Rent A Crowd

Once again another Red Friday brought to you by the PMO and Department of Defense.

This is called taking advantage of a captive audience. Interesting to note in this article that there are NO numbers given for this 'large crowd". It's because it wasn't that large. Not really a sea, more like a puddle in the midst of the CNE.

The grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto turned into a sea of red on Friday afternoon thanks to a large crowd that turned out for a rally in support of Canada's troops in Afghanistan.

Hundreds of people do not make it a massive rally as Stephen Harper pointed out the other day.

Gen. Rick Hillier was speaking at a massive rally at the Canadian National Exhibition fairgrounds, where hundreds of people turned out in red shirts to show support for the soldiers stationed overseas.

A thousand people is what they got out at the last Red Friday, and that is about average for these pro-war rallies put on by DND and the Government of Canada.

It really was a coming out party for Peter MacKay as the new Minister of Defense.

The question is how many were there for Don Cherry's autograph.

Perhaps Don Cherry – hockey personality and ardent supporter of Canada's military – said it best.

“You guys wanted red; you got red,” the broadcaster, himself sporting a maroon velvet suit, told an estimated 1,000 people who dressed up for yesterday's Red Friday Rally at the CNE as a show of support for Canada's soldiers.

Hundreds of people signed a “support our troops” banner and cheered loudly as a photo of the crowd was taken to be sent to the soldiers on Canada's military mission to Afghanistan.

And a thousand people at the CNE is a drop in the bucket in a crowd of 70,000. Heck more folks line up for those mini donuts and elephant ears.

All around people munched from yellow tubs of Poppa Corn and toted stuffed animals. A giant ferris wheel spun in the distance, while crowds gathered around military displays. The crowd, meanwhile, spread out to enjoy the event and check out what other entertainment the CNE had to offer.

And of course the cynical might suspect that this was all part of the Canadian Armed Forces new recruitment drive.

Operation Connection is underway at the CNE.
This year the military has expanded its endeavours at the fair. After more than 650,000 people visited the Canadian Forces' exhibit at the CNE last year, military officials asked organizers for another 743 square metres of real estate. That's almost half again as much as last year's 1,765 square metres.

Canadian Forces ask retired vets to re-enlist

Facing a shortage of experienced military personnel, the Canadian Forces has put out a call to retired veterans to sign up again -- not to battle, but to help train a new generation of soldiers.

While the military is exceeding its new recruit targets, the Afghanistan mission is draining the resources needed to get them into the system -- causing problems for the military's ambitious plans to boost its numbers.

SEE:

Harpers Body Count