Episode 11 - Michel Maisonneuve

On this episode, I sit-down with Michel Maisonneuve, a retired Canadian three star general and public servant who worked for 45 years in service to the country. Michel was born in Montreal and spent the first part of his youth north of the city. As a result of his father’s profession, the family moved out west where he began grade 9 in Saskatchewan as a unilingual francophone. After graduating high school in Thunder Bay, he spent 35 years in the Army rising to the rank of Lieutenant-General. He made the choice to continue to serve in helping reopen College Militarire Royal in St Jean, Quebec as the Academic Director. After a decade in that position, he decided to retire to the peace and quiet of the Niagara region of Ontario. However, most Canadians might be familiar with the General from his acceptance speech at the Vimy Gala in November, 2022 where his remarks drew a significant amount of criticism. Why after 45 years of service to the nation would someone step into the spotlight in their retirement? We discuss this and much more. Show Notes:Canada 125 Government Commercial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNHsXzRQYh0Medak Pocket - https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/art-hub/battle-of-medak-pocketCarol Off's Book on the Medak Pocket - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/124074/the-ghosts-of-medak-pocket-by-carol-off/9780307370785U.S. General Tommy Franks - https://www.tommyfranksmuseum.org/biography--military-career.htmlExcerpt from Michel’s Speech at the Vimy Gala - https://nationalpost.com/opinion/the-speech-by-a-general-attacking-cancel-culture-and-green-policies-that-caused-an-uproarSome of Michel’s Op-eds- https://nationalpost.com/opinion/clearing-the-air-about-my-anti-woke-speech-before-im-completely-cancelled- https://nationalpost.com/opinion/michel-maisonneuve-criticizing-the-government-does-not-politicize-the-military- https://nationalpost.com/opinion/cutting-1b-from-our-already-underfunded-military-is-simply-preposterousThanks again for listening to the NSP. Website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2208861/shareLinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/granite-strategies-defence-nationalsecurity/?viewAsMember=true NSP Podcast Music Credit: RomanSenykMusic, Action Trailer, https://pixabay.com/music/main-title-action-trailer-140711/ NSP Podcast Logo - L. Ayotte, 2023NSP Shorts Music Credit: nomaBeats, You Are The Best!, https://pixabay.com/music/upbeat-you-are-the-best-146445/NSP Shorts Logo - L. Ayotte, 2023 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit granitestrategies.substack.com