Former Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre is writing his memoirs about his controversial tenure as CDS. (DND photo)
By Tim Ryan
He’s back.
After facing criticism for failing to take care of his troops and bringing in Justin Trudeau’s “woke agenda”, Wayne Eyre is once again in the public eye.
Eyre, who had been Chief of the Defence Staff since 2021 and in command of the Canadian Armed Forces during one of its most tumultuous times, retired in the summer of 2024.
But he was back on Global News TV show, The West Block on June 15 promoting his views on “leadership” and the government’s recently announced defence budget increase.
West Block host Mercedes Stephenson was visibly giddy to have Eyre in front of the camera, highlighting his achievements as CDS and telling her audience how “brave” the general was during his time leading the CAF.
Eyre repeated many of the same tired old talking points he had rolled out during his time as defence chief…the importance of “investing in people”, readiness, etc.
“The importance of character is so important,” Eyre stated. “The strength of our people is another theme that comes out.”
Eyre says he is now writing his memoirs.
That should be an interesting read for sure.
Eyre had a controversial tenure, prompting some serving and retired military personnel to label him a ‘yes man’ for Trudeau on everything from sexual misconduct to changing dress and deportment regulations.
One of the most divisive decisions made under Eyre’s leadership was the changes to dress and deportment rules. Military dress Instructions were deemed by Eyre to lack inclusivity and were seen as discriminatory and not reflecting modern society.
So changes came into effect in September 2022 and sparked an immediate backlash from serving and retired personnel.
Eyre faced criticism for bringing in what some described as the Liberal government’s “woke” agenda. Some of the controversial elements of that were the move to a gender-neutral dress code and the decision to allow military personnel to have coloured or long hair, face tattoos or long nails if so desired.
Eyre eventually had to sound the retreat on his policy after it created havoc and pretty much destroyed morale in the Canadian military.
Eyre faced other controversies. In the fall of 2021, the general angered Canadian Forces personnel when he blamed the military’s sexual misconduct crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic for an exodus of personnel. “We need our mid-level leaders to dig deep and do this for the institution, to put service before self, not to retreat into retirement, but to advance forward and face the challenges head-on,” Eyre stated then.
The general’s comments generated an immediate and largely negative response on social media. Military personnel said that Eyre was out of touch and that the exodus of personnel had started long before the pandemic or the sexual misconduct crisis. Poor leadership and concerns about quality of life were among common issues cited by those who had left.
Others criticized Eyre for admonishing soldiers who had committed a large part of their lives to serving in the military, noting they had the right to decide when they should leave.
Eyre later acknowledged that his comments created anger among military personnel and tried, unsuccessfully in the eyes of some, to walk back his comments.
During his time, Eyre was also in the unusual position of being the only CDS to have faced two lawsuits from his fellow generals.The legal documents and allegations made in the legal actions have pulled back the curtain on a military and political leadership that seemed rife with infighting.
In 2023 Maj. Gen. Dany Fortin filed a lawsuit naming Trudeau, Eyre and other senior government and military officials for their alleged roles in Fortin’s removal from command and a military police investigation into allegations of sexual assault.
Fortin was ultimately acquitted of the charge.
In his lawsuit Fortin alleged that at the behest of Eyre as well as “political actors,” the investigation against him was “rushed, flawed and did not follow the usual or ordinary course of a CFNIS investigation.” He also later alleged that the senior leadership, led by Eyre, was breaking the law by withholding material needed for his legal defence.
Eyre declined to comment on the lawsuit and Fortin settled it out of court, reportedly receiving a significant financial payment.
In late May 2024, Eyre was also named in a new lawsuit filed by lawyers for Lt.-Gen. Steven Whelan. Military prosecutors had to withdraw service offence charges against Whelan which claimed that he had an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate.
Whelan’s lawyers responded by accusing Eyre and others of destroying the officer’s career to score political points, the CBC reported in its coverage of the lawsuit.
Eyre hasn’t commented about this lawsuit and Stephenson didn’t ask any questions during her interview on the West Block. Presumably, we will have to wait until Eyre’s memoirs come out to get his version of events.
Eyre will also go down in history as the only Chief of the Defence Staff who has honoured and saluted a member of the Waffen SS. In September 2023, Eyre faced criticism from veterans when he twice joined all MPs in a standing ovation in the House of Commons for Waffen SS soldier Yaroslav Hunka.
Some veterans demanded an apology from the top soldier for his actions, but he refused. He declined an invitation from Esprit de Corps to explain why he saluted Hunka and why he won’t apologize.
It should be interesting to see how Eyre addresses these controversies in his memoirs.
In other news, so much insanity is continuing to unfold south of the border that it is hard to keep up with the latest ramblings of U.S. President Donald Trump.
But one of the president’s latest musing that caught the attention of aviation specialists, was his claim that the U.S. wants to build a twin-engine F-35.
We're going to do an F-55,” Trump said in Doha. “That'll be two engines and a super upgrade on the F-35.”
Aerospace executives seated next to the president when he made his claims tried to keep a straight face.
Aviation experts say anything can be built with enough money and Trump’s super upgrade on the F-35 would require lots of cash. Don’t count on seeing a F-55 anytime soon.
F-35 maker Lockheed Martin treaded carefully, issuing a statement about the president’s remarks: “We thank President Trump for his support of the F-35 and F-22 and will continue to work closely with the Administration to realize its vision for air dominance.”
(With files from Esprit de Corps June 13, 2024 article Farewell to the Chief:
