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Lt. Chouinard said the new measures bring an end to the days of stopping off for a coffee or groceries in uniform. “Before . . . I could go to eat lunch at the Tim Horton’s nearby, but now it’s no,” he said. “Let’s say I’m going back home and I want to stop at the grocery store, they’re telling us not to do that.”

After British soldier Lee Rigby was murdered in a London street last year by Islamist terrorists, army personnel were told to stop wearing their uniforms in public.

Members of the military pushed back, posting pictures of themselves in uniform on social media, and the ban was quickly lifted.

General Sir David Richards, chief of the Defence Staff, said at the time: “There is no reason why we should not wear our uniforms with pride, but on a common sense basis.”

It appeared it was taking time for the new orders in Quebec to trickle down to all members. A soldier riding his bicycle home from the Saint-Hubert Garrison in full uniform said he was not aware that the practice had been forbidden. Another uniformed soldier stood talking outside his home, his daughter’s pink backpack slung over his soldier.

Marie-Andrée said she has noticed a lot of concern on social media among military families in the wake of the two attacks. “You think it only happens when they leave the country on a mission,” she said.

As she spoke to a reporter, she was interrupted by a call from her husband who was phoning to say he was leaving work. “Take care of yourself, my love,” she said. “Take care of yourself,” she repeated before hanging up.

National Post

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