Justin Trudeau’s Obsession With Superficial ‘Diversity’ Is Weakening Canada’s Military & Putting Our Nation At Risk

Spencer Fernando, Exclusive to the National Citizens Coalition

Instead of seeking the best person for the job, the Trudeau government is pushing the Canadian Military to meet arbitrary ‘diversity quotas.’

Defending Canada is the most sacred duty of any government. And to ensure Canada is defended, our military must be well-funded, and must recruit based on merit above all else.

Unfortunately, while the ‘well-funded’ part has been missing for decades, the Trudeau government is now eviscerating the second part as well.

Justin Trudeau has imposed ‘diversity’ quotas on the military, which has led to the military discriminating against potential applicants on the basis of gender and race.

As was recently revealed by Christie Blatchford in the National Post, the military is using ‘employment equity’ as their ‘justification’ for lying to certain applicants about positions being filled.

“Depending on the week and whether employment equity (or EE) targets are being met, the Canadian Forces periodically closes some of its approximately 100 occupations or trades to any applicants but women. The information is contained in so-called weekly “processing cheat sheets” used by recruiting staff — some of which were obtained by the National Post — and was confirmed by a military source.”

This is how it was described by Colonel Luc Sabourin:

“Sabourin agreed that in practice, it means that if a white male was applying for a job that was temporarily open only to EE candidates, he would be informed the occupation was full and other job possibilities discussed.”

So, thanks to Justin Trudeau, the military is now discriminating on the basis of race and gender – something which should never be allowed. Also, the fact that the military is straight up lying to people about positions being filled is an absolute disgrace.

As if that isn’t bad enough, the military is now letting some people join even when they fail the aptitude test, as Brigadier General Virginia Tattersall confirmed to Blatchford:

“Tattersall acknowledged, however, that “diversity is a consideration” – a significant one, especially near the end of the recruiting year when she said “We will look at diversity applicants first” – and that what the sheets indicate about Indigenous applicants is correct. The sheets say that Indigenous candidates either are “not required to write” or “must write but don’t need to pass” the CFAT, the Canadian Forces Aptitude Test.”

It’s blatant discrimination:

“In its desire to achieve EE targets, the source said, the military has built a two-tiered system – “one tier for white men and the other for women and visible minorities. It’s a very different affair for some applicants than for others.”

Our country is supposed to be rejecting discrimination and treating everyone equally. So why is discrimination against ‘white men’ acceptable?

It is also an insult to minority groups, as imposing quotas somehow assumes that certain groups can’t succeed like everyone else.

Beyond this rampant hypocrisy, this is also a danger to Canadians.

Quotas are always a terrible idea, since they go against the idea of merit-based hiring.

Even worse is the fact that this puts our country at risk.

When the military is called upon, whether to respond to a natural disaster, defend our national interests, or – if there is a global conflict – fight to keep Canada free, lives are on the line.

Both the lives of those the military is defending, and the lives of military members themselves.

Putting someone less qualified – which is what happens when you pick based on quotas as opposed to merit – means more people will die, and the military will be less effective.

For example, if someone who fails the aptitude test still somehow makes it into the military, it increases the odds of a mistake or something being overlooked. And while a mistake or something being overlooked is usually just a nuisance in most jobs, in the military it can mean a plane crash, a friendly-fire incident, and many other potentially awful things.

Canada’s military – while rampantly underfunded – is widely regarded around the world. On a soldier by soldier basis, Canadians are often viewed as the best fighters in the world.

But that was achieved under a system more based on merit, a system which is now being eviscerated by the Trudeau government and their obsession with political correctness. By chasing the arbitrary goal of 25% women and 11.8% visible minorities in the military, our military is being undermined.

The problem here is that this obsession with ‘diversity’ is based on superficial diversity.

The Trudeau government is ignoring the fact that there is such a thing as diversity of talents, skills, and attitude. Two people of the same gender or race can have totally different skills and look at things in a totally different way.

Meanwhile, two people of a different gender or race could have very similar skills and views.

By focusing on superficial diversity, the government is potentially depriving the military of the real diversity that any organization needs – a diversity of skills that can be best matched to achieve the goals of the organization.

We shouldn’t care what the superficial composition of the military is. If there are more women and minorities because women and minorities are increasingly succeeding in a merit based process, then that’s great, because the best are being picked. If there are more white men because white men are succeeding in the merit based process, then that’s also great, because in both scenarios we’re getting the best of the best.

But when that merit based process is subverted, we all lose, and we are all put at risk.

Canadians must demand that our politicians stand up to this dangerous superficial political correctness, scrap the quotas, end discrimination, and return the military to a purely merit-based recruiting system.

Anything less is un-Canadian and cannot be tolerated.

Spencer Fernando is one of the most popular and prolific political writers and independent journalists in Canada. He is an Election Fellow for the National Citizens Coalition. For more from Spencer, visit his website, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter. 

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