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As 2023 dawns, Canada’s top soldier confronts a long list of worst-case scenarios

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It might be a stretch to describe Gen. Wayne Eyre as a modern Cassandra.

Still, over the latter half of 2022, Canada’s top military commander delivered — in public and before House of Commons committees — increasingly stark warnings about the future geopolitical landscape, where the war between Russia and Ukraine could go and the intentions of other disruptive international actors, such as China.

Whether he’s been disbelieved or dismissed — like the Trojan priestess of Greek mythology — has depended largely on his audience.

Last October, he told a Commons committee that the West was already “at war with China and Russia” and that the two global powers were out to remake their world in their own political image.

During a separate appearance before a different panel of MPs, he warned that Canada’s hold on its Arctic archipelago is “tenuous” in the face of great power competition.

There’s just not enough Canadian Forces to be able to do everything– Gen. Wayne Eyre

It’s almost unprecedented to hear a Canadian chief of the defence staff speak publicly in such uncompromising terms.

“This has been a year like no other in my career,” Eyre, who has spent 34 years in uniform in deployments all over the world, told CBC News in a year-end interview.

“And I think history will view this year as a turning point in the global order.”

In an interesting departure from his previous remarks, Eyre delivered a decidedly more mainstreet argument for why the skeptical or uninterested should still care about the unravelling of the geopolitical consensus that has held the world together since the end of the Cold War.

“We need to be concerned because our national prosperity is based on the stability in the existing order,” Eyre said. “And if we can’t defer or deter and defend that, or if we can’t work with our friends, partners and allies to create stability in that order, we’re going to suffer.”

The supply chain disruptions and soaring energy and food prices — driven by rampant inflation triggered by the onset of major hostilities between Ukraine and Russia last winter — could be just a taste of what lies ahead, Eyre suggested.

A woman picks up debris inside a building, surrounded by pieces of concrete and a damaged window.
A woman who identified herself as Svetlana removes debris from a ward of a hospital hit by Russian shelling in Donetsk. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

As Ukraine settles in for a long, brutal winter war, the country’s allies — including Canada — have spent the last few weeks trying to catch their breath and take stock of how the world changed — perhaps irreversibly — in 2022.

In early December, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned during an interview with Norwegian broadcaster NRK that there was a “real possibility” of the war in Ukraine escalating into a full-blown conflict between the western military alliance and Russia.

Canada would be called on to join its allies in such a case.

For years, the Canadian public has been bombarded with conflicting (and occasionally toxic) messages — some of them political — about the state of the military, its equipment and its leadership.

Even members of Parliament seem confused about the roles the Canadian Armed Forces is capable of playing. For proof, look no further than the Commons committee debate last fall about how involved the military should be in domestic emergencies.

Defence Minister Anita Anand, right, walks with Gen. Wayne Eyre, chief of defence staff, as they attend an announcement in Halifax on Friday, Nov.18, 2022. Halifax has been selected to be the host of NATO's North American regional office for defence innovation.
Defence Minister Anita Anand, right, walks with Gen. Wayne Eyre, chief of defence staff, as they attend an announcement in Halifax on Friday, Nov.18, 2022. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press)

Successive governments have piled more responsibilities on the military, forcing it into unconventional roles — such as backstopping pandemic-ravaged nursing homes in two provinces — at a time when recruitment numbers have been falling like a stone.

The latest item to be added to the military’s to-do list will figure more prominently in the coming year. It’s the Liberal government’s plan to be more involved militarily in the Indo-Pacific region by deploying an additional frigate and undertaking security force training in countries like Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

“I am concerned about our capacity writ large, given the significant number of demands around the world. And there’s just not enough Canadian Forces to be able to do everything,” Eyre said.

Canada has been nominally engaged in the region already, with sail-pasts through the contested Taiwan Strait and missions to enforce sanctions against North Korea.

