Crew told not to approach VIPs on military flight
Internal probe finds pressure to accept behaviour
Though some of the VIPs aboard a December 2017 military flight to Greece and Latvia as part of a taxpayerfunded Canadian Forces morale tour were drunk and abusive, an investigation has found the flight crew felt they had no choice but to endure the boorish behaviour as the individuals were guests of Canada’s top soldier.
The results of an internal military investigation, to be released Thursday, found the VIP civilian passengers, including former NHL player Dave “Tiger” Williams and former NHL general manager Brian Burke, were exempt from security screening before the flight, and some — already drunk — walked on to the Canadian Forces aircraft with alcoholic drinks in their hands. The $337,000 trip, planned by the office of Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance, resulted in a sexassault charge against Williams and a public relations black-eye for the Canadian Forces. As well as VIPs being allowed to bring their own alcohol on the plane that would bear then overseas to visit Canadian troops posted abroad, there are allegations two individuals were so drunk they urinated themselves. Video taken aboard the plane showed people — including one member of Vance’s staff — dancing with their drinks in the aisles of the aircraft as a rock band played at the back of the plane. Others chewed tobacco, in violation of Canadian Forces rules, spitting the slimy juice into cups. The military flight crew was prohibited from approaching the VIPs “except as required to fulfill service expectations,” the investigation by Rear-Admiral Luc Cassivi concluded. “The (in- vestigation) found that the (Canadian Forces) chain of command applied direct pressure on 437 Transport Squadron to ensure that exceptional preferential treatment was provided to VIP in every request,” said a version of the investigation’s report censored and released by the military.
But in his written response to the investigation, Vance disputed the findings that the aircrew felt pressured by commanders to let the VIPs do whatever they wanted. The existing rules allowed the crew to stop the passengers from boarding the plane with open alcoholic drinks, the general argued. “The absence of appropriate training for VIP aircrew, combined with a perception of reality of being under scrutiny, left them with a lack of confidence and uncertainty in their authority to intervene and take control of any situation, including alcohol service aboard the flight,” Vance wrote in his response.
Vance also challenged the investigation’s view that the VIPs on the “Team Canada” visit were his guests. The general said instead they were “volunteers under contract to perform a role to support the troops at the invitation of the CDS.” However, Vance wrote that “this particular visit lost focus in the application of accepted rules and procedure for (Team Canada) travel while on a troop visit, and I accept responsibility for that.” RCAF Lt.-Gen. Alain Parent, then the vice-chief of the defence staff and the secondhighest ranking officer in the Canadian Forces, as well as Chief Warrant Officer Kevin West, the most senior noncommissioned member of the Canadian Forces, were also on the flight. It’s unclear why the two, who have since retired, didn’t do anything to stop the behaviour.
On Feb. 7 military police charged Williams with sexual assault as well as assault. The alleged victim was a female flight attendant on the RCAF aircraft. Williams’ lawyer, Michael Lacy, said his client denies any wrongdoing and is confident he will be vindicated. Postmedia has not been able to reach the flight attendant for comment.
Cassivi’s investigation did not look at the alleged sexual assault as the case is before the courts, but it found some VIPs on previous tours had complained about the level of service the military provided, sparking investigations by the senior leadership of the crews. That, in turn, fuelled the perception at 437 Transport Squadron at Canadian Forces Base Trenton that the flight crews only had so much latitude to deal with problems on VIP flights. “As a result, crew have come to tolerate or quietly accept behavior from VIP passengers that they otherwise would not and should not accept,” Cassivi wrote.
On this particular flight, the drinking began even before the aircraft took off, as the military hosted the VIPs at the official Canadian government reception centre at the Ottawa airport. One passenger would took his own bottle of liquor on board, where a cooler full of alcoholic beverages, purchased by Vance’s office, was set up near the passengers. “The (investigation) found that the behaviour of some passengers was not conducive to a respectful work environment free of harassment,” Cassivi wrote. “No intervention by the Cabin Crew took place because of the pressure placed on them to provide exceptional service on VIP missions.” The cabin crew was concerned about some passengers’ level of intoxication as they boarded the plane. They also discussed among themselves when the passengers were violating Canadian Forces rules about chewing tobacco but decided to do nothing “due to the status of the passengers.”
Vance had previously told reporters he was disappointed about what happened on the plane, but staunchly defended the tours, saying they provide a valuable morale boost to Canadian troops. However, sources have told Postmedia he intends to end the Team Canada program.