Chronic pain research centre asks for resignation of retired general behind controversial speech

An organization researching chronic pain in veterans has asked for and received the resignation of a retired general behind a controversial speech slamming government and Canadian Forces policies.

The Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans originally announced Nov. 10 that retired Lt.-Gen. Michel Maisonneuve, who was on its board of directors, would lead the organization’s fundraising campaign.

The night before, Maisonneuve was given a standing ovation by serving senior Canadian military officers for a speech in which he criticized everything from the removal of historical statues and apologies to victims to government climate change policies. The speech also took issue with the new policy by Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre, who made recent changes to military dress regulations to include beards and hair colouring, and to give both women and men more options in selecting uniforms.

Despite originally standing by Maisonneuve after his controversial remarks, the centre has now announced it has parted ways with the retired general.

It released a statement Nov. 25 that Dr. Ramesh Zacharias, the organization’s CEO, “requested and received, on behalf of the Board, the resignation of Lieutenant-General (retired) J.O. Michel Maisonneuve.”

The Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans would not provide any explanation for why it asked for Maisonneuve’s resignation. “We have no further comment to the statement made on our website,” said spokesperson Lauren O’Grady.

Maisonneuve told this newspaper he had no comment.

The centre in Hamilton has received funding from Veterans Affairs Canada but was going to have Maisonneuve lead an initiative to raise money from corporations and other groups.

In May 2020, the federal government announced it was working with McMaster University to launch the new centre to conduct research and help improve the well-being of Canadian Armed Forces veterans suffering from chronic pain. The government announced $20 million in funding over five years.

Maisonneuve’s speech during his acceptance of a top defence award in Ottawa has divided the military community. Some retired military personnel, upset over a crackdown on sexual misconduct and the charges laid against several senior officers for sexual assault as well as “woke” policies and a lack of defence funding, saw it as a rebuke of the Liberal government.

Maisonneuve also complained about social media, cancel culture and a society “lost in these days of entitlement, Me First, not my problem and endless subsidies and handouts.”

He also criticized the apologies being made to various groups. “Today’s world is also where taking personal responsibility for our own actions has disappeared from the landscape while the phenomenon of collective apologies flourishes in our country,” he told the audience of 600. “Individuals and groups fight over who gets to wear the coveted victims’ cloak.”

Defence minister Anita Anand apologized last year to those who faced sexual assaults and harassment in the Canadian Forces.

Trudeau has apologized to students of residential schools as well as to Indigenous groups for the abuses and deaths that occurred in that system. He also apologized for Canada’s decision in 1939 to reject asylum for 900 German Jews fleeing the Nazis, of which 254 died in the Holocaust.

Trudeau recently apologized for the systemic anti-Black racism members of No. 2 Construction Battalion endured before, during, and long after the First World War.

Maisonneuve also criticized the judgement of historical leaders “against the standards of today. Enough statues have been toppled; erasing our history is not the solution.”

A number of local governments have removed statues of Sir John A Macdonald because of his involvement in the creation of the residential school system.

In addition, Maisonneuve complained about government climate change policies. “Canada’s prosperity is being sacrificed at the altar of climate change as opposed to being used to help the world transition to clean energy,” he added.

Some defence analysts pointed out the speech was further proof Canada’s military culture is in desperate need of change. Thomas Juneau, a former National Defence analyst, wrote on Twitter that Maisonneuve’s speech “was an embarrassment and a good illustration of the culture of entitlement that has led to the systematic abuses of power in the senior ranks of the military.”

Others who have experienced sexual assault while serving in the Canadian Forces expressed their disappointment at the reaction of the serving officers and military cadets in the room. “They go on and on about survivors needing to be brave enough to report their rapists, report their offenders, and harassers and trust the system,” tweeted sexual assault survivor Donna Riguidel, a retired major. “And they do not even have the moral courage to walk out of a damn speech.”

Vice Chief of the Defence Staff Lt.-Gen. Frances Allen and Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan, chief of professional conduct and culture, were among the senior officers attending the speech.

Allen declined to comment.

Carignan’s office did issue a tweet on Nov. 15 thanking Maisonneuve for his military service but also noting “we also fundamentally disagree with statements made during this year’s Vimy Gala in Ottawa.”

Eyre has refused to comment on the speech.

Anand did not comment directly on the speech but did note in a statement that she has “been clear that my top priority is to build a military where all members feel safe, protected, and respected. I expect Canadian Armed Forces members to uphold the values of Canada and its Armed Forces – including diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.”

Maisonneuve made his speech as he accepted the Vimy Award, which honoured him for his lifelong contributions in defence, including his work on military education, support for veterans as well as his commitment to bilingualism.

During his speech, Maisonneuve also took a swipe at leaders who he claimed divide rather than unite. While not specifically naming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or Hillary Clinton, Maisonneuve said “can you imagine a military leader labelling half of his command as deplorables, fringe radicals and less-thans and then expect them to fight as one?”

Conservative MPs, anti-vaxers, right-wing commentators and those who supported protests which blockaded border crossings and occupied downtown Ottawa earlier this year have all railed at Trudeau for his comments about demonstrators. Trudeau labelled protest groups that descended on Ottawa as a “fringe minority” who held “unacceptable views” not representing the majority of Canadians.

U.S. Presidential candidate Hilary Clinton in 2016 labelled Donald Trump’s supporters as deplorables, noting they expressed racist, sexist, homophobic and Islamophobic views.

Maisonneuve claimed in his speech that Canada is no longer seen as a serious country.

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