NDP appalled by Chief of Defense Staff letter and calls on Minister to act

New Democrats are outraged to learn that the parents of the late Cpl. Stuart Langridge have once again been subject to disrespectful treatment by the senior brass of the Canadian Forces, and are calling on the Minister of National Defence to take responsibility for his department.

“Mr. and Mrs. Fynes have already been through so much; I am appalled to learn of this latest offence,” said NDP Defence critic, Jack Harris (St. John’s East). “Minister Kenney needs to make it clear to the Chief of the Defence Staff and other senior officials that this behavior must cease.”

The Ottawa Citizen reported that General Lawson personally wrote to Shaun and Shelia Fynes stating that their son’s posthumously awarded medals were undeserved.

“It is profoundly troubling to see that the Chief of Defence Staff continues to reference the Board of Inquiry as legitimate, after the report of the Military Police Complaints Commission disclosed the serious flaws and failure to properly investigate the circumstances leading to the death of Cpl. Langridge,” added Harris. “The hearings and report made this quite clear.”