Two present members and one veteran of Canada’s most elite particular forces group are below official investigation for allegedly supporting protests towards COVID-19 restrictions within the nation’s capital, in line with stories in Canadian media.
The commander of the Canadian Particular Operations Forces Command, or CANSOFCOM, mentioned Sunday, Feb. 13, that officers had been conscious of accusations that members of the command had been “supporting and/or actively participating” in a large-scale protest of truckers in Ottawa.
Citing nameless navy sources, the Ottawa Citizen reported the 2 particular forces troopers had been assaulters for Joint Job Drive 2, the Canadian navy’s premier counterterrorism unit. JTF 2, which relies close to Ottawa, is taken into account Canada’s high echelon of particular operations forces throughout the bigger CANSOF command, a counterpart to elite US items just like the Navy’s Particular Warfare Growth Group and the Army’s particular mission items.
The protests the members had been allegedly concerned with have been ongoing for nearly three weeks as truck drivers and their supporters have protested the American-Canadian cross-border vaccine mandate. The self-styled “Freedom Convoy” and subsequent protests have disrupted visitors at border crossings between Ontario and Michigan, Alberta and Montana, and British Columbia and Washington state.
In a assertion launched Sunday, Maj.-Gen. Steve Boivin, commander of CANSOFCOM, mentioned the command was wanting into two separate allegations.
On Feb. 1, Boivin mentioned, CANSOFCOM senior management was knowledgeable of 1 incident allegedly involving one among its members. Boivin mentioned that member “is already within the means of being launched from the Canadian Armed Forces,” and a unit disciplinary investigation had been launched.
On Thursday, senior management realized of allegations involving two different troopers with ties to JTF 2. One particular person was a CANSOFCOM member who can also be within the means of being launched, Boivin mentioned. The opposite soldier within the report just isn’t a CANSOFCOM member, Boivin mentioned, including that the management of that particular person’s present unit had been notified “in order that it could proceed accordingly.” The Ottawa Citizen reported that the second particular person was a JTF 2 veteran who’s now assigned elsewhere.
“[CANSOFCOM] doesn’t condone its members supporting and/or actively participating in causes that jeopardize the apolitical crucial related to their capabilities,” Boivin wrote. “If there are another allegations attributed to our members, the chain of command will examine every case and take applicable selections/actions.”
Officers didn’t specify how the members supported the protests.
Members of the Canadian navy are prohibited from becoming a member of organizations that go towards the military’s code of ethics, in line with CBC News. Officers and noncommissioned members are additionally banned from saying or doing something that “may mirror discredit on the Canadian Forces” if seen or heard by the general public.
Against this, American troops are typically allowed to attend protests so long as they’re off obligation and never in uniform. Nevertheless, troops are usually not allowed to take part in demonstrations the place “violence is more likely to consequence,” in line with Division of Protection guidelines.
CANSOFCOM’s main mission is counterterrorism. It presently operates throughout North and South America, Africa, Europe, the Center East, and the Asia-Pacific area. Whereas the precise missions of JTF 2 are extremely secret, in 2017, the Canadian Armed Forces confirmed {that a} member of the duty drive made a record-breaking sniper shot, killing an Islamic State group rebel at a distance of about 11,614 toes.
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