The officer in charge of a Canadian army brigade resigned after a controversy over a Facebook group now missing where members of a OTTAWA -based reserve unit allegedly published hateful and inappropriate content.
CBC News learned of Colonel James McKay, the commander of the 33 Canadian Brigade Group, told the staff at the end of last week he has resigned from command after shameful revelations this month that involve the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Duke of Edimburg).
The members of the unit are accused of publishing anti -Semitic, misogynist, homophobic and racist comments on the social media page along with explicit photos. The “Blue Hackle Mafia” group has now been eliminated.
The commander of the Cameron Highlanders, Lieutenant Colonel. Ryan Hendy has been temporarily withdrawn from his position and has given them other duties, while both the Military Police and the Army carry out separate investigations.
McKay was Hendy’s immediate superior and was apparently involved in the first discussions when the concern for the Facebook group emerged for the first time last December.
The Canadian army has temporarily suspended Lieutenant Colonel. Ryan Hendy after the discovery of a Facebook group with ‘aborrent’ content. CAF has been investigating the group, which is said to promote “racist, misogynist, homophobic and anti -Semitic images.”
“My actions when dealing with the Facebook group ‘Blue Hackle Mafia’ were not fulfilled [Canadian Armed Forces] And my personal expectations, “McKay wrote in an email obtained by CBC News.
“In the last 15 months, I have balanced multiple obligations and assumed more than I should.
The National Defense Department confirmed McKay’s resignation as Brigade Commander, which was presented and accepted on July 21.
“Being responsible for both our action and our inaction, and the respective consequences of these decisions, is essential for the weapons profession and achieving a Canadian armed forces lists, resistant and relevant,” Lieutenant Gen. Mike Wright said in a statement published Monday night to CBC News.
“The circumstances surrounding the social networks group remain extremely disturbing and disappointing, but the actions taken to date are important to underline the commitment of the Canadian army to ensure that our culture meets the expectations of Canadians.”
It is not clear if McKay will remain in the army or who will replace it interim.
McKay’s note suggested that the controversy about the behavior of the unit has become a distraction of the central responsibility of the brigade “of focusing on what is really important: to train soldiers and equipment.”
Concerns raised last year
Concern about the content of the Facebook group, which allegedly included comments from hate directed towards women, derogatory sexual comments about former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as well as discussions about the violation of grandmothers, were brought to light internally last year.
Hendy and McKay discussed the matter and notified the Military Police last December. But after three months of investigation, the Marshal of the Rector of the Canadian forces considered that no service crime had been committed. Hendy ordered an officer inside the Cameron Highlanders to carry out an internal investigation.
At the end of June, the citizen of Ottawa obtained screenshots of the Blue Hackle Mafia group and asked the Department of Defense.
In his initial response, Wright said he was surprised by the controversy. In an internal message obtained by CBC News in early July, Wright described the content of the “abhorrent” group and warned about the consequences.
“I have ordered that any member of the Canadian army that is currently in this group of social networks immediately cease their participation,” Wright wrote in the internal note.
He ordered an immediate summary investigation to examine the alleged ethical conduct of the members in service that were part of that online community.
The Rector Marshal, in a statement also shared with CBC News in early July, recognized the initial investigation.
“The transfer to the unit for disciplinary investigation was considered the best use of the options available in the military justice system, in this case,” said the statement.
Since then, the Military Police have opened a new investigation. The file began on June 27 after the citizen of Ottawa made his first consultations.
Charlotte Duval-Lantoine, a defense researcher specialized in social issues in the army, said that the conduct and decisions of the Military Police in this case must be thoroughly examined.
“If we observe other controversies that occurred around inappropriate sexual behavior, the Military Police has been a challenge,” said Duval-Lantoine, who said that problems such as racism and homophobia in the ranks have not received as much attention as sexual misconduct and mechanisms to deal with them can be inadequate.
In the fall of 2020, the former army commander, the now retired general Wayne Eyre, ordered an offensive in the odious behavior online after a series of incidents.
One of them was a case brought to light by CBC News that involved a now Canadian trainer who associated in line with two well -known hate groups, and that referred to Trudeau as a “traidant bastard.”
In addition, a former conservative, Patrik Mathews, was sentenced to nine years in an American prison for his role in what the researchers called a violent plot to trigger a “racial war” in the United States through the right -wing extremist group the base.
Eyre’s response at that time was to issue a 25 -page directive that requires soldiers to inform their superiors when they are witnesses or realize racism and hateful behavior. If they do not, Eyre warned at that time that there could be serious consequences.
“Is it enough?” Duval-Lantoine says of those measures. “Is it adapted for the type of action that would lead to the discipline for racist, or what the military calls odious, behavior?”
