Jean Boyle
Encyclopedia
General
Joseph Édouard Jean Boyle, CMM
, CD
(born November 23, 1947) is a former Canadian
Chief of Defence Staff
. He resigned in disgrace less than a year after his appointment, when it was revealed that he was involved in "almost every facet" of the attempt to manage the aftermath of the Somalia Affair
, including the alteration of documents released to the media.
as student #8790 and trained under Brigadier General
William Kirby Lye
, whom he characterised as a "crusty old codger". He spent his first year at school in Fort Champlain, sharing a room with Brian D. Pashley, before moving on to spend his next three years living in the stone frigate
; he participated in varsity football
, handball
and judo
. He graduated with his Honours degree in Economics
in 1971.
He returned to the RMC as Commandant in 1991 and served for two years.
As a jet fighter pilot, he commanded 1 Canadian Air Division
in Germany.
In 1995, he was made a Commander of the Order of Military Merit
. As a General, Boyle fought against Canada's participation in the Ottawa Treaty
to ban landmines.
Boyle was appointed the Chief of Defence Staff
in January 1996, at the relatively young age of 48, being chosen ahead of more senior officers who were expected to be picked for the job. General Lewis MacKenzie
later described Boyle's ascension, noting that he was "obviously out of his depth as [Chief of Defence Staff]". As the Somalian scandal was just beginning to make headlines, some suggested he was appointed specifically in the hopes that he would draw away the majority of public wrath onto himself.
request from CBC
reporter Michael McAuliffe
. It was later remarked that his error had been "almost ridiculously insignificant", as he had simply tried to evade persistent media questioning by providing altered documents. The military magazine Esprit de Corps
labelled him "the spin doctor of the Somalia affair". With nine days of testimony, he was the most vocal witness called before the subsequent inquiry, where he "fought determinedly to defend his reputation and save his job".
While serving at National Defence Headquarters, Boyle supervised the Media Liaison Office and the Somalia Inquiry Liaison Team which was in charge of delivery documents to the military inquiry. He filed a court motion seeking to forbid the inquiry to reach any findings that would discredit him, but was unsuccessful.
On April 8, 1996 Boyle ordered the military to "stand down all but essential operations" to help conduct a search for files relating to Somalia that had not yet been provided to the Commission. Military planes were grounded, and 99% of staff; including military barbers and chaplain
s, were asked to go through their files. The only noted exception was 1,000 peacekeeping troops serving in Bosnia, about whom there were conflicting media reports as to whether they had been forced to stand down for the day to join the hunt. While the move was widely ridiculed by the media, it led to the inexplicable discovery of logbooks belonging to 2er Commando being found in a locked filing cabinet at CFB Petawawa
. On April 15, he arrived at the Commission's office, "tired and haggard", with previously unseen documents which contradicted some of his earlier statements.
Around this time, Boyle told Col. Ralph Coleman, Director General of Public Affairs, that he was unhappy with how the media were portraying him. He was granted a $7,500 bursary with which to purchase a teleprompter
and seven hours of verbal coaching from a civilian media expert on how to handle himself in front of reporters.
On August 12, 1996, Boyle's first day of testimony before the inquiry, he mistakenly took the Bible
in his left hand, when asked to place his right hand upon it; a gaffe noted by commissioner Peter Desbarats
. He was later recalled as handsome and confident, but criticised for appearing "tight-lipped and clenched" and providing "long and convoluted" answers to questions. The following day, he was noted to have absolved the media of any blame in the scandal, and agreed that the responsibility lay with the military itself. In late August, it was reported that Boyle had passed a polygraph
test.
Through most of the inquiry, Roberto Gonzalez had maintained that, as Director General of Public Affairs at NDHQ, he had no memory of providing Boyle information about the intention to alter documents in the Media Liaison Office, but that he "must have"; a stance which Boyle refuted. On September 10, 1996, Gonzalez announced that he had remembered the details of giving the information to Boyle, Assistant Deputy Minister Robert Fowler
and Dr. Ken Calder - although there were questions about his credibility. Boyle was criticised for failing to take responsibility for any of his alleged actions, and instead "began to heap blame on his subordinates", angering other military leaders.
The inquiry eventually found Boyle had "displayed poor and inadequate leadership" on three general allegations, that he had sought to provide misleading information on the military mission, that he had failed to take steps to support the inquiry's search for documents, and interact honestly with the liaison team set up to collect information.
