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MacKay Apologizes Over Russell Williams Photo In Booklet

CBC  |  Posted: 05/09/2012 10:54 pm Updated: 05/14/2012 10:24 am

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A "terrible mistake" involving the publication of convicted murderer Russell Williams's photo in a Department of National Defence booklet has prompted an apology from Ottawa.


In a statement issued Wednesday evening, Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay said he "immediately ordered the military to destroy all copies of the collected booklets" as soon as he became aware of their existence.


Melanie Villeneuve, a spokeswoman for the Forces, said via email that the the photo in question depicted Lt-Gen. André Deschamps addressing a classroom, with Williams seated in a front row of senior officers.


The image appeared in the 2012 CF Canadian Defence Academy publication, which Villeneuve said is designed “to reinforce the profession of arms to all CF personnel and to emphasize the commitment, both institutional and personal, to continuous learning and professional development.”


Villeneuve said the booklet was distributed only within the Canadian Defence Academy headquarters before the image of Williams was discovered. The majority of the copies were recalled and destroyed, but a few copies have not been returned, Villeneuve noted.


The initial print run of 4,000 copies had a cost of $5,000 and the revised version will cost a similar amount to print.


Williams, a former decorated commander of Canadian Forces Base Trenton, is serving two life terms with no chance of parole for the brutal rapes and murders of Jessica Lloyd and Canadian Forces Cpl. Marie-France Comeau.


He pleaded guilty to 88 charges and was sentenced in October 2010.


MacKay offered his public apologies to the victims' families on Wednesday and said he also planned to follow up personally, on behalf of the entire Canadian Forces.


"I intend to call the families of Mr. Williams' two murder victims to inform them of this terrible mistake and express our most sincere apologies on behalf of the entire military family," MacKay said in his statement.


An investigation is underway by the department to ensure a similar incident does not happen again, MacKay said.


Related on HuffPost:

Loading Slideshow...

  • Former Col. Russell Williams, right, then commander of Canadian Forces Base Trenton, leaves court in Belleville, Ont., on Thursday, October 21, 2010. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette)

  • Williams is seen wearing women's lingerie in this court-released photo on Monday Oct. 18, 2010, just one of hundreds of similar images seized by police. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO)

  • Video: Russell Williams confession, Pt. 1

    Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Det. Sgt. Jim Smyth presents evidence to Col. Russell Williams in a videotaped interrogation Feb 7, 2010. The video was played during Williams' sentencing hearing in Belleville, Ontario, Oct. 20, 2010.

  • Roxanne Lloyd carries a picture of her daughter, Jessica Lloyd, one of Williams' two murder victims, as she arrives at court in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, on Oct. 19, 2010 for the trial of Col. Russell Williams. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette)

  • The Crown and police speak to media outside court following the Col. Russell Williams trial at court in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010. Williams said he deeply regretted his "despicable crimes," moments before he was sentenced to life in prison. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Lars Hagberg)

  • Roxanne Lloyd, the mother of murder victim Jessica Lloyd, speaks to media outside the courthouse during the Col. Russell Williams trial at court in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Lars Hagberg)

  • This Oct. 20, 2010 photo shows a letter of condolence written by Col. Russell Williams to Ernest Comeau, father of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, long before the commander was caught and charged with her murder. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette)

  • An OPP officer opens a gate of a makeshift enclosure as a van carrying Col. Russell Williams is escorted away from an Ontario Superior Court in Belleville on Thursday Oct. 7, 2010.(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Sean Kilpatrick)

  • Part 1 of the Russell Williams Dateline that aired Friday Feb 18th 2011, <strong>Canadian Commander By Day, Sexual Predator, Killer By Night</strong>.

  • Thousands of explicit photos that Col. Russell Williams took while wearing women's and girls' lingerie show how his sexual obsession escalated from lesser crimes to sexual assault and murder, a Belleville, Ont., court heard Monday. The decorated former commander of Canadian Forces Base Trenton, in eastern Ontario, pleaded guilty to all 88 charges against him -- including two counts of first-degree murder, two counts each of sexual assault and forcible confinement and 82 break-ins and attempted break-ins.

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A "terrible mistake" involving the publication of convicted murderer Russell Williams's photo in a Department of National Defence booklet has prompted an apology from Ottawa. ...
A "terrible mistake" involving the publication of convicted murderer Russell Williams's photo in a Department of National Defence booklet has prompted an apology from Ottawa. ...
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Jeff Rose-Martland

Jeff Rose-Martland: Soldiers Give Up Their Rights So They Can Risk Their Lives

Canadian citizens may be shocked to learn that the Canadian Forces do not have the same Charter Rights as the rest of us. They give up those rights when they enlist. Maybe this law makes sense for the military -- it is used to suppress mutiny and rebellion, but at the same time, these are the people who are risking their lives for our freedom. Don't they deserve better?

