The last salute: Canadian military begins changing oaths and honours in wake of Queen's death
CBC
It's fair to say that, no matter where you turn in the Canadian Armed Forces, you inevitably bump into Queen Elizabeth.
She was (and in some cases will continue to be, for the foreseeable future) almost everywhere within the military.
From portraits, prefixes and designations to oaths and honours, the military footprint of the Commonwealth's longest-reigning monarch will not fade away quickly. Amending those royal honours for a post-Elizabeth military requires a whole series of changes.
Some of those changes will be easy and automatic, while others will be more complicated and may take years to work out, said Lt.-Col. Carl Gauthier. He leads the Directorate of Honours and Recognition at the Department of National Defence.
As most Canadians wonder when the face of King Charles will adorn the $20 bill, the military is mourning the loss of the personal interest the late monarch took in individual units and soldiers — the quiet, behind-the-scenes gestures and words of encouragement she offered over the years.
The Queen was colonel-in-chief — the ceremonial head — of 16 different military units in this country. That's an extraordinary number given the relatively small size of Canada's armed forces.
Members of those regiments make up the Canadian military contingent — 95 soldiers, sailors and aircrew — that will be present at her funeral in London on Monday.
"We always toast to the Queen," said Cpl. Raquel Bitton, a member of the Montreal-based Canadian Grenadier Guards and part of the contingent attending the funeral.
"We have her picture in our regiment as we walk into our mess. You know, it's all about the Queen. So I mean, she represents who we are. It's part of our identity and something we're very proud of."
Bitton said the Queen's passing is "a great loss" because of what was accomplished during her reign. She said it's " truly an honour" to be present at her funeral.
Gauthier said the Queen has been patron of some Canadian regiments for over 70 years, beginning when she was still a princess.
She was, he said, quite active behind the scenes.
"The Queen used to basically meet with the command team of each regiment," Gauthier said.
"Even if she didn't visit Canada, they could go and have an audience at Buckingham Palace or elsewhere."
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