- OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian military thought it was getting things
under control after years of scandals when it was rocked this week by
revelation of a ceremony involving scantily clad soldiers and a porno film
projected over the national flag. At a change-of-command celebration dinner
in Sherbrooke, Quebec, a pornographic film was projected onto a huge Canadian
flag. A number of soldiers exposed themselves to the audience, which included
high-ranking officers, spouses and civilian dignitaries. ``This is going
into the 'Treat Very Seriously' (file),'' said Capt. Bruce Poulin, a spokesman
at the military's headquarters in Ottawa, Thursday. ``You know, we'd think
we were starting to make some sort of progress given what's been going
on, but again it appears not to have taken,'' Poulin said, adding that
this was his first impression of a matter still under investigation. Morale
in Canada's armed forces has been battered over the past decade by repeated
controversies, most of them involving a small number of personnel. But
the scandals have inevitably tarnished the image of the Canadian Forces
as a whole. A civilian inquiry slammed the military last year for the torture
and killing of Somali citizens during a 1992-93 peacekeeping mission, and
for subsequent attempts, even at a senior level, to cover it up. The elite
Airborne Regiment that served in Somalia was disbanded after those events
in Africa and after videos showed racist and foul initiation practices.
In 1994 peacekeepers in Bosnia were involved in sexual and other abuses
at a mental hospital. And this year a series of women soldiers came forward
with allegations of rapes and sexual assaults, and sexual harassment in
general, prompting Defense Minister Art Eggleton to promise a ``harassment-free
environment.'' Then came the ceremony on Saturday night marking the departure
of Lt. Col. Bernard Pelletier from the reserve regiment Fusiliers de Sherbrooke,
attended by 100 people. A spokesman for the Canadian army in Quebec, Capt.
Mario Couture, said that military's National Investigations Services was
conducting a formal inquiry. He said his tentative information was that
a senior officer present ordered that the pornographic film be stopped,
but that later in the evening it was resumed. He also said a streaker
dressed only in a masked ski hat and military boots ran past the guests,
and a group of soldiers masked by their hats paraded in and opened their
military coats to unveil skimpy G-strings. ``This is totally unacceptable.
Nobody will tolerate this,'' Couture said, adding that no one had yet been
arrested and it was premature to discuss what kind of penalties might apply.
He said it was unclear whether any officers tried to get the identification
of the exhibitionists on the spot. But he said the deputy commander of
the army in Quebec, Brig. Gen. Louis-Denis Pelletier -- the most senior
military man present -- ordered the investigation that night or the next
day. ``Who's in control of the military?'' demanded Member of Parliament
Chris Axworthy, of the opposition New Democratic Party. ``Clearly the measures
put in place by the minister of defense are having absolutely no effect
on the behavior of the soldiers.'' Nicole Bourget, spokeswoman for Defense
Minister Eggleton, commented: ``What we've heard is disturbing. He can't
make any judgment on it because it's under investigation.'' She added that
the military was 100,000 strong. ``There will always be circumstances where
you can't control everybody.''
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