Want to see a copy of a speech by Canada’s top general? Then you’ll have to pay

The public shouldn’t have access to copies of speeches delivered by Canada’s top general unless they are willing to pay to attend conferences where the officer is speaking, according to military records.

But a former Canadian Forces public affairs officer says that policy is not only wrong but just the latest example of military leaders failing to grasp the need to better communicate with Canadians.

The recently released documents outlined changes in the Canadian Forces public relations policy put in place by then Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre.

For years it was common practice for the forces to provide written copies to media outlets of speeches made by defence chiefs as well as to post the material online for the public to read. That is also the standard policy for the top generals of other western militaries as part of their public relations efforts.

But under Eyre that practice was shut down, according to the records obtained by the Ottawa Citizen using the Access to Information Act.

Eyre’s chief of staff, Brig. Gen. Brendan Cook, outlined the changes last year as he justified the decision to not publicly release a copy of Eyre’s speech from a March 7, 2024 presentation at an annual conference in Ottawa.

Cook’s reasoning was that the public and journalists didn’t pay the entrance fees to attend the various conferences where Eyre delivered his speeches so they shouldn’t be able to see the material.

“Folks pay to attend (the conferences) and other similar events where you speak,” Cook wrote to Eyre in a March 14, 2024 email. “I didn’t feel we should undercut our relationship with those institutions by providing a free pass to others who didn’t attend.”

Speeches by Eyre and other defence officials are written by public servants and military officers at taxpayer’s expense.

Eyre’s presentation in question, attended by hundreds of retired and serving military personnel as well as defence lobbyists, called for more openness in discussing military matters with the public.

The Ottawa Citizen had requested a copy of the speech the day after Eyre spoke at the conference. But the Canadian Forces declined to release it and instead required the newspaper to file an access-to-information request for the material.

The Ottawa Citizen did just that, but the military and defence department continued to refuse to provide the document. The records were finally released six months later but only after the Information Commissioner of Canada launched an investigation.

In internal emails, Brig. Gen. Brendan Cook said it was refusing to share copies of the speech with the public because they had not paid to be at the conference.

Neither Cook nor officials from the Department of National Defence responded to a request for comment.

But military sources say plans are underway to overturn Eyre’s policy. In the future, public speeches made by Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan will be posted on the department’s website for the public and news media.

Retired Col. Brett Boudreau, a former senior military public affairs officer, said the decision not to release speeches is just a symptom of the ongoing failure by the forces to connect with Canadians. “The episode is just the latest in a long series of painful examples showing how far the defence communications enterprise has fallen,” he added. “This is a telling snapshot of the current malign mindset toward public communication by Defence senior leadership.”

The Canadian Forces and the Department of National Defence have faced intense criticism for its increasing secrecy. In 2023, the House of Commons Committee on National Defence launched hearings into the lack of openness and transparency. The committee heard that DND and the military routinely violates the law by failing to release records under the Access to Information Act.

The committee has also heard the department continues to withhold a wide range of records, including documents on shipbuilding and equipment programs as well as files needed by military sexual assault survivors for legal purposes. In addition, some former soldiers have complained they face uphill battles to get the military to release documents needed for medical benefits claims.

Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard testified in front of the Commons committee that she is taking the department to court in a number of cases to try to force the release of records. But she acknowledged that military officers and department officials faced few real consequences for ignoring the law, which is supposed to provide public access to federal records.

A copy of the speech by Defence Minister Bill Blair at the same conference Eyre spoke at, had been posted on the DND website.

Cook, however, argued that since Eyre’s speech was televised and put online by a private company, that was akin to the military providing access to the material.

David Pugliese is an award-winning journalist covering Canadian Forces and military issues in Canada. To support his work, including exclusive content for subscribers only, sign up here: ottawacitizen.com/subscribe