felt they had been used as a way to get to Canada. We are taking action because immigration to Canada should not be built upon deceit." said Kenney. The Protecting Canada's Immigration System Act has been published to protect and fix Canada's immigration system. Kenney focused on major issues such as marriage fraud, human trafficking, unfounded refugees, and the billion-dollar bill of health and social benefits claimed from them. It is estimated that the provinces are to save approximately $1.65 billion from their social assistance and education sector over five years with the Balanced Refugee Reform Act. Kenney also helped publish a five-year sponsorship bar, codifying that sponsored spouses or partners |
1635_18 | are to wait five years from the day they received permanent residence status in Canada to sponsor a new spouse or partner. Kenney claimed that these new measures are making aiding law enforcement, and that imposing stiffer penalties on human traffickers will send a message that they will not be able to abuse Canada's generosity anymore. |
1635_19 | There has been significant criticism of the institution of a Designated Country of Origin (DCO) list, which attributes countries as being unlikely to persecute. Therefore, refugee claimants coming from these countries—including Hungary, Mexico, and Israel—will undergo a different refugee claimant process than those from non-DCO countries. Furthermore, refugee claimants from countries on the DCO no longer receive emergency healthcare coverage.
In 2011, Kenney imposed a ban on niqab face veils for those taking the oath of citizenship. In his appeal on behalf of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration in Citizenship and Immigration v Ishaq, 2015 FCA 194, the three justices ruled in favour of Zunera Ishaq and her right to wear the niqab, confirming that the federal requirement was unlawful.
Along with Rona Ambrose, minister for the status of women, Kenney was one of ten Cabinet ministers who decided to vote in favour of a motion to study when life begins. |
1635_20 | Investigations into citizenship fraud
On July 19, 2011, Kenney announced that the government intended to revoke the citizenship of 1,800 people it believes obtained their status through fraudulent means. The decision to revoke Canadian citizenship was rare, and a large-scale proposed crackdown had no precedent. At the time of his announcement, fewer than 70 citizenships had been revoked since the Citizenship Act, 1946. |
1635_21 | An investigation into residence fraud continues to grow, and almost 11,000 cases are being reviewed. Recently, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has revoked up to 3,100 citizens' citizenship, citing cheating or lies. Kenney has said of the matter, "Canadian citizenship is not for sale and we are taking action to strip citizenship and permanent residence status from people who do not play by rules." CIC worked in tandem with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and various overseas Canadian offices to prevent citizenship fraud. Canadian Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Vic Toews has said that ""These efforts reinforce our government's commitment to protecting the integrity of our immigration system." The CIC estimates that about 5,000 people with Canadian permanent resident status are outside of Canada, and implicated in residence fraud. |
1635_22 | In January 2009, Kenney made public statements critical of U.S. soldiers seeking asylum in Canada who were facing punishment for their refusal to participate in the Iraq War. Unlike in the Vietnam era, Kenney said, the current asylum seekers were neither "draft dodgers" nor "resisters", but rather "people who volunteer to serve in the armed forces of a democratic country and simply change their mind to desert. And that's fine, that's the decision they have made, but they are not refugees." He also referred to the asylum seekers as "bogus refugee claimants". These remarks have been seen by some supporters of the asylum seekers as a form of interference in the asylum process. Kenney believed that Kimberly Rivera, an American soldier seeking refuge, was not a legitimate refugee. "Military deserters from the United States are not genuine refugees under the internationally accepted meaning of the term," said Alexis Pavlich, the minister's press secretary. |
1635_23 | Admissibility decisions
As part of Kenney's Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act, introduced in June 2012, the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism would have the ability to deny entry to Canada based on "public policy considerations." Kenney was quoted in The Globe and Mail as saying that present immigration laws do not allow someone to be kept out if they are seeking to promote violence. The previous year, both the official opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) and Quebec's National Assembly had asked Kenney to exercise negative discretion, but no such ability existed under Canadian law. During debate in the House of Commons, the NDP criticized this component of the bill, arguing it gives too much power to the minister. |
1635_24 | Earlier, in March 2009, the Canada Border Services Agency prevented British politician George Galloway from entering Canada, where he had planned to give a series of speeches against the War in Afghanistan. The Office of the Immigration Minister stated that the Canada Border Services Agency deemed Galloway as inadmissible to Canada due to national security concerns. Galloway had openly given what he called "financial support" to Hamas, classified as a terrorist group in Canada. |
1635_25 | Galloway pursued the matter in the Canadian court system, where it was revealed that Kenney's office had emailed the CBSA on the matter. The Federal Court found that Kenney's office had used "a flawed and overreaching interpretation of the standards under Canadian law for labeling someone as engaging in terrorism or being a member of a terrorist organization." The presiding judge also determined that the Canada Border Services Agency had produced its assessment of Galloway on scant evidence after receiving instructions from Kenney's staff, who attempted to bar Galloway because "they disagreed with his political views".
