Top army commander says 'completely unacceptable' behaviour is eroding trust in the Canadian Forces
The credibility and reputation of the Canadian Army is once again being questioned following an investigation into alleged extremist activities involving soldiers in Quebec and revelations of inappropriate social media posts by members of an Ottawa-based reserve unit, the country's army commander acknowledged Wednesday.
Lt.-Gen. Mike Wright said in an interview with CBC News that the recent twin controversies are eroding the trust the military has worked to regain following the high-profile sexual misconduct scandal, which saw the resignation or retirement of a number of high-profile leaders.
The military as a whole is on the cusp of a major re-armament program and is desperately trying to recruit and retain troops after years of underfunding and thinning ranks.
"I need the confidence of the government. I need the confidence of Canadians that we are an institution that they can trust," Wright said.
"What really makes me angry, makes me livid, something I probably shouldn't say on CBC, but pisses me off, is that the important work that the Canadian Army needs to do to modernize — our eye is being taken off that … so we can deal with completely unacceptable and inappropriate behaviour."
The RCMP have charged four men, including two CAF members and one former member, of amassing a trove of weapons and explosives and being part of an extremist plot to take over land near Quebec City.
Separately, a set of investigations are underway, including a military police probe, over a now-defunct Facebook group where members of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Duke of Edinburgh's Own) allegedly posted hateful and inappropriate content.
Faced with a series of allegations and cases of extremism in the ranks during the run-up to the pandemic, the army, under its former commander, the now-retired general Wayne Eyre, introduced a series of policy changes meant to crack down on racism and hateful conduct in the ranks.
Among the provisions was a demand that soldiers call-out inappropriate behaviour when they see it.
Concern about the contents of the Blue Hackle Mafia Facebook group, which included hateful comments directed toward women, derogatory sexual comments about former prime minister Justin Trudeau, as well as discussions about raping grandmothers, were first brought to light internally last year.
The private social media page has existed for more than a dozen years.
"That's most disturbing to me," said Wright. "I'm asking soldiers to be prepared to ultimately … have the courage to go into combat. There are some who did not have the moral courage to step forward and call out inappropriate behaviour when they saw it."
Wright ordered the temporary removal of Lt.-Col. Ryan Hendy, the commanding officer of the Camerons, after the Ottawa Citizen approached the army with screenshots of the social media site. It was revealed on Monday that Hendy's immediate superior, Col. James McKay, stepped down from command over his handling of the matter.
Wright, who has previously said he was unaware of the social media site until alerted by the media, denied the unit commander was being made a scapegoat.
"I have not hung Lieutenant-Colonel Hendy out to dry," he said.
"We made a decision to temporarily remove him from command. He is being given due process and we will then determine his future as the commanding officer of the Camerons."
Fresh questions about lack of investigationBut there are fresh questions being raised about how seriously allegations of inappropriate conduct were being taken by military police.
Retired Lt.-Col. Rory Fowler, a former military lawyer now in private practice, has been retained by Hendy.
He says military police received two complaints about the content of the Facebook group — one a referral from his client, the other from a whistleblower.
"Lieutenant-Colonel Hendy received a complaint back in December of 2024. He received the complaint, he consulted with his brigade commander, and within a week, the two of them had referred the complaint to the military police, which was the appropriate investigative agency," said Fowler.
"Three months later, the military police kicked it back to Lieutenant-Colonel Hendy, indicating that they were not going to investigate and that they didn't have anything to investigate with respect to the complaint."
In March of this year, Hendy initiated an internal disciplinary investigation.
The Canadian Forces Provost Marshal, which oversees the military police, refused to discuss why the matter was referred back to the Cameron Highlanders for investigation even though the optics of a unit investigating itself are troubling.
"Details regarding the complainant or the origin of the complaint cannot be disclosed in order to protect the integrity of the investigation," said a statement from the defence department.
Military police reopen caseMilitary police have re-opened the case, saying there's new information.
"Lieutenant-Colonel Hendy did his job when the military police refused to do theirs," said Fowler, who added that he wondered what sort of investigation, if any, took place in the three months the provost marshal had the initial complaints.
"My concern is the military police came back and said, 'There's no service offence to investigate.' How would they know that unless they investigated?" Fowler asked.
The social media also contained a series of lewd photos.
Fowler says there are existing provisions under the National Defence Act, notably Section 129, to punish soldiers for breaches of discipline and good conduct.
"I have to admit I'm utterly flabbergasted that they thought that there was nothing for them to investigate," he said.
cbc.ca
