The Royal Military College of Canada has taken another blow to its reputation — this time from the federal auditor general, who is flagging serious problems with the venerable institution’s costs and the behaviour of its senior cadets.
Based in Kingston, Ont., the prestigious university’s primary purpose is to groom and educate the military’s next generation of leaders, which it has been doing for the past 140 years.
But auditor general Michael Ferguson says it costs almost twice as much to educate and prepare aspiring officers for a career in the military as it would to send them to a civilian university, and without any noticeable benefit.
The auditor general is also raising concerns about senior cadets, who are expected to serve as role models and leaders for junior students, but whom Ferguson says all too often abuse their authority.
Ferguson’s findings come less than a year after a separate investigation ordered by defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance found the school had suffered from years of neglect at the highest levels.
Vance has promised to modernize and clean up the institution, while Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says the government will look at ways to make it more cost effective.