National

Forces ombud backs predecessor's handling of Vance

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 Mar, 2021 05:30 PM

Military ombudsman Greg Lick is defending the way his predecessor Gary Walbourne handled an allegation of sexual misconduct involving former defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance, saying he would have followed the exact same steps.

Lick says Walbourne had no other avenue than to bring the allegation directly to Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan in March 2018, and that Walbourne would not have been able to speak to anyone else without permission from the complainant.

Lick made the comments in testimony to the House of Commons committee on the status of women, where Sajjan earlier this week said he told Walbourne to refer the matter to the military’s sexual misconduct response centre or military police.

While Lick says he would not have been able to speak to either, the head of the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service indicated to the committee that Sajjan himself could have referred the matter to his unit.

Lt.-Col. Eric Leblanc says anyone can ask his unit to look into an allegation, including those dealing with sexual misconduct, and that the defence minister’s doing so would not constitute interference.

But Leblanc, who defended the independence and professionalism of his officers, said only the military’s top police officer can actually order him to launch an investigation.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Doctors fret over surgery backlog after immediate COVID-19 crisis

Doctors say they're becoming increasingly concerned about how they're going to handle the swelling backlog of elective surgeries once the immediate COVID-19 threat has ebbed.

Doctors fret over surgery backlog after immediate COVID-19 crisis

Two more poultry plants in B.C. report workers who have COVID-19

Two more poultry processing plants in British Columbia say they have workers who have tested positive for COVID-19. Sofina Foods Inc. in Port Coquitlam and Fraser Valley Specialty Poultry in Chilliwack say each of their facilities has one worker who has tested positive.

Two more poultry plants in B.C. report workers who have COVID-19

Canadians divided over COVID-19 vaccine

While researchers across the planet race to find a vaccine for COVID-19, a new poll suggests Canadians are divided over whether getting it should be mandatory or voluntary — setting up a potentially prickly public health debate if a vaccine becomes available. The federal government has committed tens of millions of dollars to help find or create a vaccine for the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the respiratory illness that has infected at least 48,000 Canadians and killed more than 2,700.

Canadians divided over COVID-19 vaccine

RCMP to ramp up online threat monitoring

Canada's national police force wants a digital tool to harvest data from a sweeping variety of online sources, including the darkest reaches of the internet, to provide early information on threats such as disease outbreaks and mass shootings. The software would allow an RCMP officer to quickly mine data about a person's internet activities, from an emoji posting on Facebook to an illicit firearm purchase on the so-called darknet.

RCMP to ramp up online threat monitoring

Canadian MPs meet online in first virtual session of House of Commons

Canada's first-ever virtual House of Commons kicked off this afternoon with almost 90 per cent of MPs dialed in to start. The House of Commons special committee on COVID-19 is meeting via videoconference this afternoon. Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said in his opening statement that he could see that 297 of the 338 MPs were online at that moment.

Canadian MPs meet online in first virtual session of House of Commons

Justin Trudeau says mom Margaret Trudeau recovering after apartment fire

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his mother was doing fine Tuesday after a fire at her downtown Montreal apartment sent her to hospital. Margaret Trudeau, 71, was transported to hospital after the fire that broke out on the patio of the building just before midnight Monday.