Retired Royal Canadian Air Force lieutenant-colonel handed reprimand at court martial

The Royal Canadian Air Force roundel is illuminated on a building at CFB Trenton, in Trenton, Ont., on February 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

HALIFAX — A former officer of the Royal Canadian Air Force was handed a severe reprimand and a $2,500 fine Friday at the conclusion of a court martial in Halifax where he pleaded guilty to wrongly detaining two young air cadets in 2013.

Retired Lt.-Col. Yves Therrien was charged in September 2024 with undermining good order and discipline, as defined under the National Defence Act.

The military judge hearing the case, Col. Stephen Strickey, told the court that Therrien had abused his rank and betrayed the trust of subordinates. The sentence resulted from a joint submission from the prosecution and defence.

“These incidents have had a significant impact on the victims,” Strickey said, adding that Therrien had shown a lapse in judgment that stood in stark contrast to an otherwise exemplary 30-year military career marked by many accolades.

The identities of the two victims are protected from publication by a court-ordered ban. Canadian air cadets range in age from 12 to 18 years old.

Court heard that in July of 2013, Therrien was commanding officer of the cadet flight training centre in Debert, N.S., when two cadets were separately punished for minor infractions. Each was confined to a storage room where they were isolated from other cadets.

One cadet spent a day in the room and the other, older cadet spent three days there -- between 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. -- even though cadet training orders clearly state that confining a cadet is not accepted as a means of discipline.

According to an agreed statement of facts, when an officer at the centre told Therrien about the training orders, the lieutenant-colonel dismissed them, saying they only applied to serious matters. As well, court heard that the commanding officer had referred to the cluttered storage room as the “penalty box.”

In a victim impact statement submitted to the court, the younger cadet said he suffered “emotional harm” and later experienced “lingering fear” and “general uneasiness around authority figures.”

When the older cadet read her statement aloud in court on Thursday, she paused a few times and took deep breaths to regain her composure.

“It has taken 12 years and multiple filings of reports to hold Lt.-Col. Therrien accountable for violating governing orders by unlawfully confining another person,” she told the court. “In those 12 years, I have recounted this story many times and it has been exhausting and emotionally draining.”

She said her confinement in what she called a “dirty linen closet” left her in a state of shock, mainly because she was being punished for minor infractions at a time when she was excelling as a senior cadet.

“This was one of the moments when I felt the most lonely and isolated in my life,” she said, adding that she felt unsafe because she later faced ongoing harassment.

She said she suffered from insomnia, anxiety, depression and panic attacks.

As for Therrien, court heard the 64-year-old former fighter pilot had earlier apologized for his actions. And in a brief statement to the court, he acknowledged that he had failed at fulfilling some of his duties as a commanding officer.

“I regret deeply the negative feelings the cadets expressed today,” he said.

The sentence will not lead to a criminal record, which will allow Therrien to continue working at a private sector job that requires a NATO security clearance, court heard.

The military prosecutor, RCAF Maj. Olivier Vinet-Gasse, told the sentencing hearing that Therrien’s “grave lack of judgment” had left a lasting psychological impact on the young victims. But the major also noted that the senior officer’s actions in 2013 “seem to have been isolated.”

Vinet-Gasse said he hoped the sentence would “send a message” to the leadership of the Canadian Armed Forces.

By Michael MacDonald

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Oct. 3, 2025.