Interviewed by CTV
, Defence Minister David Collenette
sought to correct those who suggested that he was strongly supporting Boyle. This gave commentators the view that he was distancing himself, to avoid being caught in the undertow of the scandal and survive with his political office intact. As Commissioner Peter Desbarats
later summarised, it indicated "he perhaps has already decided to sacrifice Boyle in order to protect himself". When Collenette was forced to resign shortly afterwards, it was suggested that the government could not forgive Boyle "for endangering the Minister" and would leave him to figuratively fall on his own sword.
He tendered his resignation in October 1996, shortly after making a high-level visit to Japan in his position as chief of the Canadian military.
, and served as Vice President of their International Business Development branch from 1997–1999, and as Managing Director of their European arm from 2000-2001. Since his appointment to the Defence Firm came only three months after his resignation, the Ethics Commissioner
was asked to investigate, but reported that all routes were properly pursued and there was no wrongdoing.
In 1999, he was a guest speaker at the CANSEC
arms bazaar in Ottawa.
In 2002, he was named to the board of directors
of military contractor Simula Incorporated. In 2003, Boyle spoke at a Freedom and Privacy convention hosted by BT Group
, and gave a presentation on how a "bad [Freedom of Information] decision" had led to the resignation of both himself and Collenette and became an election issue; leading to a warning that the United Kingdom "will be at the same stage as Canada" within three years.
On August 18, 2005 he was elected to the board of directors for Liska Biometry, and resigned March 8, 2006. Four months later, he was named to the Advisory Board of Meta4hand.
He currently serves as the Canadian head of the Spectrum Group defence consultants, and CEO of JEBtek, a Canadian business consulting group which is a lobbyist in Canadian government for Titus International Inc.
He is Chairman of BlueBear law enforcement services, a private Canadian company focused on solutions in the fight against Child Exploitation.
General (Canada)
The military rank of General in Canada is typically held by only one officer whose position is Chief of the Defence Staff and the senior uniformed officer of the Canadian Forces. The rank is referred to as 'four-star', despite the use of maple leaves in the insignia. It is the equivalent of the...
Joseph Édouard Jean Boyle, CMM
Order of Military Merit (Canada)
The Order of Military Merit is a military honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the second highest order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada...
, CD
Canadian Forces Decoration
The Canadian Forces Decoration is a Canadian award bestowed upon members of the Canadian Forces who have completed twelve years of military service, with certain conditions. By convention, it is also given to the Governor General of Canada upon his or her appointment as viceroy, which includes the...
(born November 23, 1947) is a former Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Chief of Defence Staff
Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)
The Chief of the Defence Staff is the second most senior member of the Canadian Forces, and heads the Armed Forces Council, having primary responsibility for command, control, and administration of the forces, as well as military strategy, plans, and requirements...
. He resigned in disgrace less than a year after his appointment, when it was revealed that he was involved in "almost every facet" of the attempt to manage the aftermath of the Somalia Affair
Somalia Affair
The Somalia Affair was a 1993 military scandal later dubbed "Canada's national shame". It peaked with the brutal beating death of a Somali teenager at the hands of two Canadian soldiers participating in humanitarian efforts in Somalia. The crime, documented by grisly photos, shocked the Canadian...
, including the alteration of documents released to the media.
Military career
Boyle joined the military in 1967, and joined the Royal Military College of CanadaRoyal Military College of Canada
The Royal Military College of Canada, RMC, or RMCC , is the military academy of the Canadian Forces, and is a degree-granting university. RMC was established in 1876. RMC is the only federal institution in Canada with degree granting powers...
as student #8790 and trained under Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
William Kirby Lye
William Kirby Lye
-Education:Brigadier General William Kirby Lye OBE MID graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario in 1936. His father Lt.-Col. O.C. Lye was the officer commanding the 11th Reserve Field Regiment and former mayor of Guelph, Ontario....
, whom he characterised as a "crusty old codger". He spent his first year at school in Fort Champlain, sharing a room with Brian D. Pashley, before moving on to spend his next three years living in the stone frigate
Stone frigate
Stone frigate is a nickname for a naval establishment on land. The term has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy after its use of Diamond Rock, off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the French...
; he participated in varsity football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
, handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
and judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
. He graduated with his Honours degree in Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
in 1971.
He returned to the RMC as Commandant in 1991 and served for two years.
As a jet fighter pilot, he commanded 1 Canadian Air Division
1 Canadian Air Division
1 Canadian Air Division is the operational-level command and control formation of the Royal Canadian Air Force...
in Germany.
In 1995, he was made a Commander of the Order of Military Merit
Order of Military Merit (Canada)
The Order of Military Merit is a military honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the second highest order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada...
. As a General, Boyle fought against Canada's participation in the Ottawa Treaty
Ottawa Treaty
The Ottawa Treaty or the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, officially known as the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, aims at eliminating anti-personnel landmines around the world. , there were 158...
to ban landmines.
