National Day of Honour details finally disclosed, but event still facing criticism

The federal government has finally revealed details of plans to commemorate Canada's involvement in the NATO-led Afghanistan mission, but for some, the project still has a slap-dash feel to it.

The Conservative government is calling the May 9 event a National Day of Honour, which will include a military parade to Parliament Hill, an air force flypast, two minutes of silence and the requisite speeches at an event, with Man-in-Motion Rick Hansen as master of ceremonies.

Activities are also planned in other Canadian cities but the Royal Canadian Legion, which the government is enlisting as a key participant, says it hasn't received much notice to organize things.

The legion's national office didn't hear from Veterans Affairs Canada until mid-April, when a letter arrived asking it to raise awareness for the commemorative day and host events at some of its 1,450 branches, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

[ Related: Gov't will pay for fallen soldiers’ families to attend Day of Honour ]

“We still don’t know what we’re being asked to do. We’re scrambling,” Scott Ferris, director of marketing for the legion, told the Citizen.

“It’s unfortunate that we weren’t part of the planning process because we could have done so much more. We have a lot of resources and experience planning these sorts of events. We could have been an asset.”

There's also lingering controversy over how the involvement of families of the Afghan mission's fallen is being handled.

The government got into hot water earlier this month when it was revealed relatives of the 158 Canadian soldiers and several civilians killed in the decade-long mission were sent a letter inviting them to this "momentous occasion," but warning that "your attendance would be at your own expense."

Defence Minister Rob Nicholson quickly changed course, saying the letter had been sent out before plans were finalized and that travel for families would be covered.

However, now it turns out the government is leaving it to the True Patriot Love Foundation, a charity that supports veterans, and corporate sponsors to cover most of those costs, the Citizen said.

The foundation is also hosting a "tribute breakfast" for families of the fallen on the morning of the event.

[ Related: Day of Honour comes weeks before Canadian Armed Forces Day ]

While the Legion's Scott Ferris told CBC News he has no problems with the private sector "stepping up" to help defray the still-undisclosed costs of such an event, NDP defence critic Jack Harris called it "totally inappropriate," to leave families at the mercy of corporate donations and charities.

"Are we trying to save money?" he asked. "You're left with the impression that the government is doing this without spending any money or doing it on the cheap."

Retired Col. Pat Stogran, who led Canada's first battle group into Kandahar in 2002 and went on to become the first veteran's ombudsman, called the event "a partisan publicity stunt."

“I really don’t know the whys and what-fors, and in all honesty I am really not interested in this spectacle," he told the Citizen.

The ambivalence towards the Day of Honour underscores the uneasy relationship Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government has had with Canada's military community.

On the one hand, Harper's never missed an opportunity to embrace Canada's martial past, spending millions on commemorating the War of 1812 and other high points of military history.

On the other, Harper's been forced to water down ambitious plans to strengthen and modernize the armed forces in order to achieve budget targets after the 2008 global financial meltdown. And his government has faced unrelenting criticism for the way it supports injured and psychologically damaged veterans of the Afghan mission.