Eyre named defence chief

The federal government has fired Admiral Art McDonald as chief of the defence staff, replacing him with the officer who had been serving as the interim leader of the Canadian Armed Forces.

The appointment of Gen. Wayne Eyre, who has held the top job on an interim basis since February, was announced Thursday by the Prime Minister’s Office.

McDonald’s termination as chief was subsequently confirmed by Defence Minister Anita Anand.

McDonald stepped aside from the top job in February after military police began investigating an allegation against him of sexual misconduct.

In August, the military police said McDonald would not face any criminal or disciplinary charges as a result of the investigation. However, the government kept McDonald on leave pending a review.

That decision prompted McDonald to mount a public campaign to get his job back. He recently sent a letter expressing that desire to all senior military officers, a move that Anand described as “shocking” and “unacceptable” on Thursday.

“Today the Governor General has signed an order terminating Admiral McDonald in this position,” Anand told reporters in Ottawa.

“Gen. Eyre and I will continue to work hard in reforming the culture of the Canadian Armed Forces.”

McDonald remains on paid leave from the military, but his lawyer, Rory Fowler, said that McDonald told Eyre on Thursday he intends to initiate the process of retiring from the Forces.

Fowler said he first learned of Eyre’s appointment, and therefore McDonald’s removal, from a journalist who sent him the PMO press release. He said he then notified McDonald, who was then told of his termination by a Privy Council Office official.

“In fact, over the last nine months since he stepped aside, neither the prime minister, nor either minister of national defence, the former or the current, have had the courtesy to pick up the phone and speak to

Gen. Eyre and I will continue to work hard in reforming the culture of the Canadian Armed Forces.

ANITA ANAND DEFENCE MINISTER

Admiral McDonald,” Fowler told the Star.

The order-in-council firing McDonald said he had lost the confidence of the government.

The order took into account his letter and public statements made by him and on his behalf since August, as well as submissions made this month by McDonald on whether he should remain in the position.

The order noted that the chief has “an obligation to act in a manner that will bear the closest public scrutiny, an obligation that is not fully discharged by simply acting within the law.”

Eyre had previously served as commander of the army since 2019, and before that was involved in a number of military operations at home and abroad.

He now faces the monumental task of leading the Canadian Armed Forces as it responds to calls for a culture change amid an ongoing sexual misconduct crisis that has seen current and former senior military leaders under investigation or facing charges.