‘It’s a zero-sum game’

The new government strategy formalizes and increases that involvement — sending a signal to China — at a time when the Canadian military is increasing its commitment to reassurance missions in Eastern Europe meant to keep Russia at bay. At last summer’s NATO leaders summit, Canada agreed to put more resources into the battlegroup it leads in Latvia to make it a brigade-sized force.

Meeting all of those commitments will make the balancing act Eyre and other senior leaders face even more precarious. It will mean, he said, taking great care in deciding which kinds of ships and aircraft to send on missions. For example, he said, frigate deployments could be swapped out for minesweepers in some cases.

Eyre calls it a “targeted” approach. But doesn’t that amount to robbing Peter to pay Paul?

“Well, it’s a zero-sum game, and we have to find a way of paying both Peter and Paul, but perhaps not as much,” he said.

Gen. Wayne Eyre sits down with CBC News for a year-end interview on Dec. 7, 2022.
Gen. Wayne Eyre sits down with CBC News for a year-end interview on Dec. 7, 2022. He said the military’s long list of responsibilities means it must be smart about how it deploys its resources. (CBC News)

Eyre said there’s no silver bullet solution to this dilemma. He noted how in 2022 he ordered all non-essential activity to cease to allow the military to concentrate on its core responsibilities and said that, in certain circumstances, “we’re saying ‘no’ … in terms of taking on new tasks.”

That might be easier said than done, given the global instability Eyre has warned about.

The war in Ukraine has forced the Canadian military to part with some essential equipment, such as ammunition, howitzers and anti-tank weapons. It also put the spotlight on critical deficiencies, such as Canada’s lack of ground-based anti-aircraft systems and weapons to counter drones.

Ukrainian service members fire a shell from a M777 Howitzer in Kharkiv Region, Ukraine on July 21, 2022. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

There are urgent procurement efforts underway to replace donated gear and cover those critical gaps, Eyre said.

Those procurements involve acquiring air defences, counter-drone technology, better electronic warfare equipment (jammers) and new anti-tank weapons, such as the U.S.-manufactured Javelins which have proven decisive for Ukrainians on the battlefield.

The word “urgent” is a relative term in defence contracting in Canada. Eyre said the new equipment cannot arrive fast enough.

“I wish we had it yesterday,” he said.

One piece of donated equipment is proving difficult to replace. Earlier this year, Canada gave Ukraine four of its three dozen M-777 towed artillery pieces — weapons the manufacturer no longer makes. British defence contractor BAE Systems said it’s considering whether to restart the production line.

‘What did we do in 1939?’

Eyre said he has challenged planners at the Department of National Defence to think about worst-case scenarios and to draw from the experiences of the past.

“I often challenged the team to look at history. What did we do in 1939?” he said, referring to the beginning of the Second World War.

“We had to grow a Canadian military from several thousand to, I think, at the end of the day, we had six years later 600,000. How did we do that? How were we able to arm them? What risks were involved?”

When asked whether Canada was ready to fight along its allies if the worst happens in 2023, Eyre hedged and qualified his response. It depends, he said, on “who’s your enemy and who are your friends” and what kind of technology is involved.

Some of those worst-case scenarios keep him up at night.

“I have grave concerns, not only about the capabilities we have [but] the ability to sustain them in terms of ammunition, in terms of spare parts and in terms of people,” he said.

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Former receiver Green part of Canadian Football Hall of Fame’s 2024 class

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4 mins ago

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September 13, 2024

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For over a decade, S.J. Green was the enemy of Hamilton Tiger-Cats fans.

He should receive a warmer reception Saturday when recognized as a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Then again . . .

“I’ll be honest, if I get a boo or two I won’t be surprised,” Green said with a chuckle. “It’s fun, I’m looking forward to everything that comes with this weekend.”

Joining Green in the Class of 2024 are former players Chad Owens, Weston Dressler, Vince Goldsmith and Marvin Coleman. Former CFL coach Ray Jauch and amateur football icon Ed Laverty (posthumously) were named as builders.

