June 8, 2023
Is the Canadian Forces ready to be involved in counter terrorism and protecting our country?
Questions about military blank bullets while on duty.
Since the 9/11 terrorist attack, Canada and the USA seemed to be reinforcing their
National Security and upgraded their policies on terrorism. But still, events like the
shooting that took place at the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier, in the Ottawa area, in
2014 still occurred, without any warning or protection whatsoever. What has changed
between 2001 and 2014? Did the Canadian Government really implement stricter rules
about terrorism? How is the Government protecting their own citizens and are
soldiers expected to respond to terrorist attacks? Why are blank bullets are still used in
military ceremonial duties ? Are we being too careless about home-based attacks?
Here at Cocaine Company, we are digging deeper into the subject.
Canada, as we all know, is a peaceful country, if we compare it to other countries. But,
as a NATO nation, (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) we are following the rhetoric of
USA’s lead of warfare along with the other nations allied. Here’s just a brief reminder of
what a NATO alliance really means : “This political and military alliance was formed to
promote the stability of the North Atlantic area and to safeguard the freedom of its
peoples, based on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law.”
(NATO-Government of Canada). While our alliance’s purpose promotes peace and
freedom, let’s not forget that Canada is a world leader in the military weapons brokering
and exportation, hitting an all-time high value of 2.73 billion dollars, which is the second
highest number in history. And this report doesn’t include selling goods to USA. Some
of the main countries of exportations of weapons includes Ukraine, Japan, United
Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and Germany. Let’s note that not all weapon’s trades are shown
in the numbers, including the ones we sell to USA, which is omitted in reports and
therefore unable to provide a realistic number of sales. (Ploughshares)
While our country continues to sell weapons to other countries, what kind of protection
our government has to offer its citizens in order to counter terrorism? According to the
Government of Canada’s website, « the Department of foreign affairs cooperate with
international partners to prevent terrorism, and security intelligence agencies collect and
share intelligence with domestic and international partners on groups and individuals of
concern. And Internationally, DND/CF (Department of National Defense/Canadian
Forces) work with Canadian security intelligence and law enforcement agencies to
detect potential terrorists and share information with foreign and Canadian partners. »
And, as it is mentioned clearly on the website, «in the event of a significant terrorist
attack, Canadian forces may be involved with other emergency forces to respond and
provide a return to normalcy, but it also states that « the direct response in a case like
this should be led by local policing authorities.» (Annex C: Implementation Approach ).
Here comes the confusion about who should be dealing with events such as the Ottawa
2014 shooting. Who should respond first to attacks like these? Police authorities are the
first responders, but military personnel, according to the government’s website could
also be involved in resolving the issue as well. Why are they still not trained and
properly equipped with loaded weapons while on duty, at ceremonial events, while there
is still a major potential risk?
To get better answers, we interviewed an experienced adjutant of the Canadian Forces,
which will remain anonymous for the purpose of this interview, here is the full detailed
interview.
Me : Hello, thanks for meeting me and taking the time to answer my questions. I would
like to know more about the procedures while being on duty as an officer in the army, do
you always carry your loaded weapon on ceremonial duties or other events?
Adjutant: Great to be there. No, we only carry our loaded weapons while training in the
field. While we are on a parade, there is not much security around us, and our guns are
never loaded. It’s the same principal for a ceremonial duty, the guns are filled with blank
bullets as we want to project an image of peace.
Me: Ok, but isn’t there any concerns for security? As we know, a tragic event occurred
in 2014 and a young soldier was fatally shot and killed. Isn’t there any police monitoring
these events?
Adjutant: Yes, there is some concerns, but I’ve never seen much police security while
on a parade. I’ve never seen a police ghost car yet! There is not enough budget for it,
and it takes a lot of money to always maintain security. In Canada, we do not have the
same level of risk related to a terrorist attack, compared to the USA for example. In the
USA, there is much more people, an easy access to guns and they are prone to be a
target since the war in Afghanistan, so it’s way more than us.
Me: Ok, but then, are the military personnel well trained to respond to unanticipated
attacks? Are they provided with guidance and self-defense training?
Adjutant: No, there is no training provided for officers in ceremonial duties. Of course,
that should change and we should provide better guidance towards this matter. But the
thing is, if we provide loaded weapons and with lots of security around us, the image of
the parade and the forces could be tarnished. The public might be scared at the sight of
it and might even panic when looking at us. So, we prefer to project a peaceful image.
Me: Got it. Do you think military personnel should be more involved in fighting against
terrorism in our own country ? Is there any role military can play in the defense of our
country ?
Adjutant: It’s mostly the police’s job to assure security for counter terrorism. We are
here to assist citizens, when there’s important events that needs our help, and to
prepare ourselves in the event of wars. As a country, I think we should invest further in
our National Security, in case of a bigger terrorist event. Our country leaders seem to
bury their head in the sand when anticipating terrorist events, so we need to be fully
prepared, with the proper equipment, and trained for any casualties.
Me: Exactly. So maybe we should take example of what the USA are doing in terms of
investment in security and with their army?
Adjutant: Yes, in the USA, they are investing billions of dollars into their National
Security. But still, there is a lot of school shootings, gun violence, terrorist attacks,
threats etc. These events impact the medias, and they play a huge role in their society.
Unfortunately, there is no money amount to prevent these events, and it’s impossible to
prevent all of them. There are still bad people out there thinking about doing bad things.
Mental health is a real issue here.
Me: Great! Thanks for your input and I think it’s an important subject to reflect on as a
society and as country. We thank you for your service.
Adjutant: I’m grateful to live and work in this country. You’re welcome.
Following my interview, I asked a few more questions about the situation currently
happening in France, about the riots going on and also about the threat of a 3 rd world
war. There seemed to be a disconnection about the events happening and the reality of
the decline of the society that we live in now. It seems to me that Canadian soldiers are
only following the straight narrative of the Government, which is filled with propaganda
and disinformation. They are not aware of the revolution happening in France at all. The
global geopolitical situation is currently in crisis as war rises, inflation rises, the cost of
living rises, and politicians not concerned about the working people. We are entering a
dark time era, where depression sits right at our door and our leaders are doing barely
anything for us.
Finally, I am still questioning the capability of our government to protect its citizens and
soldiers, to protect our own country, and to provide affordable groceries and housing.
As a society, we should evolve and not regress. How can our government send military
weapons to other countries, such as Ukraine, while not investing in our own defense?
Our military needs the right training, ditch the blank bullets on duty, and use proper war
logistics to defend our country. There is no excuse for deaths to happens on our own
soil. Also, our soldiers needs more support for mental health as well, as PTSD is a
common syndrome amongst our war heroes. We should bring back our country to our
old-world values of family first, peaceful yet strong, welcoming yet protective.
Written by Cindy Z.
Inside the Attack: On the 2014 Shooting at Parliament Hill in Ottawa
