Gen. Wayne Eyre felt need to respond to predecessor’s letter to senior officers
OTTAWA — Canada’s newly minted chief of the defence staff says he felt he needed to speak up and remind senior military officers who they work for after his predecessor sent them a letter arguing to get back his job as Canada’s top military commander.
“When the senior leadership of the Armed Forces was engaged, I felt I had to jump in and remind them that we work for our duly elected civilian officials, who represent the will of the Canadian population,” Gen. Wayne Eyre told The Canadian Press in an interview on Friday.
The comments represent the first time Eyre has spoken publicly about Admiral Art McDonald’s controversial letter, which has been heavily criticized by the Liberal government and others since it was distributed to the top brass last month.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed Eyre as permanent defence chief, nine months after he took over the position on an acting basis while military police investigated an allegation of sexual misconduct against McDonald.