Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers participate in training exercises on two different C-130 Hercules planes after unvaccinated cadets were marked with a pen and isolated at London International Airport on May 7. I apologize for being denied the opportunity to do so.
Last Saturday, a squadron from all over Ontario was taken by bus to London, Ontario. Fly on two C-130 Hercules planes provided by the 436 Transport Squadron from Trenton.
True North spoke with a worried parent who said her 15-year-old son was devastated by the incident. Her mother wanted to remain anonymous, but she provided a photo of her son’s hand marked with a strikethrough zero.
“His boss, all his captains were unaware. I thought everyone was able to attend, even before leaving Saturday morning,” she said. “They got on the bus early Saturday morning. It took more than two hours to get to London from where I live, so we all traveled together.”
“He said, I don’t know when they came, but the bus stopped, this soldier came on the bus, and anyone who was vaccinated had to raise his hand. And he asked me to raise my hand, who wasn’t vaccinated in front of whom. ”
“At some point he marked zero on his hand,” she said. “All unvaccinated children did so.”
“After they were unloaded, they weren’t allowed to go to the tarmac where you lined up to board the plane. Then they moved to the concrete area. The concrete area behind the fence. Being in, they were actually able to see the best views of everyone who was happy to take pictures and take videos. “
Brigadier General Jamie Spiser Blanche, cadet and commander of the Canadian Junior Ranger, confirmed to True North that the cadet had been marked and apologized for handling the situation.
“Unfortunately, this information was not effectively communicated to some cadets and guardians. As a result, about 30 cadets arrived at the airfield, entered the airfield, and with their peers. We can no longer fly with them on an aircraft, “said Speiser-Blanchet. “To identify the cadets who can fly, the cadets and Canadian Junior Ranger staff asked for a public show of the cadets and marked each cadet’s hand according to their status. Is black, blue if you can only attend the exposition. “
According to Speiser-Blanchet, CAF is reviewing the procedure to prevent recurrence. Unvaccinated cadets were not able to board the aircraft, but were able to attend the aviation exposition and were constantly monitored.
“We apologize for not being notified in advance of this and for being disappointed because of this. Also, the staff has decided who to allow the flight, so the vaccination status was incorrectly identified within the group settings. We apologize for the inconvenience. We will take immediate action to prevent this oversight from happening again, “Speiser-Blanchet told True North.
According to Speiser-Blanchet, a decision was made to comply with federal flight regulations.
The mother said she could not identify who marked the hands of her son and other children.
“I don’t know if the decision they weren’t allowed to go was last-minute, or if so, a huge misunderstanding,” she said. “They all stated that they were very disappointed and devastated. They felt left behind and rejected. Did my son give them that name, or one of the other boys? I don’t know if people named them, but they named themselves “rejection clubs”. ”
Media reports covered familiar flights, but no legacy media mentioned how unvaccinated teens were treated.
According to the Cadets Program’s Summer 2022 Vaccination Policy, night training exercises require full vaccination of all participants in order to participate.
“Cadets will show evidence of COVID-19 vaccination when applying for the relevant activity,” the policy states. “The corps and squadron staff record the evidence shown in the fortress. Cadets must be prepared to show evidence of vaccination at the beginning of the activity.”
Vaccination is not mandatory for other face-to-face activities, including day trips. For cadets boarding training flights, the Tordo government mandated on November 30 that all travelers on domestic or international flights be required to be fully vaccinated.
The cadet’s mother said the whole situation was not only insensitive, but also immoral.
“(The captain) was indignant because he didn’t notice it in the morning, but I think there were many adults on that day, and I feel like he was doing something wrong with people. Especially young people,” Wait a minute. It’s hard to understand because I didn’t say, “she told True North.
“I don’t know how this happens. Also, in cadet programs and other types of situations, I really don’t want this to happen to another child. Do this based on something else. I don’t know why this is acceptable in front of peers to humiliate them for their medical condition and ask them to mark them. This as we have just decided. The rule is to tell them that they have to go here because they didn’t answer the question. ”
“He was really devastated, and he’s still about it. He wants to quit in one sense, but in another sense my husband’s father was a pilot, so this joins him. It was his inspiration to connect with. He has a lot of respect for him. “
We want readers like you to contribute to support true north fact-based independent journalism.
Unlike mainstream media, True North has not received government bailouts. Instead, we rely on the generosity of Canadians like you.
If the media is the beneficiary of government distribution, how can we trust the media to remain neutral and fair? We don’t think they can.
That’s why Canadian independent media is more important than ever. If possible, make a tax-deductible donation to True North today. Thank you very much.
