FIRST READING: The wokest military on earth
First Reading is a Canadian politics newsletter curated by the National Post's own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here.
Article content
Article content
TOP STORY
Article content
One of the stated goals of the Carney government is to rejigger Canada's various military relationships. After decades of reflexively going along with the United States on defence issues, the Liberals are signalling a plan to make nice with Europe.
Article content
Article content
This week's speech from the throne stated that Canada will be joining 'ReArm Europe,' a massive planned buildup of the continent's military strength, largely as a check against Russia.
Article content
Article content
But as Canada strikes out to make new friends, these new allies may encounter a Canadian military that is slightly different than what they remember. Even for Western militaries that have embraced nostrums of equity and inclusion, in many ways Canada has gone further than all of them.
Article content
It was in 2022 that the Canadian Armed Forces dramatically dropped its standards for dress and grooming. There are no longer any restrictions on hair length or colour and everything from hoop earrings to ear spacers to eyelash extensions can now be freely worn on parade squares.
Article content
Canada acknowledged at the time that nobody else was doing this. As Canada's then top soldier, Wayne Eyre said at the time that Canada was 'leading the way' on 21st century military dress codes. 'We have … consulted with our allies, who have told us that we are several years ahead of them,' said Eyre.
Article content
Article content
Three years later, Canada is still an outlier in having units filled with beards, green hair, facial piercings and sideburns. All across Europe, beard bans are standard at a minimum, with exceptions allowed under strict conditions. The Norwegian military, for instance, allows beards only with explicit, written permission.
Article content
Article content
Even France, a country known for its freewheeling workplace dress codes, forces its soldiers to shave before marching through Paris on Bastille Day.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
33 minutes ago
- CBC
U.S. ambassador says Canadians facing device searches, detainment 'not a pattern'
The U.S. ambassador to Canada is pushing back on Ottawa's travel advice, saying his country doesn't search phones at the border and arguing some Americans travelling to Canada are having a tough time. "We welcome Canadians to come in and invest, to spend their hard-earned Canadian dollars at U.S. businesses," U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra told The Canadian Press in an interview Friday. "If a Canadian has had a disappointing experience coming into the United States, I'm not denying that it happened, but I'm saying it's an isolated event and it is not a pattern." In April, Ottawa updated its advice to Canadians travelling to the United States to warn them about the possibility they might be detained if denied entry. "Expect scrutiny at ports of entry, including of electronic devices," reads the new guidance. There have been reports of Canadians facing intensified scrutiny at the border, having phones searched and, in some cases, being detained. WATCH | Canadian visits to U.S. plummet over fears of new security measures: Canadian visits to U.S. plummet over fear of harsh new security measures 2 months ago Duration 2:08 Canadians are making fewer trips to the U.S. over fears about the Trump administration's harsh new security measures, including the heightened possibility of being detained. Statistics Canada says air travel is down 13 per cent, and land travel is down by almost a third. Hoekstra insisted concerns about device searches are not grounded in reality. "Coming to the U.S., that's a decision for the Canadians to make. Searching devices and all of that is not a well-founded fear. We don't do that. America is a welcoming place," he said. Americans also scrutinized at border: Hoekstra He said some Americans have expressed similar concerns about Canada. "I've heard that from Americans coming into Canada as well, OK? Saying, 'You know, we've not received a warm reception when we've gotten to Canadian customs,'" he said. When asked if these reports from American travellers involve arbitrary phone searches and lengthy detainment, Hoekstra said there are consular cases of Americans complaining to the embassy about the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). "We've said, 'OK this may have been an isolated event. There may have been a Canadian border person who was having a bad day, and thought they'd take it out on, you know, somebody across the border,'" he said. In a statement, the CBSA said its officers follow a code of conduct and the federal ethics code that both require them to treat everyone equally, and that the agency investigates any complaints of mistreatment. "Employees are expected to conduct themselves in a way that upholds the values of integrity, respect and professionalism at all times," wrote spokesperson Karine Martel. "Treating people with respect, dignity and fairness is fundamental to our border services officers' relationship with the public and a key part of this is serving all travellers in a non-discriminatory way." Hoekstra said travel to the U.S. is up to individuals. "If you decide that you're not going to come down or whatever, that's your decision and you're missing an opportunity. There are great things to see in America," Hoekstra said. He also noted the case of CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour, who recently said she prepared to visit the U.S. last month as if she was "going to North Korea" — with a "burner phone" that didn't carry any personal information — only to experience a warm welcome. "It's like, [let's] get past the rhetoric and let's look at the real experiences that people are having here," Hoekstra said. Airlines have been cutting flights between Canada and the U.S. due to a slump in demand, and Flight Centre Travel Group Canada reported a nearly 40 per cent drop in flights between the two countries year-over-year in February. A survey in early May conducted by Leger Marketing for the Association for Canadian Studies found 52 per cent of respondents feel that "it is no longer safe for all Canadians travelling to the United States," with 29 per cent disagreeing and 19 per cent saying they were unsure. Roughly the same proportion said they personally feel unwelcome in the U.S. 2SLGBTQ+ groups have opted against attending World Pride events in Washington and United Nations events in New York, citing scrutiny at the border as the Trump administration scales back protections for transgender and non-binary people.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
