(Warrant Officer James Topp leaves the Royal Westminster Regiment during an adjournment during his court martial in New Westminster, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns)
Canadian Press
November 21, 2023
NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — A former soldier and reservist who defied the Canadian Armed Forces’ COVID-19 vaccine mandate has been fined $4,000 and received a severe reprimand at the conclusion of a court martial in British Columbia.
Warrant Officer James Topp pleaded guilty to two charges of conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline in relation to two videos he posted to social media, criticizing the military’s vaccine policy while in uniform.
Read More HERE
This was (probably) the most they thought they could get away with without making it look like political persecution. The reprimand makes sense to me since he was using the uniform for personal reasons (even though I won’t argue why he did it) and in their shoes I probably would have done the same thing. The fine is another story and it seems rather high for the misuse of the uniform. They were likely in the backroom figuring out exactly the amount they could fine him without it looking like they’ve gone too far. Either way, it’s a bit of a black eye, along with the other bruises and broken bones our military has, courtesy to it’s inept chain of command and inability to stand up for the population it protects (which is why you won’t catch me wearing a poppy; I consider that a form of hypocrisy).
I get why he used the uniform for his videos, but I think in the long run it was a small mistake to use it. On the plus side, it did not change his goals or his movement and he will be remembered as the guy who marched across the entire country so he could meet with the political system and discuss what’s wrong with Canuckistan, uniform or no uniform in his video. Too bad no one in the House of Rats was listening.
The American army is calling back non vaxxed soldiers who left what does that tell you??