Backlash grows over removal of cadet drill guns
There is a growing backlash to the Navy League of Canada’s decision to take away replica rifles from its cadets because of concerns about perceptions of children carrying guns.
An online petition, with 932 signatures as of Thursday, asks Defence Minister Jason Kenney to freeze funding for the Navy League until the organization allows the drill rifles back in the hands of the youngsters.
The cadets, aged between nine and 12 years, had been using the non-firing replicas for drills and ceremonial duties. But the Navy League ordered those removed in a “policy change that reflects international norms with respect to children being perceived as carrying arms,” according to a letter obtained by the Ottawa Citizen. The decision affects 3,400 cadets in 110 communities.
The petition notes the Navy League receives $ 432,000 in government funding each year. The Quebec (Eastern) Cadet Region is fully funded by the government, it added. The petition calls on Kenney to order Department of National Defence officials to restore rifle drill for Quebec Region Sea Cadets, and suspend government funding for the Navy League until rifle drill is restored for the younger cadets.
“Rifle drill is a critical symbol of military pride and an important part of military history,” the petition noted. The petition on Change.org was started by Cadet Accountability in Winnipeg, but offered no details on whether that is an organization or an individual.
The drill rifles used by Navy League cadets are white. But in some cases, cadet units had started using more realistic-looking replicas.
The rifle issue came to the attention of Navy League officials two years ago after an instructor in Oshawa, Ont., travelled on public transit carrying a bag of drill rifles. A member of the public saw a barrel sticking out of the bag and called police.
Lynn Hawkeye, national vice president of Navy League cadets, wrote in a March 15 letter to staff that the ban on drill rifles only affects younger cadets. The Quebec division of the Navy League cadets had already removed the drill rifle training from their routine and there were no negative repercussions, Hawkeye stated.
Royal Canadian Sea, Army and Air Cadet programs, which are delivered by the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces, are not affected by the new policy, the DND stated.
Military insiders say there is little Kenney can do because the Navy League funds its cadet program using its own money. Asked whether Kenney would act on the petition, his spokeswoman, Lauren Armstrong, responded with an email statement: “The Navy League of Canada operates independently of the Canadian Armed Forces and is responsible for its own decisions and policies.”