The Canadian Armed Froces appointed gay advisors to help “innovate” religious instruction, according to a briefing note. It follows a cabinet-appointed panel’s recommendation that Catholic chaplains be purged from the army, navy and air force over church teachings that contradict federal policy, according to Blacklock's Reporter..“We have established senior advisor positions including an indigenous and LGBTQ advisor to the Chaplain General to raise awareness, education and innovate,” said a December 6 briefing note. Advisors were to “further promote diversity and inclusion within the Chaplain Service,” said the note Military Chaplains..“Chaplains provide a ‘safe place’ for members to be themselves,” wrote staff. “The Royal Canadian Chaplain Service’s primary goal is the care of all our members and their families. Canadian Armed Forces chaplains work for the person in front of them at any given moment.”.A cabinet Advisory Panel on Systemic Racism and Discrimination last April 25 recommended the military ban Catholic chaplains. “Scrutiny should be applied to those religions that forbid women to serve within their ranks or are against equal rights for same-sex couples,” the panel wrote in a Final Report..The panel said that religion can be a source of "suffering and generational trauma," particularly for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and two-spirited Canadians..“There are varying degrees of misogyny, sexism and discrimination woven into the philosophies and beliefs of some mainstream religions represented in the cadre of chaplains in the Canadian Armed Forces,” wrote the panel. “The defence team cannot consider itself supportive of inclusivity when it employs as chaplains members of organizations whose values are not consistent with the Department of National Defence’s ethics and values,” it added..Cabinet withheld the Advisory Panel report from publication for four months. “Work is underway to assess the implications of the Advisory Panel’s recommendations including those on the Canadian Armed Forces chaplaincy,” said the briefing note..The four-member Advisory Panel cited no data indicating the presence of Catholic chaplains was offensive to military members, nor did it estimate the number of gay members in the regular and reserve forces. The panellists were Major-General (Ret’d) Ed Fitch of Victoria, BC, Sergeant (Ret’d) Derek Montour of Kahnawake, QC, Major (Ret’d) Sandra Perron of Ottawa, ON, and Captain (Ret’d) Door Gibson of Halifax, NS..“The defence team of the not-so-distant future will be one where multi-faith sacred spaces offer comfort and spiritual tools for everyone to practice traditional teachings,” they wrote..“The system of systems in Canada today was established almost exclusively by European settlers beginning in the 18th century. That system has evolved in many ways but is primarily controlled by and for the benefit of the political and social group that initially constructed it.”
