The Canadian Armed Forces has issued new orders to military personnel as senior commanders seek to address allegations of having been soft on hate in the ranks.
The Canadian Armed Forces has issued new orders to military personnel as senior commanders seek to address allegations of having been soft on hate in the ranks.
The orders, which aim to take a harder line on “hateful conduct,” follow a rash of high-profile incidents in which the military was caught flatfooted as service members were publicly linked to hateful actions or groups.
“The year before, it was more like a reaction kind of approach,” said Maj.-Gen. Marc Gagne, who oversees strategy, plans and policy within the chief of military personnel’s office. “We were reacting to cases.”
The new direction also comes as the military is actively working to recruit more women, visible minorities and Indigenous people to ensure it reflects Canadian society and is better able to operate in diverse theatres.
The new order aims to leave no doubt about what constitutes “hateful conduct” by banning anything — words, images or symbols — that encourages, justifies or promotes violence or hatred against individuals or groups.
That includes discrimination based on nationality or ethnic background, race, colour, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or disability.
“We were talking about different forms of misconduct: sexual misconduct, harassment, discrimination,” Gagne said. “But ‘hateful conduct’ was never clearly articulated…. We broke new ground by developing this definition.”
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