National

Tories blast Liberals for axing defence committee

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 03 May, 2021 05:17 PM

Opposition parties are up in arms after a parliamentary committee meeting in which members were expected to debate calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's chief of staff to testify was cancelled without notice.

Members of the Commons defence committee had been preparing to continue debating this morning whether to call Katie Telford to answer questions on the government's handling of a sexual misconduct allegation against retired general Jonathan Vance, which he denies.

The debate first started on Friday, before Liberal committee members talked out the clock and the meeting was suspended without a resolution.

Conservative defence critic James Bezan accused Liberal MP and committee chair Karen McCrimmon of singlehandedly cancelling the meeting to protect Telford and the government as part of a cover-up.

BREAKING: @karenmccrimmon just single-handedly cancelled today's Defence Committee meeting. The Liberal cover-up into sexual misconduct in the CAF continues. Why are they more interested in protecting Katie Telford than our troops?! #cdnpoli #NDDN pic.twitter.com/kMSSErTe5s
— James Bezan (@jamesbezan) May 3, 2021

McCrimmon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole, meanwhile, says his party will ask the House of Commons to support a motion calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to fire Telford over the Vance affair, though NDP defence critic Randall Garrison says his party will not support it.

Garrison says responsibility for how the allegation against Vance was handled ultimately lies with the prime minister and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Greyhound Canada to shut down temporarily all bus routes as ridership plunges

Greyhound Canada is temporarily slamming the brakes on all of its bus routes and services as ridership plummets amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The transportation company says starting May 13 it will halt all routes until passenger demand recovers.

Greyhound Canada to shut down temporarily all bus routes as ridership plunges

Canadian Forces still unsure how to raise helicopter that crashed

The Canadian military is still determining how to raise the wreckage of a military helicopter that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea last week, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said Thursday. The crash killed six members of the Canadian Forces, though the remains of only one, Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough, have been recovered.

Canadian Forces still unsure how to raise helicopter that crashed

Feds to partly cover 'top ups' for front-line workers on minimum wage

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government, provinces and territories will spend $4 billion to increase the wages of essential workers in the COVID-19 pandemic. He says the details are still to be finalized with some provinces.

Feds to partly cover 'top ups' for front-line workers on minimum wage

The federal government has made another multimillion-dollar investment into the development of the F-35 stealth fighter despite no guarantee it will buy the aircraft.

The federal government has extended the $19-billion competition to replace Canada's aging CF-18s by another month because of COVID-19 — one week after it made another multimillion-dollar investment into the development of the F-35 stealth fighter jet.

The federal government has made another multimillion-dollar investment into the development of the F-35 stealth fighter despite no guarantee it will buy the aircraft.

B.C. to hold consultations on the 2021 budget but all gatherings will be virtual

British Columbia's all-party legislative committee will hold public consultations on the upcoming provincial budget despite restrictions by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services says in a statement the consultation process for the 2021 budget will get underway June 1.

B.C. to hold consultations on the 2021 budget but all gatherings will be virtual

A quick look at British Columbia's COVID-19 reopening plan

The B.C. government has outlined its plan to reopen the BC economy Mid May during the COVID-19 pandemic under guidelines aimed at controlling the spread of the virus.