Romeo Dallaire, the former Canadian general who led the ill-fated UN mission in Rwanda, will resign from the Senate seven years before mandatory retirement.
The soon-to-be ex-senator said he wants to focus more on international humanitarian work outside of the Red Chamber.
“I have a lot of work here and a lot of a work outside and I can’t do both,” he said, citing his age as a factor.
His last day will be June 17.
Dallaire said that post-traumatic stress disorder, which he was diagnosed with in 1997, as well as the recent Senate scandal did not play a role in his decision to retire, as was initially reported.
However, in an interview with the CBC Wednesday morning, he suggested the recent Senate scandal “accelerated” his plan to retire early.
HANDOUT: WHITE PINE PICTURESRetired General, Senator Romeo Dallaire in Yambio South Sudan April 7, 2012 working on his documentary on child protection helping to protect child soldiers with his NGO, Child Soldier Initiative and White Pine Pictures of Toronto.
He described the Senate as “in transition” but said it remains important as a balance to the House of Commons.
Dallaire, 67, is a little more than seven years away from mandatory retirement from the Senate.
Last December, he had a minor accident on Parliament Hill, when his car struck a traffic barrier. He said he fell asleep at the wheel.
Dallaire was named to the Senate as a Liberal in 2005 by prime minister Paul Martin.
Dallaire has been an outspoken activist on the issue of child soldiers.
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He has often spoken publicly with his struggles with PTSD following the 1994 mission to Rwanda, where his repeated warning of the imminent genocide went unheeded by the UN. Ultimately, at least 800,000 died over 100 days in Rwanda.
Dallaire was medically released from the Canadian military in 2000.
He has long been an advocate for Canada’s veterans, recently saying he was “pissed off” with Conservatives complaining about the costs of the military.
“I say, ‘Now that they’re home — and the ones that are injured — they cost too much?’ This has been sniffing its way around the Conservative hallways and it’s pissing me off,” he said.