Latest news with #MikeWright
04-07-2025
- Politics
Army investigating members allegedly involved in 'abhorrent' Facebook group, Canada's top soldier says
The Canadian Army is investigating members who allegedly shared what the country's top soldier (new window) called abhorrent content within a private Facebook group. According to a statement from Lt.-Gen. Mike Wright, the Blue Hackle Mafia group featured racist, misogynistic, homophobic and antisemitic comments and images. In the message to armed forces members shared with CBC News, the army commander wrote that he is disgusted by the content of some of the posts published on this group. Wright called the group's content abhorrent, and warned of consequences. I have ordered that any serving Canadian Army members currently on this social media group immediately cease their participation, Wright wrote. Wright said the contents were reported up the chain of command as recently as December and that he was made aware of the alleged misconduct June 25. Military police investigating A message from the Office of the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal, also shared with CBC News, said complaints about the private Facebook group were first investigated by the military police in Ottawa and were later transferred to the unit to conduct a disciplinary investigation. Those investigations are meant to determine if there are sufficient grounds to believe a serious offence may have been committed. The transfer to the unit for a disciplinary investigation was considered the best use of options available in the military justice system, in this case, said the statement. The provost marshal's office said the military police re-opened their investigation on June 27. This new investigation is ongoing and no further information will be provided at this time to protect the integrity of the investigation, it said. Not much else is known about the Blue Hackle Mafia group, including how many CAF members allegedly participated. Hackle could be a reference to the plume some infantry regiments wear. Reports urge CAF to clamp down on extremism The Canadian Armed Forces has been under pressure to better handle members drawn to hateful views and extremism. A 2022 report from the military's advisory panel on systemic racism and discrimination found the number of Canadian Armed Forces members belonging to extremist groups on the rise. The panel also found that the Department of National Defence (DND) has struggled to sniff out extremists in its ranks. The detection of extremist pockets or individuals is still very much siloed and inefficient, the panel wrote. In 2021, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, one of the country's independent watchdogs, issued a report warning white nationalism is an active threat to the Canadian Armed Forces and stressed that more resources are needed to effectively address the issue. White supremacist groups actively seek individuals with prior military training and experience, or conversely, encourage individuals to enlist in order to gain access to specialized training, tactics and equipment, said the report. A 2020 CBC News investigation of a Canadian Ranger unit uncovered how Erik Myggland, a British Columbia reservist who openly supported two far-right groups, (new window) was allowed to continue serving even after he had been identified by military counterintelligence and interviewed as a potential threat. In 2021, a U.S. judge sentenced former Manitoba army reservist Patrik Mathews to nine years in prison for charges related to what the FBI described as a neo-Nazi plot to instigate a race war in the United States. Catharine Tunney (new window) · CBC News
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Army investigating members allegedly involved in 'abhorrent' Facebook group, Canada's top soldier says
The Canadian Army is investigating members who allegedly shared what the country's top soldier called "abhorrent" content within a private Facebook group. According to a statement from Lt.-Gen. Mike Wright, the "Blue Hackle Mafia" group featured "racist, misogynistic, homophobic and antisemitic comments and images." In the message to armed forces members shared with CBC News, the army commander wrote that he is "disgusted by the content of some of the posts published on this group." Wright called the group's content "abhorrent," and warned of consequences. "I have ordered that any serving Canadian Army members currently on this social media group immediately cease their participation," Wright wrote. Wright said the contents were reported up the chain of command "as recently as December" and that he was made aware of the alleged misconduct June 25. A message from the Office of the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal, also shared with CBC News, said complaints about the private Facebook group were first investigated by the military police in Ottawa and were later transferred to the unit to conduct a disciplinary investigation. Those investigations are meant to determine if there are sufficient grounds to believe a serious offence may have been committed. "The transfer to the unit for a disciplinary investigation was considered the best use of options available in the military justice system, in this case," said the statement. The provost marshal's office said the military police re-opened their investigation on June 27. "This new investigation is ongoing and no further information will be provided at this time to protect the integrity of the investigation," it said. Not much else is known about the Blue Hackle Mafia group, including how many CAF members allegedly participated. "Hackle" could be a reference to the plume some infantry regiments wear. The Canadian Armed Forces has been under pressure to better handle members drawn to hateful views and extremism. A 2022 report from the military's advisory panel on systemic racism and discrimination found the number of Canadian Armed Forces members belonging to extremist groups on the rise. The panel also found that the Department of National Defence (DND) has struggled to sniff out extremists in its ranks. "The detection of extremist pockets or individuals is still very much siloed and inefficient," the panel wrote. In 2021, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, one of the country's independent watchdogs, issued a report warning white nationalism is an "active" threat to the Canadian Armed Forces and stressed that more resources are needed to effectively address the issue. "White supremacist groups actively seek individuals with prior military training and experience, or conversely, encourage individuals to enlist in order to gain access to specialized training, tactics and equipment," said the report. A 2020 CBC News investigation of a Canadian Ranger unit uncovered how Erik Myggland, a British Columbia reservist who openly supported two far-right groups, was allowed to continue serving even after he had been identified by military counterintelligence and interviewed as a potential threat. In 2021, a U.S. judge sentenced former Manitoba army reservist Patrik Mathews to nine years in prison for charges related to what the FBI described as a neo-Nazi plot to instigate a race war in the United States.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Army says it's investigating 'abhorrent' racist, homophobic and antisemitic Facebook group
The Canadian Army is investigating members who allegedly shared what the country's top soldier called "abhorrent" content within a private Facebook group. According to a statement from Lt.-Gen. Mike Wright, the "Blue Hackle Mafia" group featured "racist, misogynistic, homophobic and antisemitic comments and images." In the message to armed forces members shared with CBC News, the army commander wrote that he is "disgusted by the content of some of the posts published on this group." Wright called the group's content "abhorrent," and warned of consequences. "I have ordered that any serving Canadian Army members currently on this social media group immediately cease their participation," Wright wrote. Wright said the contents were reported up the chain of command "as recently as December" and that he was made aware of the alleged misconduct June 25. A message from the Office of the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal, also shared with CBC News, said complaints about the private Facebook group were first investigated by the military police in Ottawa and were later transferred to the unit to conduct a disciplinary investigation. Those investigations are meant to determine if there are sufficient grounds to believe a serious offence may have been committed. "The transfer to the unit for a disciplinary investigation was considered the best use of options available in the military justice system, in this case," said the statement. The provost marshal's office said the military police re-opened their investigation on June 27. "This new investigation is ongoing and no further information will be provided at this time to protect the integrity of the investigation," it said. Not much else is known about the Blue Hackle Mafia group, including how many CAF members allegedly participated. "Hackle" could be a reference to the plume some infantry regiments wear. The Canadian Armed Forces has been under pressure to better handle members drawn to hateful views and extremism. A 2022 report from the military's advisory panel on systemic racism and discrimination found the number of Canadian Armed Forces members belonging to extremist groups on the rise. The panel also found that the Department of National Defence (DND) has struggled to sniff out extremists in its ranks. "The detection of extremist pockets or individuals is still very much siloed and inefficient," the panel wrote. In 2021, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, one of the country's independent watchdogs, issued a report warning white nationalism is an "active" threat to the Canadian Armed Forces and stressed that more resources are needed to effectively address the issue. "White supremacist groups actively seek individuals with prior military training and experience, or conversely, encourage individuals to enlist in order to gain access to specialized training, tactics and equipment," said the report. A 2020 CBC News investigation of a Canadian Ranger unit uncovered how Erik Myggland, a British Columbia reservist who openly supported two far-right groups, was allowed to continue serving even after he had been identified by military counterintelligence and interviewed as a potential threat. In 2021, a U.S. judge sentenced former Manitoba army reservist Patrik Mathews to nine years in prison for charges related to what the FBI described as a neo-Nazi plot to instigate a race war in the United States.
