A former top general who led the military during the Afghanistan conflict is urging Prime Minister Mark Carney's government to revisit the files of soldiers who served there to see if any of their awards should be upgraded to the Victoria Cross.
Rick Hillier said that despite the failure of recent attempts to trigger such an independent review, he thinks the odds are better now that Ottawa is bent on revitalizing the Canadian Armed Forces.
"I am more optimistic right now. I think for the government, this should be a no-brainer," Hillier, chief of the defence staff from 2005-2008, told The Canadian Press.
Hillier is part of the civil society group Valour in the Presence of the Enemy, which has been pressing Ottawa to consider awarding veterans of the 2001 to 2014 Afghanistan campaign the country's highest military honour.
He said commendations awarded to Afghanistan veterans should be examined in light of new information to see whether any of them qualify for the Victoria Cross.
"Let's do an independent review, not committing to anything, which is right and appropriate," he said. "And if we should find that one or two or more individuals are deserving of the Victoria Cross, what a shot in the arm that would be for our soldiers and aviators and sailors."
In 2022, former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole pushed to have a the House of Commons endorse the creation of a review panel that would take a second look at military decorations.
Hillier said it may have been a strategic error to have the former leader of the opposition bring that proposal forward, since it "almost guaranteed" that the governing Liberal party would oppose it.
The issue is being brought to the fore again through a parliamentary petition sponsored and endorsed by Liberal MP Pauline Rochefort which also calls for a review panel.
Twenty Stars of Military Valour — Canada's second-highest military award — and 89 Medals of Military Valour were awarded to soldiers who served in Afghanistan. No serving Canadian soldier or veteran has been awarded the Victoria Cross since the Second World War.
The Government of Canada says just 81 Canadians have ever been awarded the Victoria Cross — 4 from the Boer War, 64 from the First World War and 13 from the Second World War.
Gen. Walter Natynczyk, chief of the defence staff from 2008 to 2012, ordered a review in 2012 of the 20 Stars of Military Valour awarded for the Afghanistan conflict.
Ottawa has resisted calls in recent years for another review.
Department of National Defence spokesperson Andrée-Anne Poulin said in an emailed statement the awards process is designed to be insulated from political influence and public pressure.
"All honours for the Afghanistan mission have been processed and the time limits for such nominations (two years between the action and the nomination for Military Valour and Bravery Decorations) have now elapsed," she said.
"These time limits ensure events are judged by the standards and values of the time, are compared with other contemporary examples, past decisions are not second-guessed and history is not reinterpreted."
Many have cited the case of Jess Larochelle of North Bay, Ont., as one that deserves a closer look. The late army private's supporters maintain he should be awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroic actions in holding off a 2006 Taliban attack on an observation post after sustaining serious injuries.
Hillier, who chaired the committee that awarded Larochelle his Star of Military Valour, said details of his story that came to light in the years since make his case worth a fresh look.
"I don't think we made a mistake, but having done something doesn't mean that it's cast in stone forever and ever," he said.
Hillier said new details about "how badly injured" Larochelle was during the battle, and the fact that he volunteered to take the position, should merit a reappraisal of his case.
Retired lieutenant-general Omer Lavoie suggested the Department of National Defence may be reluctant to reopen awards files because it would be a complex project that would stir up grim memories of the conflict — and because it could quickly give rise to claims of unfair treatment if veterans of other wars aren't also honoured.
Hillier also observed that Canadians tend to be hesitant about lavishing praise on individual acts of greatness.
"We in Canada have forever been loath, reluctant, slow to recognize the very top acts of courage and valour," he said. "Throughout our history, we seem to have this sort of group-thought process sometimes, where it keeps people all in one level."
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin
