GRANT'S DESI ACHIEVER
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
Colonel Vihar Joshi (retired) is an authority on military administrative law.
By SHAGORIKA EASWAR
With degrees in law from Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, and Human Resource Management from U of T’s Rotman School of Management, he could have had his pick of plum Bay Street jobs.
“That was the plan,” acknowledges Colonel (retd) Vihar Joshi, OMM, MSM, CD, QC, who, instead, chose to join the Canadian armed forces. “But then I was drawn to the sense of adventure, of doing something outside of what a lawyer might ‘normally’ do. The opportunity of serving my country appealed to me, of contributing in a non-traditional way.”
The letters appended to his name attest to a few of the awards he would go on to win in the course of a distinguished career. Order of Military Merit, Meritorious Service Award, Canadian Forces Decoration, and Queen’s Counsel, among them.
The federal Queen’s Counsel (QC) is one of the highest designations within the legal profession, awarded for exemplary service to the Canadian justice system through work in the federal public service.
He is also the recipient of Law Society of Ontario’s Law Society Medal – the first military lawyer to receive this honour.
As Deputy Judge Advocate General, responsible for the Administrative Law Division of the office of the JAG, he provided legal advice at the highest level.
He oversaw the grievance system, compensations and benefits, and pension law. Members of the armed forces can’t unionise, don’t have contracts, and are governed by HR law. Joshi provided advice on HR law as well as governance and finance.
He has represented Canada on international military operations in Haiti, Bosnia and Afghanistan.
Outlining what a Canadian Armed Forces counsel does in these international missions, Colonel Joshi says it encompasses everything from giving advice to the commanding officer on when it is appropriate to use force in what type of conflict, to disciplinary issues.
“Discipline is critical to success,” he says. “So investigating, drafting charges, as well as a full range of legal advice on contracting issues with local suppliers, etc., and on interacting with other international counterparts.”
In Haiti, for instance, the peacekeeping was divided between Canadian, American and Pakistani troops. In Bosnia, there were 20 different nations. Initially, Canadian troops entered Bosnia under a UN banner. When it became a NATO mission, the rules changed, says Colonel Joshi, who was deputy legal advisor to the NATO commander. “My staff would advise on rules of engagement based on laws of the troop-contributing nations.”
At the headquarters, soldiers have freedom of movement, they carry weapons. But sometimes the local authorities are not aware of this and soldiers would be stopped. So Colonel Joshi’s team would have to write to them explaining the situation.
Another big aspect of all missions anywhere is that property gets damaged as vehicles roll over fields. The team dealt with farmers’ compensation.
In Bosnia, a number of people were indicted for war crimes. NATO had a team responsible for following up on intelligence received and capturing the indicted. Colonel Joshi had a team working on this aspect as well.
“We ensured that their rights under international law were respected from when they were captured right up until they were delivered to The Hague.”
On these missions, duties included advice on what he describes as “mundane stuff” like speed limits, curfew rules and whether men could enter women’s quarters and vice versa, to the not-so-mundane.
“All of our lawyers deployed in Afghanistan were also trained in the use of weapons,” he says. “We could be in civilian clothes as we moved around the city, but had to be ready to defend ourselves.”
And when someone was moving from Kandahar to Bagram air base, a two or three-hour ride away, the lawyers also stepped in as security for other officers as Colonel Joshi did on several occasions.
“Soldiers first, lawyers second,” as he says. “We have to be able to contribute to collective defence.”
As senior legal advisor to the Afghan Ministry of Justice, Colonel Joshi provided invaluable legal services to Afghan ministries in developing a legislative drafting code.
His strategic advisory team was assigned to mentor on different aspects of development and on rule of law issues. With a Masters in Legislative Drafting – a happy coincidence – he was able to help draft legislation for legal aid and for their education law. Under Afghan legal and cultural framework, a husband is responsible for all aspects of his wife’s life, explains Colonel Joshi. But what happens in the event of a divorce when a man might refuse to pay for his ex-wife’s expenses? The education law is another illustration of how they were able to help bring a different perspective, challenge the status quo. The government wanted to bring in the western model of education in which all children between the ages of six and eighteen had to attend school. But what was the enforcement mechanism for families who couldn’t afford the school fees? Would they send parents to jail? Would they fine people who didn’t have the money for school in the first place? What happens in a Taliban-controlled village where girls can’t attend school?