The seven were scheduled to be formally inducted Friday night, and then honoured Saturday at halftime of the Hamilton-Ottawa game at Tim Hortons Field. Green now fully appreciates the magnitude of the honour.

“Being here and getting to see some of the other inductees has been the ground-breaking moment for me where it’s actually starting to set in, that it’s a real thing,” Green said. “To put it into the shortest phrase I can, it’s football eternity.

“Not everyone gets to play the game at a professional level … to be a part of this brotherhood and statistically elite group is amazing and very humbling.”

The six-foot-three, 216-pound Green was a fluid receiver with Montreal (2007-16) and Toronto (2017-19). Green, 39, registered 716 catches for 10,222 yards with 60 TDs.

He suffered a serious knee injury early in 2016 but registered career highs in catches (104) and yards (1,462) the next season with Toronto. The Argos would win the Grey Cup, Green’s third (2009-10 with Montreal).

Green’s pro career ended in the XFL in 2020 as the CFL didn’t play that season due to the global pandemic. However, Green’s contract was abruptly terminated when the league suspended operations.

He retired in 2022 after signing a one-day contract with Montreal. Green, who owns and operates a landscape business in Tampa, said his transition to life after football wasn’t seamless.

“I went through a period … I don’t want to call it depression but I don’t know what else to call it, where it was just hard to watch the CFL game,” Green said. “I felt like I didn’t get to end it how I truly wanted.

“I miss the game still to this day and it was hard to get over but eventually you grow up, right? This (induction) makes all the time worth it, it feels right.”

Green also appreciates being inducted with Owens. Both began their CFL careers as practice-roster players with Montreal.

“That makes it more special,” Green said. “We both came in from the perspective of being practice-squad guys, having to prove ourselves to get on the field.

“Unfortunately, Chad had to leave Montreal to show the league who he was as a player and person while I was able to stay in Montreal and reap the same benefits. To watch him go to Toronto and become the player he was made it all come full circle. It’s very rewarding to go in with Chad.”

The five-foot-eight, 180-pound Owens, dubbed The Flyin’ Hawaiian, spent 10 seasons with Montreal (2009), Toronto (2010-15), Hamilton (2016, 2018) and Saskatchewan (2017). He was a four-time all-star, the league’s top special-teams player (2010) and its outstanding performer (2012).

Owens, 42, claimed his first Grey Cup ring with Montreal. He earned a second with Toronto in 2012.

Owens recorded 521 career catches for 6,217 yards and 26 touchdowns. He also had 4,027 punt-returns yards (11-yard average, five TDs) and 5,479 kickoff-returns yards, amassing 16,698 combined yards.

Dressler, 39, played with Saskatchewan (2008-15) and Winnipeg (2016-18), registering 715 catches for 10,026 yards and 61 TDs. The five-foot-seven, 168-pound Bismarck, N.D., native was the CFL’s top rookie in ’08 and a two-time all-star who made two Grey Cup appearances, winning in ’13 in Regina with the Riders.

Goldsmith, 65, was a dominant defensive lineman with Saskatchewan (1981-83, 1988-90), Toronto (1984) and Calgary (1985-87). He was the CFL’s top rookie in 1981 with 17 sacks then posted a career-best 20 two years later.

Goldsmith had 10 or more sacks eight times and finished with 130.5 (eighth all-time). He won a Grey Cup in ’89 with Saskatchewan.

Coleman, 52, was another dual threat. The five-foot-nine, 170-pound cornerback played with Calgary (1994-2000) and Winnipeg (2001-03) and was a three-time league all-star with 28 interceptions (six return TDs) and 538 tackles.

Coleman stands fourth all-time in punt-return yards (5,211), seventh in kickoff-returns yards (11,545) and scored seven return TDs. He played in four Grey Cups, winning twice with Calgary.

Jauch, 86, played in the ’59 Rose Bowl as a running back with Iowa and was an AFL first-round pick by Buffalo, but opted for Winnipeg.

