The Queen carried out an official engagement as Queen of Canada on Friday, presenting the Canadian Armed Forces Legal Branch with a Royal Banner to mark its centenary.
The Queen spoke with members of the Canadian Armed Forces via video call from Windsor Castle, including Rear-Admiral Geneviève Bernatchez, Judge Advocate General and senior legal officer, and three other members of the Legal Branch.
The Legal Branch provides legal advice and support to members of the Canadian Armed Forces and Department of National Defence, and consists of 300 personnel.
The Queen chatted with servicemembers to learn more about how their roles as legal officers have been impacted by the pandemic, and to hear generally about their duties within the Canadian Armed Forces.
Major Angela Orme, who is currently deployed with the Royal Canadian Navy in Bahrain, told The Queen how she tells her children that she’s “fighting pirates” while she’s actually spent the past seven months working on counter-terrorism and maritime security to help stop the trafficking of illegal narcotics.
The Queen also spoke with LCol Noor Ahmed, who shared details of the domestic operations of the Canadian Armed Forces throughout the pandemic, and revealed that he’d met Her Majesty in 1973 during her visit to Stratford, Ontario, when he was Boy Scout; and Col Rob Holman, who shared that his grandfather was the Head of Grounds at Rideau Hall, which is The Queen’s official Canadian residence; and
Canada’s Minister of National Defence, The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, said in a statement: “On behalf of the Government of Canada, I extend my sincere appreciation to Her Majesty The Queen for this special recognition of more than a century of service to Canada, and the Crown, bestowed upon a very deserving Canadian Armed Forces Legal Branch.”
RAdm Bernatchez said in a statement on the Canadian Armed Forces website: “As the senior ranking legal officer in the Canadian Armed Forces, it was my honour and pleasure to have received this Royal Banner from Her Majesty on behalf of all members of the Legal Branch, past and present, who, for more than one hundred years, have served Canada with professionalism, expertise and honour. Whether on operations, in the courtroom, or supporting the CAF in myriad complex challenging situations, the CAF Legal Branch and its members have and will continue to serve with an unyielding commitment to justice and the rule of law.”
The Royal Banner will be displayed at the National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, and, as further celebration of their centenary and meeting with The Queen, a tree will be planted in Her Majesty’s honour.
Queen Elizabeth is Colonel-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces, and officially became The Legal Branch’s Colonel-in-Chief in 2013.