‘The road is long': Syrian refugee engineering a fresh start in Montreal
Jad Albasha poses for a photo at the Polytechnique Montreal, in Montreal on June 3, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press) When Jad Albasha arrived in Quebec in 2016 as a 21-year-old fleeing his war-torn home of Syria, he landed in a snow-covered world that spoke French, a language in which he did not understand a single word. But now it rolls off the tongue as if Albasha has lived here all of his life. When he graduates on Saturday with a master's degree in civil engineering from Polytechnique Montréal, it will mark yet another milestone that shows how far he's come. He went from being a third-year civil engineering student in Syria, just six months away from earning a degree, to wondering if he would be stuck working at a grocery store in Laval, north of Montreal, forever. 'The road is long. I sometimes wondered 'am I going to get there?' ' Albasha said in an interview. 'Nine years later, we see that it's possible to take steps.' 'A new start' Albasha decided he would immerse himself in French upon arrival. First with a francization course to learn the basics starting in March 2016 and lasting about nine months. The goal was to speak French with the least amount of errors. Then, Albasha enrolled in a junior college program that would allow him to eventually resume his university career. However, his transcripts and missing paperwork from Syria led him to be rejected by almost every local university due to incomplete applications. With the exception of one: Polytechnique Montréal. The engineering school, which is affiliated with the Université de Montréal, has a large cohort of international students. Nine years later, his French is fluent. Enough so that he's able to work as a teaching assistant at Polytechnique. 'Merci, Bonjour, Bonsoir,' that was the limit of his French in January 2016, Albasha recalled in an interview. 'I remember before I started my French courses I was working at a grocery store and I wasn't even a cashier, I was a bag boy because I couldn't speak to clients,' Albasha said. 'It was difficult, every time someone asked me a question in French, I'd have to ask a colleague.' In January 2013, bombings at the Aleppo University killed 78 people and convinced the family it was time to leave the only home they'd known. His family — including a twin brother, an older brother and his parents — spent some time briefly in Lebanon before Justin Trudeau's Liberal government expedited Syrian refugee claims allowing them to come to Canada over a period of a few months. Even today, Montreal snow reminds him of his arrival to the country. He associates the fresh flakes with a renewal of sorts. 'It's a symbol of happiness for me, a new chance, a new start,' Albasha said. He works at AtkinsRéalis Group Inc., where he specializes in hydroelectric dams, a priority for Quebec's economic future, according to the current provincial government. He doesn't see his family returning to Aleppo. All of his friends have either spread across the globe or have died in the war. Montreal is where the family's foundation has been laid. International student cap Polytechnique Montreal's president Maud Cohen said Albasha demonstrates an important need for Quebec to bring in more engineers amid an aging population and a demographic deficit. 'The engineers really are building Quebec, they're responsible for innovation, creativity, everything that's happening in tech, in high-tech,' Cohen said. 'So might as well bring in students like this that have been trained somewhere else that have the potential of bringing a contribution to the economy faster, that have the potential to be trained here. 'We need more people like Jad ... and it's not to diminish the role of people that are already living here.' Last December, Quebec adopted a law that put a cap on international student applications, with the ultimate aim of reducing overall immigration. At a time when international students are facing a ban brought by the U.S. government and Canadian institutions look to capitalize on a brain drain due to funding cuts in the U.S., Cohen has a message for the government: 'Help us help you.' 'We recruit high-level students so how can we work together to make sure that we help you provide what the economy needs and to help us in the same way with either funding, or help us (by having) higher quotas to recruit.' Albasha is a mentor for others. He's the resource for many attempting to start anew. 'Sadly, I didn't have a chance to meet someone who'd lived through the same things as me, so I didn't have that example,' he said. But everyone deserves a chance regardless of where they come from. While recently presenting a paper in Winnipeg, Albasha went to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Inscribed on the wall was a quote: 'All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.' 'I found this to be profound and true,' he said. 'Sometimes we're not lucky, but we can't forget that if we persevere, we can get there in most cases.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2025. Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Canada focusing on peace, energy security and new partnerships at G7 meeting: Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney holds a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, June 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney says the G7 leaders' summit later this month in Alberta will see Canada seeking agreements in three key areas. Carney released a statement today saying Canada's top priority will be strengthening global peace and security, which includes countering foreign interference and transnational crime, as well as improving responses to wildfires. To spur economic growth, the prime minster says he will focus on improving energy security by fortifying supply chains for critical minerals and accelerating the use of artificial intelligence. As well, Carney says Canada will try to generate jobs by securing partnerships that will open new markets and generate big investments in infrastructure. Meanwhile, Carney says other discussions will explore securing a lasting peace in Ukraine, and reaching out to partners beyond the G7 to 'build coalitions with reliable partners.' The meeting, to be held in Kananaskis, Alta., from June 15 to 17, is expected to bring together leaders from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan and Italy. 'Canada has what the world wants and the values to which others aspire,' Carney said in the statement. 'The G7 leaders' summit in Kananaskis is a moment for Canada to work with reliable partners to meet challenges with unity, purpose, and force. Canada is ready to lead.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2025. The Canadian Press