In his free time, Colonel Joshi is into drumming. “I’m in three rock bands!”
He shies away from taking credit for helping establish laws that future generations of Afghans will thank him for.
“A law is more than just words on paper,” says Colonel Joshi. “We worked at capacity building. The education law was drafted by an education expert in France, but it was not just about giving the law, it was about helping them to be self-sustaining. When we left, the mentors continued the work. I don’t know how long they’ll hold, but I know our work helped broaden perspective.”
Considered Canada’s leading authority on military administrative law, Colonel Joshi helped draft key legislations such as the Anti-Terrorism Act (2001), contributing to the statutes that affected the military. He coordinated the effort within the defence to put together a submission that provided the military perspective just as the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Privy Council and the RCMP, etc., provided theirs.
“I provided strategic advice to the military and then the military perspective to the Department of Justice,” is how he explains it.
He also helped devise a new plan from the ground up for the Canadian Armed Forces’ first pension plan for Reserve Force personnel. As direct legal advisor to the Minister of National Defence, he helped develop the pension policy with significant input into the draft of the law.
Also a qualified US Air Force Judge Advocate, Colonel Joshi retired from the military in 2018 and is now Director General of Operations and General Counsel at Military Grievances External Review Committee. The independent tribunal provides a review of grievances back to the military.
The Tom Cruise starrer A Few Good Men and the television show JAG get “two thumbs up for entertainment and less than that for depicting reality!” from him.
“The work we do is very rewarding, but for the most part, it is not glamorous,” he says with a chuckle. “Put the lawyer in a fighter jet? Doesn’t happen! Have I flown in helicopters? Sure. But nobody let me fly a plane! When I joined the military, I was assigned as regional prosecutor for Atlantic Canada, responsible for Halifax, Newfoundland and Bermuda. But I never got to go to Bermuda, all our dealings were over phone! In my two-and-a-half years there, I was in court maybe five times. These shows and movies give military life the Hollywood treatment.”
His father was a statistician and his mother a nurse. They came to Canada from England in 1968 – he was four at the time. The family settled in Ottawa.
As a child growing up in a city where there were hardly any people of colour, he says he didn’t really notice any challenges. It was only when the recent Black Lives Matter movement gained strength that he looked back with a new eye. He remembered the realization that hit him when he saw a Black woman for the first time. She looked different, he thought, and then, that he looked different, too.
“I see now that there were many more challenges than I thought growing up, than I allowed myself to see, perhaps.”
Diwali is a big festival in his Maharashtrian community, celebrated over four days. The community in Ottawa was so small that their Diwali tended to be a two or three hour-event on a Saturday at a community centre. Their parents would dress him and his brother up in festive kurta-pyjamas and then send them out to play in the front yard while they got ready. Where the other six and seven-year-olds teased them mercilessly about how funny the “brownies’” clothes were.
“As I grew older, it became a struggle for my parents to get me to wear traditional clothes because I was so afraid of what I’d face.”
His ajji (grandmother) came to live with them after his grandfather passed away. In her nine-yard sari and limited English, she was another source of embarrassment for the little boy, something Colonel Joshi feels very sad about as an adult. “You want to fit in, you become embarrassed.”
At his high school in Kanata, many of the students had never seen a brown kid before and he was “called the P-word more times than I care to recall”. There were challenges with the name, with others choosing not to learn how to pronounce it.
“Even in law firms, even in the 90s, the response was what would clients think if I hire him?”
His wife Sue is a chiropractor and their daughter, Dani, is studying kinesiology. In his free time, Colonel Joshi is heavily into drumming.
“I’m in three rock bands!”
His favourite artiste? Alanis Morissette.
He tells newcomers to dream big. “There’s nothing you cannot achieve, never lose slight of that. So don’t let anyone discourage you. Aim high, but be honest with yourself and be prepared to put in the hard work. It’s not important to be the smartest person in the room, learn to seek out the advice of those who have trod the path before you.”
Colonel Joshi mentors people and helps them manage career goals. “Most people see life as something they have very little control over. In order to get the best outcome for you, for you to find success as defined by you, you need to be in control of the variables. Go from being an observer of your life to an active player.”
Helping people is the most rewarding aspect of his work. “That’s what I did when I was active in the military and now ensuring that grievances are resolved in a fair manner is very important to me.”
• Grant’s is proud to present this series about people who are making a difference in the community. Represented by PMA Canada (www.pmacanada.com).