The Globe and Mail later pointed out that, while Kenney was quick to refuse Galloway entry into Canada, his department gave entry to controversial politician Geert Wilders, who has compared Islam to Fascism and campaigned to ban the Quran from the Netherlands. Wilders spoke in Toronto and Ottawa, generating further controversy.
Citizenship policy changes |
1635_26 | A new law amending the Citizenship Act came into effect on April 17, 2009. One of the changes instituted by the Government of Canada is the "first generation limitation", considered a punitive measure by some against naturalized citizens who reside abroad for lengthy periods of time. Minister Kenney said the following in the House of Commons of Canada on June 10, 2010: "That's why we must protect the values of Canadian citizenship and must take steps against those who would cheapen it ... We will strengthen the new limitation on the ability to acquire citizenship for the second generation born abroad." |
1635_27 | The new rules would not confer a Canadian citizenship on children born outside of Canada to parents who were also born outside of Canada. Thus, for children to obtain Canadian citizenship if born abroad, they would have to have one parent who was born in Canada. Another effect of this law was to abolish automatic citizenship by birth for the children of parents in Canada in the service of a foreign government. Children born to foreign diplomats in Canada would only become Canadian if at least one parent was either a Canadian citizen or a Permanent Resident. |
1635_28 | In 2010, Kenney introduced Discover Canada, a new citizenship guide for prospective citizens. The Canadian Press reported that Kenney blocked information about same-sex marriage from the Citizenship and Immigration study guide for immigrants applying for citizenship, although a sentence was included in a 2011 revision. The revised edition also added information about arts and culture, the War of 1812, and an admonition against importing "violent, extreme or hateful prejudices" to Canada. |
1635_29 | Kenney has taken steps to restore full citizenship status to the "Lost Canadians", Canadian nationals who had "fallen through the cracks". Bill C-37 corrected the citizenship issues for 95% of "Lost Canadians," and special grants were to have been made to resolve the remaining 5%. Kenney says the Lost Canadians group should not be politicizing their plight, but they should be making a "solid application and a strong case". Kenney's predecessor, Diane Finley, had authorized a special grant of citizenship to Guy Valliere, although he died prior to receiving citizenship.
Refugee reform |
1635_30 | On March 29, 2010, Kenney announced an overhaul of the Canadian refugee system. The reform package committed to allowing the resettlement of 2,500 more refugees living in United Nations refugee camps and urban slums. The plan also included expansion of the Government-Assisted Refugees Program to 500 places, while a further 2,000 resettlement places were added to the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program. In total, the new plan would lead to the resettlement of 14,500 UN-selected refugees from refugee camps and urban slums to Canada.
"Protecting Canada's Immigration System Act", or Bill C-31, "An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and other acts", was introduced on February 16, 2012, and received Royal Assent on June 28, 2012. It has been broadly criticized as it "gives Ministers broad, unfettered and unprecedented powers" among other new powers. It was sponsored by Kenney. |
1635_31 | There has been significant controversy around changes to Interim Federal Health, the social assistance program for refugee claimants. Physicians and allied health professionals have opposed these cuts through national protests in all major cities in Canada. Physicians opposing the cuts to refugee health care include Vincent Lam, who stated that Canada is a country known for its tolerance and diversity, but healthcare professionals are "dismayed and ashamed at the cuts for healthcare for refugees."
Afghan interpreters who served alongside Canadian troops in southern Afghanistan, and who applied for Canadian visas on the basis of facing threats from insurgents, were denied visas. Kenney backed this decision. |
1635_32 | Kenney promised that Canada would resettle more refugees from 2011 to 2012 than in previous years. Instead, there was a 26% drop in refugee resettlement in Canada during that period, hitting a 30-year low. Loly Rico, president of the Canadian Council for Refugees, criticized Kenney for not following through on his promise.
