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HMCS Halifax CO temporarily relieved of duties

According to National Defence, the commanding officer was temporarily relieved of duties pending an investigation into "several incidents" aboard HMCS Halifax during Operation Reassurance, Canada's military contribution to NATO's deterrence mission.

According to National Defence, measure was deemed necessary following 'several incidents'

Anjuli Patil · CBC News ·
A woman takes a photo as HMCS Halifax departs Halifax in support of NATO's deterrence measures in eastern Europe on Saturday, March 19, 2022. On Thursday, National Defence announced it was relieving the ship's commanding officer over 'several incidents.' (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press)

The commanding officer of HMCS Halifax has been temporarily relieved of duties following "several incidents" aboard the ship during Operation Reassurance, NATO's response to Russia's recent actions in Ukraine.

The military didn't go into detail about what happened and didn't name the commanding officer in a news release sent out Thursday evening. It did say the incidents didn't involve "sexual misconduct, harmful or inappropriate sexual behaviour."

Cmdr. Paul Mountford has assumed command in the interim. He is an experienced naval officer and commanding officer of HMCS Charlottetown. He is on the ship, which is currently in Reykjavik, Iceland.

National Defence said Mountford would continue Halifax's deployment until it returns to Halifax in mid-July. It said the ship's company has been informed of this decision.

"The relieved [commanding officer] of HMCS Halifax will serve in other roles within Maritime Forces Atlantic Headquarters in Canada until the conclusion of the investigation," states the news release.

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