Article contentTo date, little is known of the group’s ideology other than they planned to seize a parcel of land near Quebec City. Just released court documents indicate that one of the accused discussed creating “another Waco,” referencing a deadly massacre involving a cult and U.S. authorities in 1993. That siege lasted 51 days and resulted in the deaths of 86 people.Article contentBefore these terrorism charges, we had what has come to be known as the Blue Hackle Mafia scandal involving a now-defunct Facebook group created by members of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (the Duke of Edinburgh’s Own).Article contentIn this case, it was the media that brought the inappropriate and unprofessional imagery to the attention of Wright. He immediately ordered military police to reopen a previous investigation that had determined that no service offences had been committed.Article contentArticle contentI have seen the imagery and I concur with Wright that much was overlooked in the initial probe. Given the number of provocative pictures taken at a military facility and shared on social media by the Blue Hackle Mafia, one could easily apply Section 129 of the National Defence Act (conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline).Article contentAlthough, at time of writing, no charges have been laid in this case, Lt.-Col. Ryan Hendy, the commanding officer of the Cameron Highlanders, has been relieved of command and Col. James McKay, the 33 Brigade Commander, has resigned from his post over the affair. So, while the CAF got three black eyes in rapid succession, the only thing connecting these incidents would be that they all fall into the category of “soldiers behaving badly.”Article contentThere were some anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic comments posted on the Blue Hackle Mafia Facebook site, however, the bulk of the unprofessional conduct involved public nudity and simulated homosexual sex acts. The wannabe terrorists in Quebec seemingly just hate authority, which makes one wonder what they were told at the recruiting centre.Article contentArticle contentHowever, they were in possession of a small arsenal and thus their actions need to be taken seriously. Now we have video footage of Canadian soldiers giving the Nazi salute in 2023. As this footage predates Tesla CEO Elon Musk giving similar salutes after Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration, I cannot use that incident to illustrate how society as a whole is becoming desensitized to that hateful gesture.Article contentHowever, in September 2023, Canada as a nation gave us an international black eye when our parliament gave two standing ovations to a Second World War Ukrainian SS veteran. On the occasion of the visit of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, then-Speaker of the House Anthony Rota invited 98-year-old Paul Hunka to the gallery.Article contentRota hailed Hunka as a hero for fighting against the Soviet Union. All in attendance rose to their feet twice to give thunderous applause to the veteran. Only after the fact, when it was pointed out by U.S. media outlets that Hunka served in the notorious Waffen-SS Galicia Division, did our parliamentarians realize they had hailed a Nazi in the presence of Zelenskyy, who is Jewish.
Scott Taylor: The hits to the Canadian military just keep coming