He suffered a career-ending torn Achilles in Winnipeg’s ’61 Grey Cup win over Hamilton. Jauch became Edmonton’s running back coach in 1966 before being promoted to head coach in 1970.

He served as head coach with Edmonton (1970-76), Winnipeg (1978-82) and Saskatchewan (1994-95). He recorded 127 regular-season wins (sixth all-time) and in ’75 led Edmonton to its first Grey Cup win since 1956.

Jauch was the 1980 CFL coach of the year.

Laverty served as president of the Ottawa Nepean touch football league from 1964 to 2015. He held a similar post with the Ontario Touch Football League for over 10 years and helped launch Touch Football Canada.

Laverty was inducted into the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.



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Ticats host Redblacks in important East Division contest for both teams

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September 13, 2024

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HAMILTON – For Scott Milanovich and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, what’s understood need not be discussed.

Hamilton (3-9) hosts Ottawa (8-3-1) on Saturday afternoon in an important East Division matchup for both teams. The Ticats enter weekend action six points behind third-place Toronto (6-6) while the Redblacks can clinch their first post-season berth since 2018 with a victory.

And with Toronto visiting the B.C. Lions (7-6) on Friday night, Hamilton will have a clearer indication of its situation Saturday.

But Milanovich, in his first season as Hamilton’s head coach, has steadfastly maintained his club’s most pressing duty is to win the next game on its schedule.

“There’s too many games left, we’re too far away to start thinking about these things,” he said. “I certainly don’t think I have to impress upon (Ticats players) the importance of this game.

“They’re well aware of it.”

Ottawa won the first meeting of the season 24-22 at TD Place on June 30. Before that, though, Hamilton had won 10 straight over the Redblacks.

Hamilton comes off a bye week following its 31-28 Labour Day win over Toronto on Sept. 2. That gave the Ticats the season series with the two teams slated to meet once more (Sept. 20 at BMO Field).

The reality is Hamilton will need help to overtake Toronto for third and reach the CFL postseason. Ottawa, on the other hand, controls its playoff fate entering Saturday’s contest.

The Redblacks are 2-1 within the East Division but 2-3 away from TD Place. Hamilton is 2-3 versus its conference rivals and just 2-4 at Tim Hortons Field.

Veteran Bo Levi Mitchell threw for 347 yards and two TDs in the Labour Day win. He’ll start against Ottawa even though youngster Taylor Powell came off the injured list after suffering a head injury in the Ticats’ 47-22 home win over Edmonton on Aug. 17.

Mitchell has a career record of 10-3-2 against Ottawa. And over the Ticats’ last two games, receiver Tim White has 13 catches for 314 yards (24.2-yard average) and two TDs.

With the bye week, Hamilton will play 12 days after its rivalry win over Toronto. Ideally, the Ticats would’ve been able to ride the momentum of that victory into the following week but Mitchell said during a long CFL regular season players take their downtime whenever it comes.

“Yeah, I definitely think guys wanted to build off this momentum,” he said. “We still will but we also know momentum is very subject to the moment.

“You might have momentum going into a game but they feel the same way and that all changes basically after the first kickoff.”

Rookie running back Greg Bell will make a fifth start and fourth straight ahead of veteran James Butler. The six-foot, 200-pound American has rushed for 204 yards and three TDs on 33 carries (6.2-yard average) in his last three contests while adding 11 catches for 132 yards and a touchdown.

The five-foot-nine, 210-pound Butler ran for 1,116 yards last season, his first with Hamilton. And over eight contests in 2024, Butler rushed for 440 yards and a TD on 92 carries (4.8-yard average) while also recording 37 receptions for 312 yards and a touchdown.

“I know what it looks like, this is not an indictment on James Butler whatsoever,” Milanovich said. “He’s a good back.

“I just felt like we wanted Greg’s juice out there a little bit.”

