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Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan attends a video link press conference in Ottawa on March 24, 2021.
Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press
Federal Liberals are accused of letting down victims of military sexual misconduct as a parliamentary committee prepares to rise for the summer without producing a report on the government’s handling of allegations involving the former chief of staff. Jonathan Vance defense.
The House of Commons Defense Committee has investigated the governments’ handling of complaints against Vance as well as the current Chief of the Defense Staff, Admiral Art McDonald, since allegations against the two appeared in February.
Yet opposition members say nearly a month of Liberal obstruction prevented the committee from completing its final report before the House of Commons rises for the summer and a possible election in the fall.
He also blocked the tabling of two other reports, including one on access to mental health for the military, in the House of Commons.
Many defense reports are now the victims of this government’s partisan antics, Conservative committee member Bob Benzen said in the House of Commons on Wednesday. Liberal MPs continue to place their party above the people, and above all above the victims of misconduct in our military.
The committee is scheduled to meet Friday and Monday before the House rises next Wednesday, which NDP defense critic Randall Garrison said may be barely enough time to do it all. But, he added, that is only if the Liberals stop their delaying tactics.
If we don’t complete something on Friday, there’s no way it’s going to be tabled in the House, he said in an interview.
Liberal committee member Anita Vandenbeld in turn accused opposition parties of dragging out the study, noting that the committee had previously agreed to start work on a report before the Tories pushed to call for more witnesses last month.
Those witnesses included Sajjans’ former chief of staff, Zita Astravas, who previously ignored a House of Commons call to appear before the committee.
The committee had previously adopted a deadline that would have allowed us to finalize a report to table in the House of Commons, Vandenbeld said in an email.
From the start, Liberal MPs have worked tirelessly to present reports with recommendations focused on survivors and the women and men of the CAF.
Opposition parties say the Liberals filibustered work on a report after the Tories last month sought to withdraw their efforts to bring Astravas to testify.
We strongly denounce the Liberals’ repeated obstruction of the defense committee, said Xavier Barsalou-Duval, member of the Bloc Québécois committee, in an email in French.
Ultimately, by blocking any new testimony and the good work of the committee, the Liberals will prevent a report from being produced that clearly blames the government for their mismanagement of cases of sexual misconduct in the military and their continued existence.
The defense committee is actually one of two committees that look at military sexual misconduct. The Status of Women Committee has investigated the larger issue and is expected to produce a report with recommendations to address the issue.
Yet Garrison argued that unless Parliament and Canadians understand why the Liberal government did not do more when the military ombudsman reported an allegation involving Vance to Sajjan in March 2018, then there is a risk of a similar situation happening again.
Garrison nonetheless said he was particularly upset that the Military Mental Health Study could become a victim of partisan politics given the clear needs that exist for those serving in uniform.
The Canadian Armed Forces reported last week that 16 servicemen committed suicide last year, bringing the total over the past decade to 191 more than during the entire war in Afghanistan.
Global News first reported in February allegations that Vance had a relationship with a subordinate that began in 2001 and continued after taking the top job in 2015. Vance was also charged with sending an obscene email to a junior member in 2012.
Vance, who resigned in January, did not refuse requests for comment from The Canadian Press, but Global has said he denies any wrongdoing.
While opposition parties on Wednesday expressed concerns over the fate of the defense committee, the Tories also warned the House of Commons that they could force a vote to censor Sajjan and express the House’s disappointment with him. .
The motion is one of three the party can choose to debate in the House of Commons on a special opposition day Thursday, which would lead to a vote next week. The others include one on parliamentary decisions and another on Canada-China relations.
The Conservatives have also stepped up their calls for Sajjan’s dismissal, with Chief Erin OToole blaming the minister for his handling of sexual misconduct in the military, exaggerating his role in Canada’s biggest battle in Afghanistan and other actions.
Garrison said he also believes Sajjan should be removed from his post as defense minister, a post he has held since the Trudeau government came to power in 2015, especially after two senior officers were discovered having played golf with Vance earlier this month.
Sajjan in turn accused the Tories during Question Period of letting the military down during their own turn in power by cutting the defense budget. He defended his government’s record in combating inappropriate sexual behavior in the ranks.
Our government still has a lot of work to do on misconduct, and we will [do] that, he said.
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