 To remedy one of the great defects that had been revealed by the Boer War, Eugène Fiset, a Boer War veteran turned deputy minister of the militia, insisted on improving the medical corps of the militia, saying he had seen too many men die in South Africa because of poor hygiene.On 1 July 1905, the last British garrisons were pulled out of Canada and the responsibility for defending the naval bases at Halifax and Esquimalt was assigned to the militia.The fact the Royal Military College in Kingston only offered instruction in English and English was the sole language of command ensured that French-Canadians were under-represented in the officer corps as English was generally not taught in Quebec's Catholic schools.