Revelations that Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan supported a request for 100 members of the Canadian Armed Forces to act as an on-stage background feature for a Punjabi pop star are shocking. That Defence Minister Bill Blair actually sent along Sajjan’s request to senior officials in the CAF is outrageous.
As the Globe and Mail reported last week, Sajjan passed along a request from the organizers of a Vancouver concert by Diljit Dosanjh for soldiers to appear on stage at his April show.
Lieutenant-Commander Linda Coleman told the Globe the CAF politely demurred on the request.
“… the CAF determined that meeting this request would not be feasible due to the tight timeline and personnel availability,” Coleman said. At least one person in the upper echelons of the defence department showed a smidgeon of good judgment.
What next? Should we sign up the Coast Guard for Pirates of Penzance? The Air Force for Flight of the Valkyries?
Our army isn’t a comic opera. It’s not a rent-a-cop agency for foreign pop stars. A spokesperson for Sajjan told the Globe the request was passed along because Dosanjh is a Punjabi megastar and it would be a way for the CAF to reach out to diverse young Canadians.
Quite apart from how inappropriate it is for the CAF to act as a talent agency, it’s important to note Dosanjh has been a vocal critic of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as has Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Dragging our military personnel into a tableau that could turn into a criticism of a foreign power, especially one with which we have strained diplomatic relations, would have been a huge blunder.
It’s one thing when military personnel participate in hockey games and events celebrating this country’s history. It’s another when the only person being celebrated is a foreign pop star. Similarly, had the Olympics requested sending troops in support of Celine Dion and her stunning performance at the Eiffel Tower, that would have been reasonable. She’s a Canadian icon who represents this country with grace internationally and security is a serious concern at the Games.
That wasn’t the case with Dosanjh. It leaves only one question: Why are Blair and Sajjan still in Trudeau’s cabinet?