110th anniversary commemoration of Boer War skirted ‘sensitive’ details

OTTAWA – The Conservative government was warned in advance by bureaucrats that its 110th anniversary commemoration of the Boer War celebrated a sensitive conflict.

Documents obtained by The Canadian Press show the veterans affairs minister at the time spoke only peripherally about the South African war in order to avoid its uncomfortable context.

That context, according to the documents, includes deep English-French divisions over a British imperialist conflict on the other side of the globe that marked the modern innovation of brutal concentration camps for civilian populations.

The Harper government has made the celebration of Canada’s military past a key part of its political brand — even as it has taken a public pounding over its cost-cutting treatment of surviving military veterans of more modern conflicts.

Ottawa spent $30 million celebrating the War of 1812 and government-funded events begin this year to mark the 100th anniversary of the First World War.

Bureaucrats spent more than a month preparing for a May 2012 commemoration of the Boer War — attending to details such as seating plans and Twitter postings — but warned against describing the actual war itself in the Conservative minister’s speech due to its “sensitive” nature.

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