Canada’s top military commander addresses US senator who questions women’s role in war

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — The first woman to command the Canadian military addressed a U.S. senator Saturday to question the role of women in combat.

Gen. Jennie Carignan responded Friday to comments from Idaho Republican Sen. Jim Risch, the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who asked whether President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, should retract comments about women and He believes men should not serve together in combat units.

“I think it’s misleading for everyone not to recognize that women in combat create some unique situations to deal with. “I think the jury is still out on how to do this,” Risch said during a panel session at the Halifax International Security Forum on Friday.

Carignan, Canada’s chief of defense staff and the first woman to command the armed forces of any Group of 20 or Group of Seven countries, disputed those remarks during a panel session on Saturday.

“If I may, I would first like to respond to Senator Risch’s statement yesterday about women in war because I do not want anyone to leave this forum with the idea that women are a distraction to defense and national security.” Carignan said.

“After a 39-year career as a combat weapons officer and risking my life in many operations around the world, I cannot believe that in 2024 we still need to justify the contributions of women to their defense and service. country. “I wouldn’t want anyone to leave this forum with the idea that this is some kind of social experiment.”

Carignan said women have participated in the struggle for hundreds of years, but they have never been recognized for fighting for their country. He noticed the female military personnel in the room.

“It needs to be recognized that all the women sitting here in uniform, stepping in and deciding to go into harm’s way and fight for their country, they did that,” she said. “So again that’s the distraction, not the women themselves”

Carignan received a standing ovation at the forum attended by defense and security officials from Western democracies.

Hegseth has reignited a debate many thought was long settled: Should women be allowed to serve their country by fighting on the front lines?

The former Fox News commentator has made clear in her own book and interviews that she believes men and women should not serve together in combat units. If confirmed by the Senate, Hegseth could seek to end the Pentagon’s nearly decade-old practice of making all combat jobs available to women.

Hegseth’s words provoked an outpouring of praise and condemnation.

Carignan was promoted to the rank of general during a transition ceremony last summer after being selected by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to be Canada’s first female defense chief.

Carignan is no stranger to firsts. She was also the first woman to command a combat unit in the Canadian military, and her career included deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Syria.

For the past three years, he has served as chief of professional conduct and culture, a job that emerged as a result of the sexual harassment scandal in 2021.

His appointment this year comes as Canada faces criticism from NATO allies for not spending 2 per cent of its gross domestic product on defence. The Canadian government recently said it will meet its NATO commitments by 2032.

Risch said Friday that Trump will laugh at Canada’s current military spending plans and that the country needs to do more.