CBC
03-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Army investigating 'abhorrent' racist, homophobic and antisemitic Facebook group
Social Sharing The Canadian Army is investigating members who allegedly shared what the country's top soldier called "abhorrent" content within a private Facebook group. According to a statement from Lt.-Gen. Mike Wright, the "Blue Hackle Mafia" group featured "racist, misogynistic, homophobic and antisemitic comments and images." In the message to armed forces members shared with CBC News, the army commander wrote that he is "disgusted by the content of some of the posts published on this group." Wright called the chat's content "abhorrent," and warned of consequences. "I have ordered that any serving Canadian Army members currently on this social media group immediately cease their participation," Wright wrote. Wright said the contents were reported up the chain of command "as recently as December" and that he was made aware of the alleged misconduct June 25. Military police investigating A message from the Office of the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal, also shared with CBC News, said complaints about the private Facebook group were first investigated by the military police in Ottawa and were later transferred to the unit to conduct a disciplinary investigation. Those investigations are meant to determine if there are sufficient grounds to believe a serious offence may have been committed. "The transfer to the unit for a disciplinary investigation was considered the best use of options available in the military justice system, in this case," said the statement. The provost marshal's office said the military police re-opened their investigation on June 27. "This new investigation is ongoing and no further information will be provided at this time to protect the integrity of the investigation," it said. Not much else is known about the Blue Hackle Mafia group, including how many CAF members allegedly participated. "Hackle" could be a reference to the plume some infantry regiments wear. Reports urge CAF to clamp down on extremism The Canadian Armed Forces has been under pressure to better handle members drawn to hateful views and extremism. A 2022 report from the military's advisory panel on systemic racism and discrimination found the number of Canadian Armed Forces members belonging to extremist groups on the rise. The panel also found that the Department of National Defence (DND) has struggled to sniff out extremists in its ranks. "The detection of extremist pockets or individuals is still very much siloed and inefficient," the panel wrote. In 2021, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, one of the country's independent watchdogs, issued a report warning white nationalism is an "active" threat to the Canadian Armed Forces and stressed that more resources are needed to effectively address the issue. "White supremacist groups actively seek individuals with prior military training and experience, or conversely, encourage individuals to enlist in order to gain access to specialized training, tactics and equipment," said the report. A 2020 CBC News investigation of a Canadian Ranger unit uncovered how Erik Myggland, a British Columbia reservist who openly supported two far-right groups, was allowed to continue serving even after he had been identified by military counterintelligence and interviewed as a potential threat. In 2021, a U.S. judge sentenced former Manitoba army reservist Patrik Mathews to nine years in prison for charges related to what the FBI described as a neo-Nazi plot to instigate a race war in the United States.
Otago Daily Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Learning support $640m lauded
One of Otago schools' top representatives is weighing the new education budget against the pressures of frontline teaching. Kaitangata Primary School principal Anneta Payne, chairwoman of the South Otago Principals' Association said she was pleased the government had earmarked $640 million for learning support as it was the biggest challenge facing teachers. "The number of neurodiverse students and students experiencing trauma or severe anxiety resulting in behavioural distractions in classes is steadily growing," she said. "Looking at learning support announced [in the Budget] I am certain there will be a lot of happy teachers and school leaders. There is a lot of additional support which will benefit children ... We would like to see funding for every classroom to have a learning assistant to support learners with special needs." But a shortage of relief teachers, the pace of change in curriculum and mixed messages from the Ministry of Education were hurting the sector's morale and ability to deliver, she said. "[The ministry] delivers one message to us ... patting us all on the back for the wonderful job schools are doing. Then we see media releases . . . saying the education sector has been missing the mark, achievement is poor ... That hurts." "Two new curriculum documents [were] finalised in term 4 last year, with schools expected to implement these in 2025 ... [with] another five curriculum documents to be in draft next year for implementation in 2027. "In general, we are quite supportive of the new curriculum documents as they provide more detailed expectations ... It's just the whirlwind implementation that is proving a challenge — the new year 0-8 maths curriculum document alone is 101 pages long." She pointed out nothing was removed from teachers' existing workloads to make room for new expectations and responsibilities added by successive governments. South Otago High School principal Mike Wright was chairman of the Otago Secondary School Principals' Association until the end of last year. His take was in line with Mrs Payne's and he also raised the issue of overall teacher shortage. "Recruitment of teachers into schools is also challenging ... particularly for the sciences, maths and technology," he said. "Recruitment from overseas is not necessarily the answer ... You may bring a teacher into New Zealand who then needs to understand the assessment practices and the culture of New Zealand schools while also adapting to the unique perspective of matauranga Māori." He said New Zealand needed to train its own teachers to meet a growing need created by retirement and professionals changing careers, roll growth with population increase and students staying in school longer.
