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Mother of slain Yarmouth soldier finds comfort in shared grief – CBC.ca

Published

5 years ago

January 5, 2020

Harry Miller

Tina Smith remembers her son for his laid-back nature, his sense of humour and his love for helping others.

Monday marked 10 years since Sgt. Kirk Taylor of Yarmouth, N.S., was killed in a bomb blast in Afghanistan. He was 28.

“It was the worst day of my life,” said Smith in a phone interview from her home in Arizona.

Taylor served as a reservist with the 84th Independent Field Battery, RCA and volunteered with the 110 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps in Yarmouth.

On Dec. 30, 2009, Taylor, four other soldiers and a Canadian journalist were killed after the group’s light armoured vehicles were struck by an improvised explosive device in the city of Kandahar.

The flag-draped coffin carrying the remains of Sgt. Kirk Taylor during his funeral service in Yarmouth, N.S., on Jan. 11, 2010. Taylor was one of four soldiers and a journalist killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on Dec. 30, 2009. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)

Several soldiers and another Canadian civilian were also injured in the blast.

Taylor, a former sea cadet in Barrington, joined the military in his late teens.

Making an impact

Smith said he enjoyed being a member of the Armed Forces because he liked helping people and he appreciated the structure it gave his life.

She said he also enjoyed volunteering with the Yarmouth cadet corps.

Smith recently came back to Nova Scotia in November for the unveiling of a commemorative coin that honoured Taylor and marked the 115th anniversary of the corps in the area.

Tina Smith said Taylor was known for his dry, witty sense of humour, and his penchant for giving nicknames to everyone he knew. (Submitted by Michael Harquail)

There, she was able to get a better idea of the kind of impact he made after speaking to the parents of some of the cadets who were there while Kirk was a leader.

“[They] said that if it hadn’t been for Kirk, they don’t know where their son and daughter would have been because he was able to to find them a structure that they were looking for,” she said.

“I thought that was pretty nice, after all these years, to hear that.”

In his civilian life, Taylor worked at the Yarmouth Association for Community Residential Options, which provides residential supports for people with disabilities.

The 110 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps unveiled a coin in November to celebrate the anniversary of its 115-year anniversary, as well as commemorate the 10th anniversary since Taylor was killed. (Submitted by Capt. Gary Hudson)

In late 2008, Taylor called his mother and told her he wanted to go to Afghanistan. He was inspired after recently attending a lecture by Rick Hillier, former chief of defence staff.

“I felt like a big horse just kicked me in the heart,” Smith recalled.

“You know, sometimes as a mom you recognize some of the dangers that can happen to children. Maybe you recognize them sooner than when your children recognize them.”

Smith said Taylor went to Afghanistan because he wanted to help the people there. (Sam Augustin)

Still, she supported his decision because she “knew that’s what he wanted.”

“I tried to teach all of my children that it’s a big, wide world out there, go shake it by the tail,” she said.

“Well then, how do you complain about how they’re going to shake it when they decide they want to do something?”

Taylor shipped out to Afghanistan in October 2009, just a couple of months before he was killed.

Learning to live again

For Smith, the first year after her son’s death was the worst. But this past year was a close second.

“Somehow, a 10th anniversary seems way worse than a second or third, or all the rest up to nine,” she said.

“Sometimes, I feel like time stopped on that day 10 years ago. Other times, it feels like, ‘Where did 10 years disappear to?’

“Overall, it takes a long time to learn how to live again.”

But one thing has kept Smith going: knowing that she’s not alone.

From left: Sgt. George Miok, Pte. Garrett William Chidley, Sgt. Kirk Taylor and Cpl. Zachery McCormack, were killed in a bomb blast 10 years ago in Afghanistan. ((Sgt. Daren Kraus/DND/Canadian Press))

In the past few years, Smith has connected with the family members of the other soldiers who died that day — Sgt. George Miok, 28, of Edmonton, Cpl. Zachery McCormack, 21, of Edmonton, and Pte. Garrett William Chidley, 21, of Langley, B.C. — as well as with the family of Calgary Herald reporter Michelle Lang, who was 34.

“It’s just amazing to see where we all are in our stages of grief, and how we all deal with it,” said Smith.

“But we all know we have that one thing in common, so there’s been a strength that’s come with that.”

Late last month, Smith flew to Edmonton to attend an open house, organized by McCormack’s friends and family, for those connected to the five killed. There, she got to find out more about her son from the people who served with him.

Some of the family members of the Canadians who were killed or injured in the Dec. 30, 2009, bomb blast in Afghanistan gathered in Edmonton on the 10-year-anniversary. From left: Armande McCormack (Zachery McCormack’s mother), Tina Smith (Kirk Taylor’s mother), Anna Miok (George Miok’s mother), Heather Middleton (Joshua Baker’s sister), and Catherine Lang (Michelle Lang’s aunt). All but Baker died in the same blast that killed Taylor. (Submitted by Tina Smith)

She also shared her grief with the other people mourning their loved ones lost to war.

“There was a whole lot of pain in that room, but there was also a whole lot of healing before the evening was finished,” she said.

Learning about everyone’s experiences with grief helped her to better understand the “ripple effect” that began a decade ago when the blast happened.

‘We just couldn’t stop hugging’

One of the highlights of the evening, said Smith, was meeting a man who was badly injured in the same blast that killed Taylor.

“All we could do when we met each other was just kind of look at each other, and just give each other a hug. We just couldn’t stop hugging,” she said.

“I told him, ‘I’m so glad that you made it, that you’re alive.’ Because as hard as it was to lose the four boys and Michelle the way we did, I’m so thankful that the rest of them survived.”

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Ontario’s top court dismisses application for bail from Jacob Hoggard

Published

6 mins ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – A justice with Ontario’s Appeal Court has dismissed an application for bail from Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard as he tries to appeal his sexual assault conviction at the country’s top court.

Justice Jill Copeland heard arguments at a bail hearing for Hoggard earlier this week, not long after the Hedley frontman began serving his five-year sentence.

Hoggard, who was found guilty in June 2022 of sexual assault causing bodily harm against an Ottawa woman, filed an application last week for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court and sought bail at Ontario’s Appeal Court.

His application to the Supreme Court argues that the Appeal Court – which recently upheld his conviction – failed to apply the proper test in determining whether an error made by the trial judge constituted a “harmless error.”

Copeland says at this stage, where Hoggard’s conviction has been unanimously affirmed by the Appeal Court and it “appears unlikely” he will be granted leave to appeal by the Supreme Court, she is satisfied that the public interest in enforcing the musician’s sentence outweighs his interest in a second review of his conviction.

She says that if the Supreme Court grants leave to appeal, a reassessment of Hoggard’s bail status may be warranted.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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Trudeau says up to Air Canada and pilots to reach a deal as deadline approaches

Published

6 mins ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it’s up to Air Canada and the union to reach an agreement to avoid disrupting travellers and businesses.

Speaking at an event in Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que. on Friday, Trudeau said he wouldn’t tip the scales towards either party, while dodging the question of whether he would force pilots back to work.

The airline and pilots will be in a position starting Sunday to issue 72-hour notice of a strike or lockout.

The airline has said the notice would trigger its three-day wind-down plan and start the clock on a full work stoppage that could come as early as Sept. 18.

The airline says the union is being inflexible with “unreasonable wage demands.”

The union has said that it is corporate greed that’s holding up talks, as Air Canada continues to post record profits while expecting pilots to accept below-market compensation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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Former receiver Green part of Canadian Football Hall of Fame’s 2024 class

Published

34 mins ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

For over a decade, S.J. Green was the enemy of Hamilton Tiger-Cats fans.

He should receive a warmer reception Saturday when recognized as a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Then again . . .

“I’ll be honest, if I get a boo or two I won’t be surprised,” Green said with a chuckle. “It’s fun, I’m looking forward to everything that comes with this weekend.”

Joining Green in the Class of 2024 are former players Chad Owens, Weston Dressler, Vince Goldsmith and Marvin Coleman. Former CFL coach Ray Jauch and amateur football icon Ed Laverty (posthumously) were named as builders.

The seven were scheduled to be formally inducted Friday night, and then honoured Saturday at halftime of the Hamilton-Ottawa game at Tim Hortons Field. Green now fully appreciates the magnitude of the honour.

“Being here and getting to see some of the other inductees has been the ground-breaking moment for me where it’s actually starting to set in, that it’s a real thing,” Green said. “To put it into the shortest phrase I can, it’s football eternity.