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Rose Verbena
75 Fans
07:11 PM on 05/16/2012
Accidents happen. I'm sure no one intended for this monster's picture to appear in the booklet. Destroying all photos of him will take time -- he was a career officer, after all.
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Gnomish
ego doctus ignarus
164 Fans
06:19 PM on 05/12/2012
The apology that really gets peoples attention is the one that has personal principle and action behind it.

Reign!
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Gnomish
ego doctus ignarus
164 Fans
06:22 PM on 05/12/2012
Resign ! I really need to watch closer sorry.

One for the blooper reel.
Permalink  |
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Spanky McFarlane
ILLEGITIMUS NON CARBORUNDUM.
179 Fans
01:52 PM on 05/11/2012
HHe should also apologize for telling us harper's Lybia Mission would cost $60 million & now is pegged at ove $325 million,

Better yet pehaps he should go the way of Helena Gurgis (?)
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BubbaHubbaJubba
23 Fans
08:31 PM on 05/10/2012
MacKay reminds me of an x-girlfriend.... real quick to pick up the small tabs,
not so quick on the big ones.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
YankinCanada
Two opposing idealogues walk into a liberal bar...
761 Fans
 
05:43 PM on 05/10/2012
Guys name should be Mcant.
Permalink  |
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
basinr
The truth and nothing but the truth
57 Fans
 
04:39 PM on 05/10/2012
the government really should bring back the death penalty
Permalink  |
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
efell
Careful with that axe, Eugene
1138 Fans
 
05:17 PM on 05/10/2012
NO they shouldn't. Move to one of the States that has it.
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hollace
I told you I was sick
1127 Fans
04:06 PM on 05/10/2012
Conservatives Screw Up...we can use indelible ink for that one...the headline never changes..
Permalink  |
Danny Himmel
34 Fans
03:31 PM on 05/10/2012
This is what he apologizes for? He obviously did not have a hand in the publication of the brochure. On the other hand, he had everything to do with lying to Parliament and the Canadian People about the cost of the F-35. I haven't heard him apolgize for that.
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pinnsy
85 Fans
02:03 PM on 05/10/2012
With this guy it is Howdy Doody time!!!
Permalink  |
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chicnstu49
12 Fans
12:12 PM on 05/10/2012
How many chances does McKay get?! It's getting ridiculous. I love how many "goofs" (to put it lightly) the Conservative government starting making as soon as they achieved a majority. I really hope people remember events like this come next election.
Permalink  |
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
efell
Careful with that axe, Eugene
1138 Fans
 
05:18 PM on 05/10/2012
I'm thinking a kazillion.
Permalink  |
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
gravescanada
669 Fans
 
11:12 AM on 05/10/2012
You know, a mistake is when you put two cups of sugar in a recipe rather than one. This is just disgusting. If the Harper Government would slow down and stop their incessant bouncing from one issue to another and actually put some thought into what they are doing, this type of thing would not happen. My god, a psychopath in the picture.
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xwho
16 Fans
10:45 AM on 05/10/2012
Why would Huff Post even use this murderers picture on here? Not only once but a series of them;..why give him more coverage? So who is worse, Huff Post or the military brochure, which was an internal brochure. I say Huff Post.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
gravescanada
669 Fans
 
11:13 AM on 05/10/2012
I say MacKay is responsible, and HuffPo is just reporting the story. Your attempt at a false equivalency is not supported by the evidence.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Kristopher Leang
training to take down the elite
109 Fans
03:09 PM on 05/10/2012
really huff post is the one to blame for doing their job reporting on this story?? i guess all those history books are to blame for all the atrocities and murders they talk about... (facepalm) you work for the PMO right?
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xwho
16 Fans
05:31 PM on 05/10/2012
You are being rediculous with this reply to me, I feel that one picture of Williams would have been suffice, but to show the many pictures that they have including pictures of the victims and their families is uncalled for. All these pictures is not required to tell the story about the military brochure. What the military has done is very wrong, but Huff Post is just as bad. Out of respect for the victims and their families it was not necessary to post a sequence of pictures, these people have suffered enough, they do not need to be reminded.
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plargo
21 Fans
10:33 AM on 05/10/2012
Annnnnd, nobody gets fired for this.

No proofread, no job.
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OhMyDog
OhMyDog ate my microbio.
150 Fans
10:14 AM on 05/10/2012
I wonder if McKay has scrubbed the skin off his hand that shook Williams' hand or patted his back.
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dresdengirl
2585 Fans
09:48 AM on 05/10/2012
Doens't anybody proofread those things before they get printed? Somebody with brains should have known better.
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