By Canadian Press

Military hopes for post-Norman stability as new army commander installed

Aug 20, 2019 | 11:09 AM

OTTAWA — The Canadian Army is receiving a new commander as the military tries to turn the page on years upheaval caused by the failed prosecution of Vice-Admiral Mark Norman.

Cannons boomed and soldiers marched as Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre took the reins of the army in a ceremony on Parliament Hill today, overseen by defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance and attended by many of the Canadian Forces’s top brass.

It was just two months ago that Eyre was appointed the military’s chief human resources officer, a position that has taken on added significance as the Forces seeks to improve the lives of average military personnel while addressing racism and other scourges.

Eyre takes over as army commander from Lt.-Gen. Jean-Marc Lanthier, who himself was installed as vice-chief of the defence staff only last month following the surprise resignation of Lt.-Gen. Paul Wynnyk.

Wynnyk linked his decision to leave the Forces to an aborted attempt to reinstate Norman as the military’s second-in-command before Norman reached a confidential settlement with the government and announced his plan to retire.

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One more change-of-command ceremony will be held on Thursday to install Vice-Admiral Haydn Edmundson as Eyre’s successor as chief of military personnel, after which military officials will be hoping for a return to normalcy after several years of instability at the top.

The Canadian Press