Marriage fraud
In a response to feedback from town halls and public consultations, Kenney took steps in 2012 to find and combat marriage fraud. His efforts were primarily focused on marriages in which one party was a Canadian citizen and the other, an immigrant, was using marriage to facilitate their entry into Canada, at which point they would leave their sponsor's home and declare the marriage to be a lie. In response, Kenney instituted a five-year prohibition on spousal sponsorship for those who had already been sponsored by a spouse into Canada. |
1635_33 | He also implemented a conditional permanent residency status, to ensure that a spouse or partner had to live as husband and wife for a minimum of two years with their Canadian sponsor, or else they would have their status revoked. These anti-fraud measures were designed to protect Canadian victims, as well as to crack down on those who collaborated with fraudulent sponsors for monetary gain. |
1635_34 | Sun News citizenship ceremony
In the fall of 2011, Kenney's office had officials from the Department of Immigration organize a citizenship ceremony for public broadcast on Sun News Network. Later, it became known that some of the participants were ministerial staff reaffirming their citizenship, rather than new Canadian citizens. Both Kenney's office and Sun News initially claimed to have no knowledge of this incident, and blamed well-meaning civil servants. Internal correspondence later revealed, through access to information laws, that both the government and media were aware of, and made the decision to proceed with, ministerial staff in the ceremony.
Office of Religious Freedom |
1635_35 | Following through on a Conservative campaign promise from the 2011 Canadian federal election, Kenney initiated the creation of the Office of Religious Freedom, an agency of Foreign Affairs Canada, to monitor religious oppression domestically and promote religious freedom internationally. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair endorsed the office in a visit to Canada in 2013, saying, "I think it shows leadership from Canada. And Canada, by the way, in many ways is a perfect place from which to promote this ideal because of the complexion of the country." The Liberal government which formed after the 2015 Canadian federal election closed the office in 2016. |
1635_36 | Minister of Employment and Social Development (2013–2015)
As part of the July 2013 cabinet reorganization, Kenney was named Minister of Employment and Social Development. While in this position, he focused on expanding the review process for the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security disability appeals, which had become backlogged under the previous tribunal process. |
1635_37 | In January 2014, Kenney reached an agreement with all provincial and territorial counterparts, except Quebec, to implement the Canada Job Grant, which aimed to train unemployed workers who did not qualify for unemployment insurance over a period of four years. The final agreement provided more flexibility for the provinces and territories than the initial 2013 proposal, which had been rejected by Kenney's counterparts for its "take it or leave it" nature, which potentially forced the provinces and territories to forgo $300 million of the $500 million in federal funding provided to them by Labour Market Agreements if they did not accept the plan. $2.5 million were spent on advertising for the program during Stanley Cup playoffs spots in 2013 and 2014, even before the details of the federal-provincial agreements were finalized or approved, which prompted Advertising Standards Canada to label them as "misleading."
Minister of Defence (2015) |
1635_38 | After a February 2015 cabinet shuffle in which Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird left federal politics, with former Defence minister Rob Nicholson taking his place, Kenney was promoted to Minister of Defence. While serving in this position, Kenney took a hard-line approach to national security, saying that it was necessary for Canada to fight against Islamic State militants to prevent them from becoming a threat to the country.
In March 2015, Kenney claimed that Russian warships had confronted Royal Canadian Navy craft, and that Russian fighters had buzzed at low altitude while it participated in a NATO maritime task force off the coast of Ukraine as part of a mission against Russian intervention in the country. NATO officials later stated that Russian ships could be seen on the horizon, but never approached the fleet, and that all flyovers had been at high altitudes. |
1635_39 | Later that month, Kenney defended the Canadian airstrike campaign against ISIS being extended into Syria, claiming that, among the coalition air forces, only Canada and the United States had aircraft capable of using precision guided munitions. In fact, Arab allies such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had won praise from general Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, for their use of precision guided munitions. General Tom Lawson, then the Chief of Canada's Defence Staff, issued a statement defending Kenney, but later retracted his statement and apologized, saying that its contents were incorrect. Sources within the Department of Defence say that Lawson had been pressured into releasing the inaccurate statement by Kenney's office. |
1635_40 | Also in March, Kenney faced criticism for tweeting photos purporting to be of ISIS enslaving young girls. One of the images was taken years before ISIS came into existence and appeared to be from an Ashura procession, while another turned out to be a picture staged by actors in London, England.