Boyle was appointed the Chief of Defence Staff
Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)
The Chief of the Defence Staff is the second most senior member of the Canadian Forces, and heads the Armed Forces Council, having primary responsibility for command, control, and administration of the forces, as well as military strategy, plans, and requirements...
in January 1996, at the relatively young age of 48, being chosen ahead of more senior officers who were expected to be picked for the job. General Lewis MacKenzie
Lewis MacKenzie
Major-General Lewis Wharton MacKenzie, UE, CM, CMM, MSC, O.Ont, CD is a retired Canadian general, author and media commentator. MacKenzie is most famous for establishing and commanding Sector Sarajevo as part of the United Nations Protection Force UNPROFOR in Yugoslavia in 1992...
later described Boyle's ascension, noting that he was "obviously out of his depth as [Chief of Defence Staff]". As the Somalian scandal was just beginning to make headlines, some suggested he was appointed specifically in the hopes that he would draw away the majority of public wrath onto himself.
Somalia affair
Boyle was accused of overseeing the release of altered documents to an Access to InformationAccess to Information Act
Access to Information Act or Information Act is a Canadian act providing the right of access to information under the control of a government institution...
request from CBC
CBC.ca
CBC.ca is the English-language online service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It was introduced in 1996. Under its previous names, the CBC's online service first went live in 1993....
reporter Michael McAuliffe
Michael McAuliffe
Michael McAuliffe was a barman from Sydney who was hanged in Malaysia in June 1993 after serving eight years in jail for heroin trafficking....
. It was later remarked that his error had been "almost ridiculously insignificant", as he had simply tried to evade persistent media questioning by providing altered documents. The military magazine Esprit de Corps
Esprit de Corps (magazine)
Esprit de Corps military magazine is published in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada by Scott Taylor. The magazine grew out of an earlier magazine designed to be in-flight reading on Canadian Forces passenger aircraft...
labelled him "the spin doctor of the Somalia affair". With nine days of testimony, he was the most vocal witness called before the subsequent inquiry, where he "fought determinedly to defend his reputation and save his job".
While serving at National Defence Headquarters, Boyle supervised the Media Liaison Office and the Somalia Inquiry Liaison Team which was in charge of delivery documents to the military inquiry. He filed a court motion seeking to forbid the inquiry to reach any findings that would discredit him, but was unsuccessful.
On April 8, 1996 Boyle ordered the military to "stand down all but essential operations" to help conduct a search for files relating to Somalia that had not yet been provided to the Commission. Military planes were grounded, and 99% of staff; including military barbers and chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
s, were asked to go through their files. The only noted exception was 1,000 peacekeeping troops serving in Bosnia, about whom there were conflicting media reports as to whether they had been forced to stand down for the day to join the hunt. While the move was widely ridiculed by the media, it led to the inexplicable discovery of logbooks belonging to 2er Commando being found in a locked filing cabinet at CFB Petawawa
CFB Petawawa
Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, commonly referred to as CFB Petawawa, or simply "Pet", is a Canadian Forces Base located in Petawawa, Ontario. It is operated as an army base by Canadian Forces Land Force Command.-Base facts:...
. On April 15, he arrived at the Commission's office, "tired and haggard", with previously unseen documents which contradicted some of his earlier statements.
Around this time, Boyle told Col. Ralph Coleman, Director General of Public Affairs, that he was unhappy with how the media were portraying him. He was granted a $7,500 bursary with which to purchase a teleprompter
Teleprompter
An autocue is a display device that prompts the person speaking with an electronic visual text of a speech or script. Using a teleprompter is similar to the practice of using cue cards...
and seven hours of verbal coaching from a civilian media expert on how to handle himself in front of reporters.
On August 12, 1996, Boyle's first day of testimony before the inquiry, he mistakenly took the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
in his left hand, when asked to place his right hand upon it; a gaffe noted by commissioner Peter Desbarats
Peter Desbarats
Peter Desbarats, OC is a Montreal, Quebec-born Canadian author, playwright and journalist. He is the former dean of journalism at the University of Western Ontario , a former commissioner in the Somalia Inquiry and a former Maclean-Hunter chair of Communications Ethics at Ryerson University in...
. He was later recalled as handsome and confident, but criticised for appearing "tight-lipped and clenched" and providing "long and convoluted" answers to questions. The following day, he was noted to have absolved the media of any blame in the scandal, and agreed that the responsibility lay with the military itself. In late August, it was reported that Boyle had passed a polygraph
Polygraph
A polygraph measures and records several physiological indices such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while the subject is asked and answers a series of questions...
test.
