OTTAWA — Convicted sex killer Russell Williams has been stripped of his rank as colonel and booted from the military — a swift, furious response from the embarrassed institution that once considered him a rising star.
Gov. Gen. David Johnston agreed to an unusual, but not unprecedented, request Friday from the chief of the defence staff to revoke Williams’ commission and release him immediately from the Canadian Forces.
Williams was sentenced Thursday to life in prison with no parole for 25 years after pleading guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, two sexual assaults and 82 break and enters.
Earlier this week, the military said it had begun a month-long process to eject the former pilot from the air force. But faced with public outrage over the lurid sex crimes and images of the former military hotshot parading around in women’s underwear, Gen. Walt Natynczyk fast-tracked the expulsion, with the agreement of the Conservative government.
The head of the air force, Lt.-Gen. Andres Deschamps, said Friday that it is “an extraordinary and severe decision.”
“Mr. Williams actions have constituted a fundamental breach of trust, duty and valour upon which the commission is based,” Deschamps told reporters at 15 Wing in Moose Jaw, Sask..
“He is not commendable of the oath he took to serve Canadians as a serving officer of the Canadian Forces.”
Defence Minister Peter MacKay said in a statement Friday that the Canadian Forces have undertaken all available actions to ensure that all possible sanctions are imposed against Williams and all possible benefits will be withdrawn.
“Mr. Williams committed horrific crimes against citizens that the Canadian Forces swear to protect, and he is not worthy of the oath he took to serve Canadians as an officer of the Canadian Forces,” said MacKay.
The military — in particular the air force — has taken pains this week to disentangle its spit-and-polish image from the sordid crimes of the man once entrusted to command the country’s biggest air base.
Deschamps told reporters at CFB Trenton, Ont., on Thursday to stop referring to Williams as a colonel since he had been convicted and sentenced. But a military legal expert said Williams was still a colonel until the governor general signed the orders, and Deschamps jumped the gun in his attempt at damage control.
“I don’t remember seeing anything like it,” said retired colonel Michel Drapeau. “You can’t just send out an edict that says everybody will forget and everybody will be happy.”
He said the Williams case will reinforce “the less than charitable view” some have of the military.
Drapeau also said Deschamps, by denying that the military’s screening process failed, has given critics even more ammunition.
“People are shell shocked,” he said. “Nobody is holding anything against the military, but it has shaken the belief of people to the core. The Forces has to be seen and perceived as an organization that not only cares, but tries to the nth degree to see if there are lessons to be learned.”
During a community “healing” event in Belleville on Friday, no one referred to Russell Williams as a colonel. Organizers were careful to mention his name as little as possible, stressing the event was to honour the victims of his crimes and help the community move on.
“Today is about the victims, who they were and who they were loved by,” said Belleville Police Chief Cory McMullan.
The very mention of Williams name was enough to upset people in the audience.
“I imagine my dad is rolling in his grave,” said Belleville resident Loretta Merry, explaining her father was a military veteran and would be appalled to learn a former CFB Trenton commander was a murderer.
Deschamps said stripping Williams of his rank is an important step toward closure for the military and the public. He disagreed with the suggestion that the crimes have sullied the forces’ image.
“I don’t think that’s true. I think people recognize that the crimes, the criminal activity of one individual does not tarnish the establishment,” said Deschamps.
“It’s been a shock to the establishment because of the rank held by the individual, his job, and the fact that he was well known to many in the Canadian Forces. The institution is sound. The leadership is fine, but the individual that caused this major event is now out of the service and being punished for what he did.”
— With files from Jennifer Graham in Moose Jaw, Sask., and Stephen Petrick, for The Canadian Press.