In April 2015, Kenney announced that troops from the Canadian Armed Forces would be sent to Ukraine as trainers for Ukrainian forces as part of Operation UNIFIER. The soldiers, who arrived in September 2015, were from 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (2 CMBG) and were stationed in at the Ukrainian Armed Forces International Peacekeeping and Security Centre near the Polish–Ukrainian border at Yavoriv.
In May 2015, after a report was published on sexual misconduct in the Canadian Forces, Kenney promised that an independent centre at arm's length from the military would be formed to hear complaints of sexual misconduct in the military and provide support and resources for victims. |
1635_41 | Role in the Conservative Party
Kenney has been widely recognized for his central role in reaching out to ethnic minority voters in 2011, leading to the Conservative Party's successful election campaign, and the Conservative parliamentary majority that resulted. He has publicly acknowledged that his ongoing strategy of promoting conservative values and policies in government so as to capture the support of ethnic communities was in the works beginning years prior to Stephen Harper first winning government in 2006. Kenney has also suggested that Harper was one of the first people he consulted with on the ethnic outreach strategy, when the latter was still an opposition Canadian Alliance MP. |
1635_42 | Kenney's ethnic outreach strategy was also evident when, in early 2011, a letter using government stationery was sent to Conservative riding associations seeking assistance in raising $200,000 funding for an ad campaign aimed at bolstering support among ethnic communities in ridings that the Conservatives were targeting in the next election. News of this broke when a copy was believed to have been mistakenly sent to the office of opposition MP Linda Duncan instead of that of fellow Conservative MP John Duncan (no relation). This led to criticism over the letter's labelling of certain groups and ridings as "ethnic" or "very ethnic". Kenney publicly apologized for the mailing error, citing a staffer's inexperience for the mistake. |
1635_43 | As Immigration Minister, Kenney has been largely credited with building bridges attracting ethnic communities to the Conservative Party, which was long dominated by the Liberal Party. In addition, he also handled the apology and financial compensation for the Chinese head tax and the official recognition of the Armenian and Ukrainian genocides. According to an observer, "He acts as a conductor to correct historical wrongs, It might not seem important to the majority of the population, but for the concerned communities, it's huge." According to The Globe and Mail, the Chinese–Canadian community nicknamed Kenney the "Smiling Buddha" in reference to his efforts to garner ethnic votes on the basis of what some perceive as commonly held conservative values. The Toronto Star characterized him as having a "Bieber-like" following in many communities. Kenney justified his efforts to gain ethnic support by stating, "You observe how these new Canadians live their lives. They are the |
1635_44 | personification of Margaret Thatcher's aspirational class. They're all about a massive work ethic." |
1635_45 | Return to opposition and provincial leadership candidacy
Although the Conservatives were defeated at the 2015 federal election, Kenney was reelected in Calgary Midnapore, essentially a reconfigured version of his old riding, where he was named to the Special Committee on Electoral Reform. Kenney was long considered a likely candidate to succeed Stephen Harper as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, and had been mentioned as a prospective candidate and presumed frontrunner in the next leadership election to be held in 2017. His name was also mentioned as a prospective leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta who could potentially unite the rival Progressive Conservative and Wildrose parties. On July 6, 2016, Kenney announced that he would be seeking the leadership of the Alberta PC Party, citing his desire to unite Alberta's two major centre-right parties. |
1635_46 | On July 7, 2016, Kenney announced that he would resign his seat in the House of Commons within three months once the leadership campaign period officially opened, a decision that was severely criticized by his former employer the Canadian Taxpayers Federation for misusing taxpayer dollars. He officially resigned September 23.
Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta
Kenney was elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta on March 18, 2017, with more than 75% of the delegate votes on the first ballot. He pledged to unite the party with the rival Wildrose Party in a provincial analogue of the federal Unite the Right movement. The PC and Wildrose party announced a merger deal which was completed on July 24, 2017. |
1635_47 | Leader of the United Conservative Party
On October 28, 2017, Kenney was elected as the first full-time leader of the new United Conservative Party of Alberta. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the riding of Calgary-Lougheed in a by-election held on December 14, 2017, after MLA Dave Rodney resigned his seat in order to create a vacancy for Kenney. Normal practice in the Westminster system calls for an MP holding a safe seat to resign in order to give a newly elected leader a chance to enter the legislature.
