I spoke to Lt.-Gen. Steven Whelan not long after military prosecutors withdrew the two sexual misconduct charges that effectively ended his distinguished career. I expected to find a bitter man.
Instead, I found a soldier full of dignity, one who remains committed to rebuilding Canada’s military as a trusted institution.
Rooting out “toxic masculinity” in hockey culture was a central topic at Hockey Canada’s Beyond the Boards Summit in September. “Toxic masculinity” has similarly been a topic in calls to change the culture of the Canadian Armed Forces.
But some academics and others say attempts to root out “toxic” masculinity may threaten masculinity as a whole.
“Suiting up and going out there and playing a physical sport—as a boy, it turned me into a man,” former hockey player Thomas Joseph of British Columbia told The Epoch Times. He preferred to use a pseudonym, fearing professional repercussions for speaking publicly on the controversial topic of gender.
The Canadian military will revisit a new policy banning chaplains from prayer during official functions, The Epoch Times has learned, and chaplains will now have the choice to pray at Remembrance Day ceremonies on Nov. 11.
In an Oct. 30 email seen by The Epoch Times, Chaplain General Brigadier-General Guy Belisle told the chaplaincy he continues to support the “spirit” of the new directive, but leeway would be provided to chaplains following backlash.
Current and former soldiers have launched a lawsuit against the top leadership of the Canadian military and the Department of National Defence, alleging abuse of power and violation of charter rights with regard to COVID-19 policies.
The lawsuit involves 128 individuals who say they were coerced into taking injections due to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) COVID-19 vaccine mandate, with some refusing and being expelled from the military and others complying and allegedly suffering from severe adverse effects.
Canada’s military must rapidly retool to defend against hostile nations that already “consider themselves to be at war with the West,” a new internal military report suggests.
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) also needs to better incorporate “information operations” into their efforts to counter misinformation, and must co-ordinate with “other instruments of national power” during a time of so-called hybrid warfare.
A new study funded by the Department of National Defence says Canada’s CF-18 fighter aircraft force “is in crisis” and suffering from low morale, high rates of departure among instructor pilots and a shortage of maintenance technicians, impairing its ability to meet defence obligations to allies.
The report, by Justin Bronk, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, a 192-year-old British think tank, points to a number of underlying causes.
The bishop in charge of overseeing Catholic military chaplains says some are feeling betrayed after a new directive was issued which bans prayer during official functions.
“I have heard from Catholic chaplains and other members of the Military Ordinariate who are experiencing frustration, a sense of betrayal, and even vocational crisis,” wrote Scott McCaig, bishop of the Military Ordinariate of Canada, in an Oct. 21 statement.
Bp. McCaig added there exists “significant concern” the new policy could undermine morale and spiritual resiliency for “scores” of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and their family.
Air force will have to wait even longer to get armed drones, defence department says
Canada’s air force will have to wait a few extra years to get the armed drones it has been promised for more than a decade — because, among other things, the pilotless aircraft require special modifications to fly in the Far North.
The federal government had planned to acquire by 2025 a fleet of MQ-9 Reaper drones, built by U.S. defence contractor General Atomics.
Serving military chaplains say a new directive preventing them from leading religious prayer during official functions is causing consternation in the ranks, and is due to the “woke mentality” taking over their organization.
On Oct. 11, a month before Remembrance Day, one of the most important military ceremonies, the Office of the Chaplain General issued a new policy that replaces public prayer with non-religious “spiritual reflections.”
The Department of National Defence has confirmed that chaplains can’t use the word “God” during official ceremonies such as Remembrance Day.
This follows Defence Minister Bill Blair’s dismissal as “misinformation” assertions by the Conservatives that military chaplains are being prohibited from saying prayers at Remembrance Day ceremonies.
There are few if any military occasions as connected to spirituality and religion as Remembrance Day. While we gather to mark all of those who served, the playing of the Last Post reminds us that our most solemn thoughts are reserved for those who made the ultimate sacrifice and did not return.
We honour the dead. And, for many, we honour the dead in part through prayer. The Canadian Armed Forces has a chaplain program, where, in their own words, chaplains “are responsible for fostering the spiritual, religious, and pastoral care of CAF members.”
If you attend an official Remembrance Day ceremony next month at your local cenotaph or Royal Canadian Legion branch, you’re in for a surprise if the armed forces chaplain presiding says a prayer.
Canadians about to attend Remembrance Day ceremonies across the country could come across different proceedings than they’re used to, as the military has told its chaplain service that religious prayers in official public functions are now forbidden.
“While the dimension of prayer may occupy a significant place for some of our members, we do not all pray in the same way; for some, prayer does not play a role in their lives,” says the Oct. 11 directive obtained by The Epoch Times.
OTTAWA – The military’s chaplain-general says many soldiers are struggling with the high cost of living and morale is the lowest it’s been in recent memory.
Chaplains say in a briefing note written to the chief of the defence staff that more Armed Forces members are asking for help to make ends meet.
Military chaplains are seeing an increasing number of soldiers, sailors and aircrew who — squeezed by the high cost of living and stuck in a system that forces them to relocate — are in financial distress and seeking assistance.
That disturbing assessment is found in the latest report to Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre from Canadian Forces Chaplain General Brig.-Gen. Guy Bélisle. A copy of the report was obtained by CBC News.
The report found that military morale is flagging for a variety of reasons.
