Canadian Military Chief Is Latest Casualty of Scandal

Gen. Jean Boyle, Canada’s military chief of staff, resigned Tuesday, the latest casualty of an armed forces scandal that has included allegations of murder, torture, assault and profiteering by Canadian soldiers on U.N. peacekeeping duty overseas.

Boyle has been under relentless criticism by opposition politicians, military analysts and some of his own subordinates for an equivocating leadership style and a tendency to blame underlings for the armed forces’ problems.

Those problems have continued to fester during his 10 months on the job, raising questions about the reliability of Canadian troops who are longtime defense partners of the United States and frequent participants in U.N. peacekeeping operations.

Troubles have been building since 1993, when Canadian soldiers on United Nations duty in Somalia fatally tortured a 16-year-old youth who had sneaked into their camp.

Since then, there have been revelations of racism and brutality within special forces units and allegations of black-marketeering, assault and improper sexual conduct by Canadian infantry in the Balkans.

Boyle, a 48-year-old former fighter pilot, was not directly connected to any of these incidents. But he has been accused of acquiescing in a Defense Department effort to thwart journalists looking into the Somalia case.

The general repeatedly has denied participating in a cover-up.

In a nationally televised appearance in August before a government inquiry into the Somalia killing, he admitted violating “the spirit of the law” that guarantees public access to government records but placed most of the blame on subordinates he said betrayed him.

That refusal to take responsibility for the actions of those under his command and Boyle’s seeming inability to instill discipline or inspire morale in the ranks have made him the focus of criticism for everything that is wrong with Canada’s 64,000-member armed forces.

Besides misconduct by soldiers overseas, critics complain that Canada’s military has been infected by politics, with top-level promotions being awarded on the basis of friendships and connections in the Defense Department rather than leadership in the field.

Within the last month, three recently retired major generals have publicly lamented the leadership vacuum and criticized Boyle. Lewis MacKenzie, a former Canadian commander in the Balkans, declared that some soldiers are ashamed to wear their uniforms in public.

A national poll taken in September showed 53% of Canadians in favor of Boyle’s resignation.

Boyle seemed determined to hang on despite the mounting opposition.

On Friday, however, he lost his chief patron in the government when Defense Minister David M. Collenette resigned, ostensibly over a minor ethical breach unrelated to the military scandals.

Collenette, who appointed Boyle chief of staff in December and had stood by him ever since, was replaced by Doug Young, a tough-talking minister who has emerged as the chief trouble-shooter in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

Young had his first meeting with Boyle on Monday morning in Ottawa, and within 36 hours the general had sent a letter to Chretien asking to be relieved of duty.

“I have a clear conscience about my period of service, but I remain troubled about the way in which some critics appear to have reached conclusions about my performance that are, in my judgment, without proper foundation,” he wrote.

Speculation on who might succeed Boyle centered on Lt. Gen. Maurice Baril, commander of the army. Baril declared at a news conference in July that “the army has a significant leadership deficiency, and I intend to both address it and rectify it forthrightly.” The statement was widely praised for its candor but also inspired suggestions that Baril was seeking to upstage Boyle.