Dispatch from the Front Lines: The Liberal mutiny that wasn't (yet, anyway)
Also: why the Stampede is awesome. Why the LCBO strike will fizzle. The latest from the encampments. And Canada has a new top soldier.
Hello, Line readers. Hope you’re having a great weekend. We’re now transitioned to our summer schedule. We’ll be continuing to publish articles on a regular basis, but probably not daily. We will obviously rally and adjust if breaking news warrants it, but things are pretty dead out there right now. (This may also mean some lighter, more whimsical offerings, which we suspect the readers may welcome, for the change of pace.) We will likely continue to podcast throughout the summer, but may take a week or two off for holidays. We’ll try to give advance notice of that before we do.
Speaking of the podcast, enjoy this week’s installment!
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And now, on with the dispatch.
The first item, which we’ll put above the fold, as it were, is a brief one. We note with interest that Lt. Gen. Jennie Carignan, Canadian Army, has been named as Canada’s next chief of the defence staff, our top military position. Lt. Gen. Carignan will be promoted to full general and assume her new duties on July 18. She will be the first woman to fill this role.
The Line offers its sincere congratulations to the general, both for her promotion and for the historic milestone. We also, again very sincerely, wish her every success. As regular readers here will know, The Line is a strong advocate for Canada’s defence, and we often write about the challenges facing our armed forces. Lt. Gen. Carignan is set to take on the top job at a very challenging time for the Canadian Armed Forces, for the country as a whole and, of course, for the world. She’ll have to hit the ground running. We wish her every success.
We’d also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Gen. Wayne Eyre, the outgoing chief of the defence staff, on his retirement. An honourable retirement, on his own terms. Gen. Eyre, who was kind enough to sit down with The Line for an interview not long ago, also took on the top job in exceptionally difficult circumstances, and handled it extremely well. He had a laudable career and has earned a long, happy and we hope relaxing retirement. The Line thanks Gen. Eyre for his service to Canada, and wishes him all the best. We hope our paths cross again, but we won’t blame him a bit if he wants to plant himself on a beach or a golf course for a while and not care a bit about … you know …. all of this.
We will continue to cover the armed forces, of course, and we’ll be critical of it when warranted, but we will never forget the devotion and hard work of the men and women who serve this country, from the newest privates right on up to the admirals and generals at the top. Thank you all for all you do.