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Joseph Gérard Maurice Baril, (born September 22, 1943) is a retired general officer in the Canadian Forces, a military advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General and head of the Military Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations of the United Nations from 1992 to 1997, and Chief of the Defence Staff in Canada from 1997 to 2001.
He was appointed head of the Military Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) at the United Nations in June 1992, where he was military advisor to then under-secretary for peacekeeping operations Kofi Annan.
Baril was in charge of the Military Division at DPKO during the Rwandan genocide where his countryman General Roméo Dallaire was force commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). He went on to be chief of Land Force Quebec Area in Montreal in July 1995 and chief of the Land Staff in September 1996.
In 1996 Canada's prime minister Jean Chretien appointed Baril to lead a multinational force, whose main task would be to provide humanitarian aid to refugees in Zaïre, with military assistance if required.Rever, Judi, In Praise of Blood - The Crimes of the Rwanda Patriotic Front, (Random House Canada: 2018), pp. 38-39
In September 1997, Baril was appointed Chief of the Defence Staff by Governor General Roméo LeBlanc, on the advice of his prime minister, Jean Chrétien. Governor General of Canada – Assumption of Command of Lieutenant-General J.M.G. Baril – Rideau Hall – Wednesday, September 24, 1997
Baril, along with American general Henry Shelton, was a signatory to the joint Canadian-American military exercise Amalgam Virgo in June 2001. Amalgam Virgo has been cited as a dress rehearsal for the Vigilant Guardian and Global Guardian air exercises conducted during the 9/11 attacks.
Baril retired from the Canadian Forces on July 18, 2001.
Maurice Baril was appointed chairman of the board of directors for the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) in 2005, but resigned in January 2007. Transport Canada – News release H 003/07 – Minister Cannon accepts the decision of the board of directors' chairman for the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority – January 23, 2007
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