Through most of the inquiry, Roberto Gonzalez had maintained that, as Director General of Public Affairs at NDHQ, he had no memory of providing Boyle information about the intention to alter documents in the Media Liaison Office, but that he "must have"; a stance which Boyle refuted. On September 10, 1996, Gonzalez announced that he had remembered the details of giving the information to Boyle, Assistant Deputy Minister Robert Fowler
Robert Fowler (diplomat)
Robert R. Fowler is a Canadian diplomat and the special envoy of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to Niger since mid-2008, to find solution to the conflict in Agadez region....
and Dr. Ken Calder - although there were questions about his credibility. Boyle was criticised for failing to take responsibility for any of his alleged actions, and instead "began to heap blame on his subordinates", angering other military leaders.
The inquiry eventually found Boyle had "displayed poor and inadequate leadership" on three general allegations, that he had sought to provide misleading information on the military mission, that he had failed to take steps to support the inquiry's search for documents, and interact honestly with the liaison team set up to collect information.
Interviewed by CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
, Defence Minister David Collenette
David Collenette
David Michael Collenette, PC was a Canadian politician from 1974 to 2004, and a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. A graduate from York University's Glendon College in 1969, he subsequently received his MA from in 2004...
sought to correct those who suggested that he was strongly supporting Boyle. This gave commentators the view that he was distancing himself, to avoid being caught in the undertow of the scandal and survive with his political office intact. As Commissioner Peter Desbarats
Peter Desbarats
Peter Desbarats, OC is a Montreal, Quebec-born Canadian author, playwright and journalist. He is the former dean of journalism at the University of Western Ontario , a former commissioner in the Somalia Inquiry and a former Maclean-Hunter chair of Communications Ethics at Ryerson University in...
later summarised, it indicated "he perhaps has already decided to sacrifice Boyle in order to protect himself". When Collenette was forced to resign shortly afterwards, it was suggested that the government could not forgive Boyle "for endangering the Minister" and would leave him to figuratively fall on his own sword.
He tendered his resignation in October 1996, shortly after making a high-level visit to Japan in his position as chief of the Canadian military.
Resignation and later life
Following his resignation, Boyle began using the anglicized name John and joined Boeing InternationalBoeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, and served as Vice President of their International Business Development branch from 1997–1999, and as Managing Director of their European arm from 2000-2001. Since his appointment to the Defence Firm came only three months after his resignation, the Ethics Commissioner
Ethics Commissioner (Canada)
The Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner of Canada is a Canadian government institution. It was created as a result of the Federal Accountability Act, also known as The Federal Accountability Act created the which came into effect on July 9, 2007.The position currently is...
was asked to investigate, but reported that all routes were properly pursued and there was no wrongdoing.
In 1999, he was a guest speaker at the CANSEC
CANSEC
CANSEC is an annual event hosted by CADSI, a group of Canadian and foreign owned security and defense corporations. CANSEC occurs annually and is best described as a arms bazaar showing off the latest in security and military technology....
arms bazaar in Ottawa.
In 2002, he was named to the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of military contractor Simula Incorporated. In 2003, Boyle spoke at a Freedom and Privacy convention hosted by BT Group
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
, and gave a presentation on how a "bad [Freedom of Information] decision" had led to the resignation of both himself and Collenette and became an election issue; leading to a warning that the United Kingdom "will be at the same stage as Canada" within three years.
On August 18, 2005 he was elected to the board of directors for Liska Biometry, and resigned March 8, 2006. Four months later, he was named to the Advisory Board of Meta4hand.
He currently serves as the Canadian head of the Spectrum Group defence consultants, and CEO of JEBtek, a Canadian business consulting group which is a lobbyist in Canadian government for Titus International Inc.
He is Chairman of BlueBear law enforcement services, a private Canadian company focused on solutions in the fight against Child Exploitation.
Rank history
- Major, 1977
- Lieutenant-Colonel, 1982
- Colonel, 1985
- Major-General, 1993
- Lieutenant-General, July 1, 1995
- General, Chief of Defence Staff, December 19, 1995
Books
- 4237 Dr. Adrian Preston & Peter Dennis (Edited) "Swords and Covenants" Rowman And Littlefield, London. Croom Helm. 1976.
- H16511 Dr. Richard Arthur Preston "Canada's RMC - A History of Royal Military College" Second Edition 1982
- H1877 R. Guy C. Smith (editor) "As You Were! Ex-Cadets Remember". In 2 Volumes. Volume I: 1876-1918. Volume II: 1919-1984. Royal Military College. [Kingston]. The R.M.C. Club of Canada. 1984
- Photograph of Boyle as an RMC student
