Defence Official Fired After Criticizing Anti-US Rhetoric Sues for Wrongful Dismissal

A former Department of National Defence executive who was dismissed after criticizing Western leaders’ rhetoric toward the United States is suing the federal government.

Raquel Garbers filed a statement of claim in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa on June 11. Garbers is seeking roughly $2 million for lost benefits and punitive damages.

“DND deliberately or negligently assisted in destroying Ms. Garbers’ career and well-being as a respected federal executive and defence expert,” the claim says.

The complaint filed against the Attorney General of Canada alleges that the Department of National Defence (DND) also humiliated Garbers during the months between when she received a termination notice and her last day at work.

Garbers worked at DND as director general of Strategic Defence Policy, and at the time of her firing she had been on an assignment with the Centre for International Governance and Innovation (CIGI), a Canadian think tank.

While on assignment for CIGI, Garbers published an op-ed in a newspaper titled, “Indulging in absurd anti-US rhetoric? You’re doing a solid for Moscow or Beijing.” The article appeared in The Hill Times on Oct. 15, 2025. The Ottawa-based publication caters principally to parliamentarians and politicos.

“To suggest that the U.S. can’t be trusted as an ally because it is ‘mistreating its friends’ is to indulge in the fantastical view that states privilege sentimentality over national interest,” Garbers wrote.

The comments came months after the Liberal Party won the election on a platform focused on opposing U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and his remarks about making Canada the “51st state.” Following the increased tariffs imposed in early 2025, Ottawa began cultivating foreign partnerships to diversify its trade and security relationships.

“In a world at risk of major war, the U.S. is doing exactly what we all need it to do. It is being relentless in its determination to rebuild its power and it is forcing us all to do likewise. Building that kind of power demands we be serious,” Garbers said in the article.

Trump’s tariffs are aimed at reshoring manufacturing as well as securing better trade deals favourable to the United States, something that impacts key sectors of the Canadian economy. On the defence file, however, Ottawa has responded to Washington’s call to boost defence spending.

Garbers stated in her op-ed that Western leaders should have “mature” conversations about the choices that lie ahead given the risks of world conflict. “That starts with shutting down the absurd anti-United States narratives that have hijacked their public dialogues,” she wrote.

The complaint says the op-ed is consistent with Garbers’s previous commentary and highlighted the potential impacts of anti-U.S. rhetoric on Canada’s relationship with allies and “countries of concern” such as China.

The complaint says that DND had not raised any concern or objection with the content of Garbers’s op-ed.

Two days after the op-ed was published, the complaint notes that Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand had articulated a “shift” in how Canada deals with China following meetings in Beijing. Anand at the time spoke of a “strategic partnership.” This was contrary to Prime Minister Mark Carney previously saying China is Canada’s top security threat, according to the statement of claim.

The legal document also alleges that the DND sought to distance itself from Garbers’s  views after another publication “distorted” her op-ed to suggest she was advancing a pro-Trump position as part of a DND effort to undermine Carney’s agenda.

“DND’s failure to support Ms. Garbers, exposed her to public criticism and reputational harm and was calculated to, and did, injure her professional reputation among colleagues and the public at large,” the complaint says.

DND declined to comment on the case. “As this involves litigation against the Attorney General of Canada, we are unable to provide any comment,” department spokesperson Kened Sadiku told The Epoch Times in a statement. The Department of Justice, which is overseen by the attorney general and minister of justice, deferred comment to the DND.

A few weeks after the op-ed was published, Garbers’s statement of claim said she was “ambushed” during a November video call, where she was told her position was “surplus” and she would be terminated without cause in May 2026.

Garbers’s attorney Kathryn Marshall, who specializes in employment law, told The Epoch Times the case is one of “egregious wrongful dismissal.” She said Garbers was “retaliated against for doing her job.”

Garbers spent 28 years in the public service and had been in her director general position at DND since 2018. Garbers played a key role in the crafting of Canada’s updated defence policy released in 2024.

The complaint says Garbers was told by Deputy Defence Minister Stefanie Beck in February 2025 that her assignment with CIGI could be renewed annually for up to three years and that she could return to DND in the same position or a similar one.

The complaint disputes that her position in Strategic Defence Policy had become “surplus,” noting how similar position had been staffed within weeks after Garbers received her termination notice. When she returned to work at DND before her termination date, Garbers was allegedly not provided a workspace with a computer and was excluded from some workflows, which led her to being “humiliated.”