“Not everyone gets to play the game at a professional level … to be a part of this brotherhood and statistically elite group is amazing and very humbling.”

The six-foot-three, 216-pound Green was a fluid receiver with Montreal (2007-16) and Toronto (2017-19). Green, 39, registered 716 catches for 10,222 yards with 60 TDs.

He suffered a serious knee injury early in 2016 but registered career highs in catches (104) and yards (1,462) the next season with Toronto. The Argos would win the Grey Cup, Green’s third (2009-10 with Montreal).

Green’s pro career ended in the XFL in 2020 as the CFL didn’t play that season due to the global pandemic. However, Green’s contract was abruptly terminated when the league suspended operations.

He retired in 2022 after signing a one-day contract with Montreal. Green, who owns and operates a landscape business in Tampa, said his transition to life after football wasn’t seamless.

“I went through a period … I don’t want to call it depression but I don’t know what else to call it, where it was just hard to watch the CFL game,” Green said. “I felt like I didn’t get to end it how I truly wanted.

“I miss the game still to this day and it was hard to get over but eventually you grow up, right? This (induction) makes all the time worth it, it feels right.”

Green also appreciates being inducted with Owens. Both began their CFL careers as practice-roster players with Montreal.

“That makes it more special,” Green said. “We both came in from the perspective of being practice-squad guys, having to prove ourselves to get on the field.

“Unfortunately, Chad had to leave Montreal to show the league who he was as a player and person while I was able to stay in Montreal and reap the same benefits. To watch him go to Toronto and become the player he was made it all come full circle. It’s very rewarding to go in with Chad.”

The five-foot-eight, 180-pound Owens, dubbed The Flyin’ Hawaiian, spent 10 seasons with Montreal (2009), Toronto (2010-15), Hamilton (2016, 2018) and Saskatchewan (2017). He was a four-time all-star, the league’s top special-teams player (2010) and its outstanding performer (2012).

Owens, 42, claimed his first Grey Cup ring with Montreal. He earned a second with Toronto in 2012.

Owens recorded 521 career catches for 6,217 yards and 26 touchdowns. He also had 4,027 punt-returns yards (11-yard average, five TDs) and 5,479 kickoff-returns yards, amassing 16,698 combined yards.

Dressler, 39, played with Saskatchewan (2008-15) and Winnipeg (2016-18), registering 715 catches for 10,026 yards and 61 TDs. The five-foot-seven, 168-pound Bismarck, N.D., native was the CFL’s top rookie in ’08 and a two-time all-star who made two Grey Cup appearances, winning in ’13 in Regina with the Riders.

Goldsmith, 65, was a dominant defensive lineman with Saskatchewan (1981-83, 1988-90), Toronto (1984) and Calgary (1985-87). He was the CFL’s top rookie in 1981 with 17 sacks then posted a career-best 20 two years later.

Goldsmith had 10 or more sacks eight times and finished with 130.5 (eighth all-time). He won a Grey Cup in ’89 with Saskatchewan.

Coleman, 52, was another dual threat. The five-foot-nine, 170-pound cornerback played with Calgary (1994-2000) and Winnipeg (2001-03) and was a three-time league all-star with 28 interceptions (six return TDs) and 538 tackles.

Coleman stands fourth all-time in punt-return yards (5,211), seventh in kickoff-returns yards (11,545) and scored seven return TDs. He played in four Grey Cups, winning twice with Calgary.

Jauch, 86, played in the ’59 Rose Bowl as a running back with Iowa and was an AFL first-round pick by Buffalo, but opted for Winnipeg.

He suffered a career-ending torn Achilles in Winnipeg’s ’61 Grey Cup win over Hamilton. Jauch became Edmonton’s running back coach in 1966 before being promoted to head coach in 1970.

He served as head coach with Edmonton (1970-76), Winnipeg (1978-82) and Saskatchewan (1994-95). He recorded 127 regular-season wins (sixth all-time) and in ’75 led Edmonton to its first Grey Cup win since 1956.

Jauch was the 1980 CFL coach of the year.

Laverty served as president of the Ottawa Nepean touch football league from 1964 to 2015. He held a similar post with the Ontario Touch Football League for over 10 years and helped launch Touch Football Canada.

Laverty was inducted into the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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