Controversies |
1635_48 | "Kamikaze campaign" scandal
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Alberta Election Commissioner are investigating allegations that Jason Kenney and his team were involved in orchestrating Jeff Callaway's campaign for the leadership of the United Conservative Party in an attempt to harm Kenney's biggest rival, Brian Jean. Documents obtained by The Star confirm that Kenney's campaign controlled major aspects of Callaway's campaign, including the providing of strategic plans, attack ads, speeches, and talking points intended to discredit Jean. These documents have since been handed over the election commissioner, according to Callaway's former campaign manager Cameron Davies. Davies also said that Kenney had attended a meeting at Callaway's house in July 2017, where the "kamikaze campaign" was discussed, and that Kenney had firsthand knowledge of this strategy. |
1635_49 | A leaked document alleged that Jason Kenney's team first approached Derek Fildebrandt in July 2017 about running a "dark-horse" campaign, but ultimately decided against working with him. Fildebrandt confirmed this account but stated that it was he who rejected the idea.
An emergency injunction was sought to halt the probe into the financing of Callaway's UCP leadership campaign for the duration of the 2019 Alberta general election, but was denied by Court of Queen's Bench Justice Anne Kirker, who ruled it was in the public interest for the investigation to continue.
Fraudulent e-mails used in leadership race
CBC News and CTV News have received documents indicating that fraudulent e-mail addresses attached to party memberships were used to cast ballots in the party's leadership race in 2017, which Jason Kenney won. CBC News picked a sample of e-mail addresses based on suspicious domains, and determined that 60% of those were used to cast ballots in the leadership election. |
1635_50 | Former UCP MLA Prab Gill sent a letter to the RCMP outlining allegations that the Kenney leadership campaign used fraudulent e-mail addresses to intercept PINs needed to vote in the leadership race, and that they were subsequently used by the Kenney campaign to vote for Kenney.
Many of the suspicious domains were traced to a network with ever-changing domains, and it is unclear who registered these domains. The majority of the fraudulent e-mail addresses were registered in the weeks preceding the leadership vote. CBC noted that it is not clear how widespread the voting fraud is outside of their selected sample of suspicious domains, and it is also possible that common e-mail providers such as Gmail or Hotmail were used with fraudulent addresses. A dozen individuals were contacted by CBC News to confirm whether or not they voted in the race, all of whom confirmed that they did not vote in the race and the e-mails on the voter's list were not their true e-mails. |
1635_51 | The Royal Canadian Mounted Police went to question at least one family to speak with them regarding the allegations of voter fraud. |
1635_52 | Nonessential trips abroad controversy |
1635_53 | Kenney was heavily criticized for his response and handling of a significant controversy when several caucus members travelled during December 2020, contrary to his own public health warning. By January 2, 2021, the issue "became a big story in Canada", according to the Washington Post. Kenney's Chief of Staff, Municipal Affairs Minister, and five other MLAs travelled abroad during the holidays, and Kenney, at first, decided that those concerned would not be punished, citing their travel was not illegal, and it would be unfair to punish them because his own communication to them did not clearly state that they should not do so. By Monday, January 4, Kenney changed his position amid public outcry, and announced the resignations and loss of position of municipal affairs minister Tracy Allard, parliamentary secretary Jeremy Nixon, Treasury Board member Jason Stephan, and Tanya Fir, Pat Rehn, and Tany Yao, who lost their roles on legislative committees. The Leger report placed Kenney's |
1635_54 | approval rate for handling of the pandemic as the lowest in Canada, at 30%. |
1635_55 | "Bigfoot Family" controversy |
1635_56 | On March 12, 2021, the Canadian Energy Centre launched a website and petition against the Netflix animated children's movie Bigfoot Family claiming the film both "villainizes" the oil and gas industry and "wrongly portrays oil and gas extraction". The campaign titled “Tell the truth Netflix,” targeted Netflix Canada's Head of Communications and sought to have the oil and gas sector represented in a more accurate light. Ministers in the Kenney government quickly defended the campaign with Alberta's Minister of Energy Sonya Savage describing aspects of the film as "quite offensive". The controversy surrounding the film has received provincial, national and even international media attention from media organizations including The Guardian and Al Jazeera. Opposition MLAs have used the Bigfoot controversy to question the value and effectiveness of the Canadian Energy Centre which has a budget of $12 million for 2021–2022. Jason Kenney has publicly defended the CEC's campaign against |
1635_57 | Bigfoot Family, saying that the film was deliberately designed to "defame in the most vicious way possible, in the impressionable minds of kids, the largest industry in the province." |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.