Army commander Lieutenant-General Michael Wright said he was taking steps to address the ‘inappropriate behaviour’ of members involved in the Facebook group.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
The commanding officer of the Cameron Highlanders, an Ottawa reservist unit, has been temporarily removed from his position in the aftermath of a controversy involving soldiers who are alleged to have posted racist comments and sexual images in a private Facebook group.
Army commander Lieutenant-General Michael Wright said in a statement released to media Thursday that he was taking steps to address the “inappropriate behaviour” of Canadian Army members involved in the “Blue Hackle Mafia” Facebook group.
An interim commanding officer has been appointed to oversee the unit.
Soldiers are alleged to have posted racist, homophobic and antisemitic comments and images to the Facebook group. Gen. Wright has said previously that he was “disgusted” by some of the content.
The statement does not name the unit’s commanding officer, nor the interim commanding officer.
The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa are a prestigious reserve unit that plays a major role in ceremonial events in the country’s capital.
The Ottawa Citizen has reported that some of the images in question show male soldiers posing naked with military weapons. Some were taken at military installations. There are also derogatory comments posted about former prime minister Justin Trudeau and posts disparaging Jews and Muslims. The Globe and Mail has not seen the images in question.
Gen. Wright’s statement notes that the army is initiating an investigation to “examine the alleged unethical conduct of any currently serving Canadian Army members that were part of the online group.” This is “in addition to the ongoing Unit Disciplinary Investigation initiated in March 2025 and Military Police Investigation.”
Gen. Wright added that “the Canadian Army will continue to ensure that our culture reflects the values and ethics of the Canadian Armed Forces, and I expect the chain of command across the Canadian Army to deal immediately with any inappropriate behaviour that deviates from those values and ethics.
“The incident has damaged the reputation of the Canadian Army at a time when we are engaged in important modernization work as part of a ready, resilient, and relevant Canadian Armed Forces.”
Earlier this month, Defence Minister David McGuinty told The Globe in a statement that the soldiers’ behaviour is unacceptable and that any member involved “should expect to face administrative and/or disciplinary consequences.”