“Am I being detained?” asked former Snowbirds pilot Capt. Bart Postma as he stood before his commanding officer in October 2020..The since-retired Canadian Air Force (RCAF) flight instructor, then with 15 Wing Moose Jaw, was confused about conflicting orders..Lt.-Col Riel Erickson, commander of 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School (2CFFTS), had just told Postma she’d never again let him fly an aircraft. She ordered him to leave the building..Postma was also told he couldn’t exit without following the order he was hauled in for not obeying. When he said he’d leave, despite it being winter, he was forbidden to get his coat and car keys..What offence did Postma — who flew Sea King helicopters for a decade, flew Canadair CT-114 Tutor jets that reach a 750 km/h top speed with the Snowbirds aerobatics flight team in 2014-15, and served as a flight instructor — commit to deserve such shabby treatment?. Bart PostmaCapt. Bart Postma (RCAF retd.) .He refused to wear a mask during the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) COVID-19 mandate crackdown..Masks weren’t required to be worn in 15 Wing Moose Jaw classrooms, just in the hallways to get to them. This is one example of the nonsensical, erratic and bullying mandate enforcement that destroyed or impeded hundreds of careers..Postma, a 24-year vet and married father of three, was forced to take early retirement to save his pension..The RCAF, facing an estimated 2,500 shortage of members and reservists, lost a skilled pilot and instructor who wanted to stay a few years longer..The CAF’s COVID-19 enforcements were recently deemed a violation to member’s Charter rights by the Military Grievances External Review Committee (MGERC.) It recommended actions taken against members be rescinded and that they pursue their rights in court..And they are..Some 330 former and serving members are involved in a $500-million class action lawsuit led by St. Albert lawyer Catherine Christensen with Valour Law..The lawsuit, centred on abuse of power and process, wants the chain of command held accountable. It seeks damages for lost income, pensions, and promotions. Hundreds more from all military branches are launching another lawsuit.. Catherine ChristensenCatherine Christensen of Valour Law, studied military law while training to be a lawyer. She now represents 329 aggrieved veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces who claim harms as a result of the CAF policies on COVID vaccination. .Postma joined the lawsuit..“I was ready to go off grid. It was time to hunker down and try and live a good life — start a garden, learn to hunt, learn to fish. I was demoralized to the point where I thought it’s too far gone because people weren’t standing up.”.Never underestimate the righteous grit of an Ontario farm boy who literally rose to great heights serving his country and earned the “honour and privilege” of becoming a Snowbirds pilot..“Now that I see there’s an opportunity for justice, I’m on board. It’s not money. Our major thing is to get justice for what our government did to us.”.“We’ve got to stop apologizing, all of us demoralized people. It’s taboo to talk about any of this. We have to talk about this. What happened to us over the last three years is abhorrent, its egregious.”.Others with 15 Wing Moose Jaw were “forced into the fight, backed into the corner.”.“Those guys took the lead and launched a lawsuit. I’m proud of the guys who stayed behind at the school and are fighting.”.When Postma was summoned by Erickson, he requested religious accommodation. His research, since proven accurate, determined masks weren’t effective. It went against his Christian faith as “an affront to God to participate in a lie.”.“It was so bizarre that they were forcing everybody to take part in this lie of cloth masks protecting everybody. It was pure insanity.”.“Immediately out of the gate, the CO said ‘I’m denying your request, you are denied religious accommodation at this unit because we can’t do it here. For that reason, I can’t allow you to fly. I’ll never allow you to fly an aircraft. Now you are going to have to be posted out. You can’t work at this unit. But maybe somebody else will accommodate you,'" said Postma..It’s all in the statement of claim..Chief Warrant Officer Bill Doman “slapped three masks down on the table” beside Postma. He ignored them..“The CO said I had to be in a mask in the building or I would have to leave immediately. That was followed with I wasn’t going to be allowed to leave the building unless I put the mask on. After a bit of a silence, I asked ‘Am I being detained?’”.His “reasonable” direct supervisor said he’d get Postma’s things. Postma had to wait by the exit door like a naughty child..What followed was “a twisted ball of insane logic” when Postma, who then worked remotely teaching ground school courses for a time, suggested numerous solutions to allow him to fly..“It was Whack-A-Mole about reasons she was denying requests. It was impossible to keep track of.”.Postma could walk directly from his car to whatever aircraft he was assigned on the flightline..“If I was flying with somebody, I’d be wearing an oxygen mask anyway.”.He asked to store flight gear at home locked in a gun safe during flight duties so he wouldn’t have to enter the building. Erickson denied the request citing safety because his flight vest has a cartridge to inflate it. “She said I was storing explosives at home.”.Postma said a recorded conversation shortly after was “incoherent.” You decide. Here's one excerpt..Erickson: “So it’s the CAS (Chief of the Air Staff) uhm, the CAS requirements, so I think at 2CCFTS this is an untenable solution uhm, but that said, from here obviously, this is me denying it so there, there is other things, is that I can’t accommodate it within 2CFFTS…uhm…so uh, but that’s not to say, like it is not my decision whether the CAS can accommodate it uhm, so I think that’s kinda where we probably, uh, want to pursue this.”.Erickson couldn’t be reached for comment..Postma said the gear storage was an easy fix. Remote briefings/ground school were underway. The CO changed her reasons for denying the request to concerns she had about quality of training via remote briefings..The mask issue wasn’t the first time Postma landed on the radar..He discovered he was under investigation for Facebook posts after a complaint was launched by retired Maj. Ryan Stich..“I was sharing news articles about hot button topics like anything that was negative of Trudeau. The major from the Snowbirds called the military police and had me investigated.”.“That’s when I became familiar with the Access to Information process. I got a privacy request in to find out how this investigation happened. It was appalling to me that an investigation could occur over silly Facebook posts essentially sharing news articles.”.“What country are we living in? I know I’m in the military but that doesn’t wipe out your free speech rights. There isn’t any law that says just because you’re a military member you can’t share news articles that are negative of your government.”.He also felt it was his duty to raise awareness about the trial vaccines through the internal email system..“Are we telling our pilots this?” he asked. “There could be some adverse side effect that might end their career because pilots have to be in 100% top shape physically to fly.”.He was immediately removed as a flight safety officer..“In flight safety you’re allowed to bring up concerns, to file hazard reports. As soon as you’re removed from that then you’re not allowed to do that anymore.”.Postma felt “quite alone” during the ordeal. Only a few military members quietly expressed admiration for the “guts” he had to remain maskless. When he attended Freedom Convoy 2022 “hundreds” voiced their support..He said the military COVID-19 mandates were “a war of attrition against reason and sanity.”.“We’re not having a unique experience but are simply going through the steps of a communist takeover via ideological subversion.”.“With the takeover, the government needs an utterly compliant military with nobody capable of critical thought. The government and the highest ranks of the military are engaged in purging anyone who would stand up to an illegal order.”.“They want the military to be 100% occupied by the ‘just following orders’ type who would follow the order to shoot the prisoners of war, call in a strike on women and children and load up the cattle cars to the camps.”.Far-fetched? Not if one looks at how civilians suffered at the hands of robotic military followers in China, Iran, North Korea, Germany, Cambodia and elsewhere..Trudeau’s Liberal government didn’t hesitate to enact the Emergencies (War Measures) Act..“We’re in trouble and reaching the last opportunity we'll have to stop the erosion of our basic human rights. Taking our rights away has been normalized by all governments via the ‘pandemic’ measures.”.Hopefully, the lawsuits will be a wakeup call.
“Am I being detained?” asked former Snowbirds pilot Capt. Bart Postma as he stood before his commanding officer in October 2020..The since-retired Canadian Air Force (RCAF) flight instructor, then with 15 Wing Moose Jaw, was confused about conflicting orders..Lt.-Col Riel Erickson, commander of 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School (2CFFTS), had just told Postma she’d never again let him fly an aircraft. She ordered him to leave the building..Postma was also told he couldn’t exit without following the order he was hauled in for not obeying. When he said he’d leave, despite it being winter, he was forbidden to get his coat and car keys..What offence did Postma — who flew Sea King helicopters for a decade, flew Canadair CT-114 Tutor jets that reach a 750 km/h top speed with the Snowbirds aerobatics flight team in 2014-15, and served as a flight instructor — commit to deserve such shabby treatment?. Bart PostmaCapt. Bart Postma (RCAF retd.) .He refused to wear a mask during the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) COVID-19 mandate crackdown..Masks weren’t required to be worn in 15 Wing Moose Jaw classrooms, just in the hallways to get to them. This is one example of the nonsensical, erratic and bullying mandate enforcement that destroyed or impeded hundreds of careers..Postma, a 24-year vet and married father of three, was forced to take early retirement to save his pension..The RCAF, facing an estimated 2,500 shortage of members and reservists, lost a skilled pilot and instructor who wanted to stay a few years longer..The CAF’s COVID-19 enforcements were recently deemed a violation to member’s Charter rights by the Military Grievances External Review Committee (MGERC.) It recommended actions taken against members be rescinded and that they pursue their rights in court..And they are..Some 330 former and serving members are involved in a $500-million class action lawsuit led by St. Albert lawyer Catherine Christensen with Valour Law..The lawsuit, centred on abuse of power and process, wants the chain of command held accountable. It seeks damages for lost income, pensions, and promotions. Hundreds more from all military branches are launching another lawsuit.. Catherine ChristensenCatherine Christensen of Valour Law, studied military law while training to be a lawyer. She now represents 329 aggrieved veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces who claim harms as a result of the CAF policies on COVID vaccination. .Postma joined the lawsuit..“I was ready to go off grid. It was time to hunker down and try and live a good life — start a garden, learn to hunt, learn to fish. I was demoralized to the point where I thought it’s too far gone because people weren’t standing up.”.Never underestimate the righteous grit of an Ontario farm boy who literally rose to great heights serving his country and earned the “honour and privilege” of becoming a Snowbirds pilot..“Now that I see there’s an opportunity for justice, I’m on board. It’s not money. Our major thing is to get justice for what our government did to us.”.“We’ve got to stop apologizing, all of us demoralized people. It’s taboo to talk about any of this. We have to talk about this. What happened to us over the last three years is abhorrent, its egregious.”.Others with 15 Wing Moose Jaw were “forced into the fight, backed into the corner.”.“Those guys took the lead and launched a lawsuit. I’m proud of the guys who stayed behind at the school and are fighting.”.When Postma was summoned by Erickson, he requested religious accommodation. His research, since proven accurate, determined masks weren’t effective. It went against his Christian faith as “an affront to God to participate in a lie.”.“It was so bizarre that they were forcing everybody to take part in this lie of cloth masks protecting everybody. It was pure insanity.”.“Immediately out of the gate, the CO said ‘I’m denying your request, you are denied religious accommodation at this unit because we can’t do it here. For that reason, I can’t allow you to fly. I’ll never allow you to fly an aircraft. Now you are going to have to be posted out. You can’t work at this unit. But maybe somebody else will accommodate you,'" said Postma..It’s all in the statement of claim..Chief Warrant Officer Bill Doman “slapped three masks down on the table” beside Postma. He ignored them..“The CO said I had to be in a mask in the building or I would have to leave immediately. That was followed with I wasn’t going to be allowed to leave the building unless I put the mask on. After a bit of a silence, I asked ‘Am I being detained?’”.His “reasonable” direct supervisor said he’d get Postma’s things. Postma had to wait by the exit door like a naughty child..What followed was “a twisted ball of insane logic” when Postma, who then worked remotely teaching ground school courses for a time, suggested numerous solutions to allow him to fly..“It was Whack-A-Mole about reasons she was denying requests. It was impossible to keep track of.”.Postma could walk directly from his car to whatever aircraft he was assigned on the flightline..“If I was flying with somebody, I’d be wearing an oxygen mask anyway.”.He asked to store flight gear at home locked in a gun safe during flight duties so he wouldn’t have to enter the building. Erickson denied the request citing safety because his flight vest has a cartridge to inflate it. “She said I was storing explosives at home.”.Postma said a recorded conversation shortly after was “incoherent.” You decide. Here's one excerpt..Erickson: “So it’s the CAS (Chief of the Air Staff) uhm, the CAS requirements, so I think at 2CCFTS this is an untenable solution uhm, but that said, from here obviously, this is me denying it so there, there is other things, is that I can’t accommodate it within 2CFFTS…uhm…so uh, but that’s not to say, like it is not my decision whether the CAS can accommodate it uhm, so I think that’s kinda where we probably, uh, want to pursue this.”.Erickson couldn’t be reached for comment..Postma said the gear storage was an easy fix. Remote briefings/ground school were underway. The CO changed her reasons for denying the request to concerns she had about quality of training via remote briefings..The mask issue wasn’t the first time Postma landed on the radar..He discovered he was under investigation for Facebook posts after a complaint was launched by retired Maj. Ryan Stich..“I was sharing news articles about hot button topics like anything that was negative of Trudeau. The major from the Snowbirds called the military police and had me investigated.”.“That’s when I became familiar with the Access to Information process. I got a privacy request in to find out how this investigation happened. It was appalling to me that an investigation could occur over silly Facebook posts essentially sharing news articles.”.“What country are we living in? I know I’m in the military but that doesn’t wipe out your free speech rights. There isn’t any law that says just because you’re a military member you can’t share news articles that are negative of your government.”.He also felt it was his duty to raise awareness about the trial vaccines through the internal email system..“Are we telling our pilots this?” he asked. “There could be some adverse side effect that might end their career because pilots have to be in 100% top shape physically to fly.”.He was immediately removed as a flight safety officer..“In flight safety you’re allowed to bring up concerns, to file hazard reports. As soon as you’re removed from that then you’re not allowed to do that anymore.”.Postma felt “quite alone” during the ordeal. Only a few military members quietly expressed admiration for the “guts” he had to remain maskless. When he attended Freedom Convoy 2022 “hundreds” voiced their support..He said the military COVID-19 mandates were “a war of attrition against reason and sanity.”.“We’re not having a unique experience but are simply going through the steps of a communist takeover via ideological subversion.”.“With the takeover, the government needs an utterly compliant military with nobody capable of critical thought. The government and the highest ranks of the military are engaged in purging anyone who would stand up to an illegal order.”.“They want the military to be 100% occupied by the ‘just following orders’ type who would follow the order to shoot the prisoners of war, call in a strike on women and children and load up the cattle cars to the camps.”.Far-fetched? Not if one looks at how civilians suffered at the hands of robotic military followers in China, Iran, North Korea, Germany, Cambodia and elsewhere..Trudeau’s Liberal government didn’t hesitate to enact the Emergencies (War Measures) Act..“We’re in trouble and reaching the last opportunity we'll have to stop the erosion of our basic human rights. Taking our rights away has been normalized by all governments via the ‘pandemic’ measures.”.Hopefully, the lawsuits will be a wakeup call.