Milanovich said Butler and Bell are very different players.

“James is more of a power runner, the first guy is not going to bring him down,” Milanovich said. “James is an elite pass protector and also a good receiver.

“He (Bell) is explosive … he’s kind of a slasher. When he does see the hole he hits it and he’s a threat receiving. Certainly, there are things he needs to continue to work on but he’s a threat out there, he’s somebody guys have to worry about.”

At first glance, an easy solution would seem to be having both players in the lineup. But Milanovich said it’s not that simple.

“It’s just it’s hard right now with where we’re at with the roster,” he said. “It’s hard to get another American on who’s not going to play a major role offensively or defensively.”

Bell will make his second appearance versus Ottawa, running for 52 yards on 13 carries back in June. And Bell isn’t getting preoccupied with the importance of Saturday’s contest.

“No pressure,” he said. “We’ve all been doing this our whole lives so it’s just football.

“Just run hard, follow my blockers. If they open a hole I’m going to hit it hard.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.



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Longtime AD and 2-time national champion baseball coach Tanner to switch roles at South Carolina

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September 13, 2024

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Ray Tanner is stepping down as South Carolina’s athletic director after more than 12 seasons, he said Friday.

Tanner, a two-time national champion baseball coach for the Gamecocks, took over as head of the department in 2012 following his team’s third straight trip to the College World Series. The 66-year-old announced his intentions at a meeting of the school’s board of trustees.

Tanner will remain athletic director until his successor arrives. Tanner will then transition to become athletics director emeritus and senior advisor to the president, focusing on fundraising and community engagement.

“There was going to be a time” to change, Tanner said. “When I coached baseball, I didn’t leave the baseball program because I didn’t think it was good anymore to become the athletic director, it was time. And I knew it was getting close to time in this role as well.”

A national search for a new athletic director will begin at the end of November, university president Michael Amiridis said.

Tanner’s tenure has had its highs and lows.

Women’s basketball has won three national titles under coach Dawn Staley in 2017, 2022 and, most recently, 2024. And while Tanner was still baseball coach when Staley came on board before the 2008-09 season, he helped keep her with the Gamecocks despite other outside opportunities.

Tanner has hired two full-time football coaches over his 12 years as the program has tried to make strides in the difficult Southeastern Conference.

Will Muschamp served from 2017 until his dismissal before the end of the 2020 season, going 28-30 overall and 17-22 in the SEC.

Current coach Shane Beamer was hired in December 2020 and has had two winning seasons in his first three years. The Gamecocks (2-0, 1-0 SEC) face No. 16 LSU (1-1) at home on Saturday.

Tanner said he was honored to be at South Carolina for nearly three decades and the chance to continue in a different role.

Amiridis was reluctant to let Tanner go as athletic director when the two began chatting about his successor. But Amiridis was pleased to have Tanner remain as athletic director emeritus and a presidential advisor with a focus on fundraising and community engagement.

“I am glad to see he’s continuing on in a role with the university and his willingness to do that,” said Board of Trustees chairman Thad Westbrook. “Ray, he doesn’t have a degree from South Carolina, but there’s no one who loves our university more.”

Tanner came to South Carolina in 1996 as baseball coach and went on to make six trips to the College World Series. The Gamecocks won it all in 2010 and 2011 and reached the final series in 2012 before missing a three-peat against Arizona.

A short time later, Tanner was named athletic director after Hyman left for Texas A&M.

Tanner said his successor would need to be “nimble” in navigating the new, rapidly changing world of college athletics.

Amiridis said he would look for an athletic director with experience who had a similar respect for athletics as Tanner.

Tanner said he will not be closely involved in picking the next athletic director.

“I’m gratefully for the time that I’ve been able to spend in South Carolina and the opportunity moving forward,” he said. “We have a great place, we have wonderful people and I’m excited to remain in a capacity that’s going to be new to me, but certainly will energize me in a way that I haven’t experienced in a number of years.”

___

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