(LifeSiteNews) — Last year, CTV News reported the disturbing development that the Canadian Armed Forces were facing a recruitment “crisis,” resulting in a shortage of 16,000 members. According to CTV, this recruitment crisis is a result of the CAF having a “relevancy” problem, noting that a “history of toxic military culture is … a deterrent for those considering a military career.”  

Stephen Saidman, a director at the Canadian Defence and Security Network and a professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, concurred: “If all you think of the military is that it is for straight white dudes, then that’s not going to attract the 60 to 70 percent of Canadians who are not straight white dudes.” 

It is hard to think of a comment less rooted in reality. In fact, it has largely been “straight white dudes” who are attracted to the military in the first place, and that is precisely the demographic that has found itself relentlessly stigmatized by the top brass of the CAF. As journalist Cosmin Dzsurdzsa noted on X and in a report for True North recently, nearly “every article in the latest issue of the Canadian Military Journal was devoted to critical race theory and disparaging ‘whiteness’ in the military.” 

Indeed, titles such as “‘I’m Not Your Typical White Soldier’: Interrogating Whiteness and Power in the Canadian Armed Forces” and “Supporting Military Families: Challenging or Reinforcing Patriarchy?” make it crystal clear that being “your typical white soldier” is a Very Bad Thing, and that to be referred to as such is not considered a compliment.  

Authors Maya Eichler, a “gender researcher” at Mount Saint Vincent University, and Vanessa Brown, an assistant professor, observe trenchantly that: “The Canadian Armed Forces is both a product and an instrument of the white settler colonial state.” Keep in mind that this is a publication aimed at members of the Canadian Armed Forces. It’s difficult to discern how conservative or progressive Canadians would respond to such rhetoric by eagerly signing up to join such an institution. 

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Just to drive the point home, a professor from York University urged the military to take a stand against “whiteness”: “While the threat of white supremacy should not be dismissed, focussing on extreme cases obscures everyday forms of whiteness. Very rarely do scholars address the nuanced everyday ways in which white supremacy works to consolidate whiteness in Western militaries.” (She should be comforted — scholars talk about this incessantly, in fact.) 

Knowing many past and current members of the Canadian military myself, I suspect that the recruitment problem faced by the CAF is the “straight white dudes” deciding to opt out of a self-loathing institution that stigmatizes their identifying characteristics. Many are sick of the mandatory LGBT events and diversity seminars. Unfortunately for Canada, woke academics don’t fight wars. 

There is, however, at least one problem the top military brass is committed to fixing. According to a report by Andrew Lawton: “The Department of National Defence says it won’t stand for members of the Canadian Armed Forces removing or vandalizing the feminine hygiene fixtures now required in men’s washrooms. True North has received reports and photos of damaged or removed tampon dispensers and disposal units, which were mandated in all federally regulated male and female washrooms late last year.” 

True North published one photo allegedly from the men’s washroom at an airbase in Trenton, Ontario, of holes in the wall where the tampon dispenser had been ripped out. A spokesperson confirmed to TNC that “unfortunately, vandalism has already been observed on some dispensing/disposal units installed in (Department of National Defence) occupied buildings” and that this “type of behaviour will not be tolerated and goes against Defence Team efforts to create a truly inclusive and psychologically safe work culture.” 

“The provision of free access to menstrual products at all federally regulated workplaces is inclusive of all workers who menstruate, and it will improve the well-being of nearly half a million workers who may require menstrual products during their workdays, including cisgender women, gender diverse individuals, transgender men, and intersex individuals,” the Defence spokesperson continued. “Treating pads and tampons as basic needs will help improve equity, reduce stigma, and create healthier, more inclusive workplaces.” 

I believe that this is what is colloquially referred to as “mission drift,” but maybe I’m wrong. Maybe tampons in the men’s bathroom really will keep Canadians safe.

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