Brett Boudreau

New report by @CAGlobalAffairs tells the story of a 5+ year DND initiative labelled by leaders as "incompatible" with govt policy, and lacking "appropriate authorities & oversight." See: cgai.ca/the_rise_and_fall_of…

"[MND] McGuinty’s communications director Muntaha Ahmed did not respond to a request for comment. But [DND] spokesperson Laura McIntyre-Grills confirmed the cuts were being made." ... "The Canadian army declined to answer how many reserve jobs were being cut. No explanation was given for the refusal to provide the information. The army did not provide specific details on what training would be cut or how long the cuts will last." Funny, do not recall reading or hearing about this in @Army_Comd_Armee's 'Inflection Point 2025' modernization briefs. CAF and Army can't even rustle up a uniformed spokesperson to explain themselves to this reporter! The deep reluctance on part of CAF to publicly explain activities and decisions - at all, let alone proactively - is a much bigger threat to trust and confidence in the institution and leadership ... and future willingness of the public to continue support to throw $$$ at Defence, than any mis- or disinformation by foreign actors.

“Following significant pushback from the public as well as government workers, after the Ottawa Citizen revealed the plan, Carignan retreated. “It is not focused directly to public servants,” she said in a Nov. 11, 2025 interview with CTV. “Our public servants are already contributing extensively to the work we are doing in defence.” Carignan did not provide comment to the Ottawa Citizen about why she had reversed course. She also did not explain why she claimed her plan was never focused directly on public servants even though she wrote that the mobilization plan “should initially prioritize volunteer public servants.”

Outstanding journalism here.

“Now the DND and military are refusing to release records, requested under the Access to Information Act, regarding its internal discussions on the decision to suppress the image. The Ottawa Citizen filed that request on April 24. The newspaper has filed a complaint to the [Info Commish] about the military’s decision to withhold the records.” Go figure, the functional authority for ATIP at DND is the ADM for Public Affairs. Quite some potential administrative conflict of interest there!

“Those who have a general interest in this nation’s military affairs will surely find much to like, including his depiction of operational experiences, background to newsworthy events he was part of, and complexities of leading the CAF during a particularly challenging time. Many CAF-knowledgeable readers, though, are likely to find the account of his time as CDS to be overly defensive, sometimes performative and selective of facts, particularly about the efforts around culture change (not just misconduct of a sexual nature) in the military.”

“Those who have a general interest in this nation’s military affairs will surely find much to like, including his depiction of operational experiences, background to newsworthy events he was part of, and complexities of leading the CAF during a particularly challenging time. Many CAF-knowledgeable readers, though, are likely to find the account of his time as CDS to be overly defensive, sometimes performative and selective of facts, particularly about the efforts around culture change (not just misconduct of a sexual nature) in the military.”

Some thoughts on retired General Wayne Eyre’s book Into the Breach. ottawalife.com/article/refle…

Another reputational self-inflicted wound by Defence over withholding information that would be inconsequential excepting for the effort made to conceal it. These regular occurrences demand more active political oversight as CDS and DM aren't fixing it nor holding responsible authority (Public Affairs) to account. These 'own goals' just create suspicion of CAF motives, and fuels mis/disinformation.

Interesting vote upcoming this Saturday in Copenhagen to determine whether the German or Canadian chief of defence will win election amongst peers, for the top military job in NATO, working at the HQ in Brussels.