Our Trudeau, which art in Ottawa, hallowed be thy name. Thy electoral victory come, thy policies be enacted… Oh, sorry. Just practicing for Remembrance Day.

Perhaps unsuitably, you may think. If so, I remind you of the edict that military “chaplains” not engage in any tacky divisive prayers to God on such a solemn occasion. And in other news, the Canadian Armed Forces faces a recruiting crisis.

Recently the always pragmatic forces of darkness staged a small tactical retreat on the Remembrance Day ban on religious religion. According to someone you’d think would know the meaning of “chaplain,” Canada’s Chaplain General Brigadier-General Guy Belisle, “In light of the questions that have been raised concerning the Directive, any chaplain who participates in a Remembrance Day ceremony this year can propose a spiritual reflection or opt for the practice of recent years, which included the recitation of a preamble” that sophisticates offended by prayers should try to think solemn thoughts while we babble.

He then resumed the charge, insisting that any prayer language be “inclusive.” A word here meaning “exclusive,” because banning any specific references to actual Christian beliefs excludes Christians. As banning specific references to the actual Muslim beliefs excludes Muslims, and ditto for Jews, Buddhists, polytheists, atheists, and on down the line. But of course the majority of CAF chaplains are, and were, Christian, like the majority of those who served in Canada’s wars.