‘There are some deep problems in the Canadian Armed Forces with sexual harassment, and with treatment of women. And that has to end’
Christopher Nardi
Canada’s former Chief of Defence staff, Jon VancePhoto by Matthew Fisher /Postmedia
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OTTAWA Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says recent allegations of sexual misconduct against Canadas former top soldier are deeply troubling, but stopped short of saying which or when measures would be taken to address the deep problems in the Canadian Armed Forces.
In an interview Sunday on Globals West Block, Freeland also refused to say if the government would bring in any civilian oversight to the CAF, as many experts have pleaded over the past months.
I would also like to say that the testimony that weve heard at committee has been deeply, deeply troubling. Its clear to me, as we heard from numerous reports in the past, that there are some deep problems in the Canadian Armed Forces with sexual harassment, and with treatment of women. And that has to end, Freeland said.
The deputy prime minister and finance minister was reacting for the first time to a series of shocking revelations that have rocked the Canadian military since February regarding alleged sexual misconduct by former Chief of Defence Staff Jonathan Vance.
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The retired general has been under investigation by military police after Global first aired allegations that he had an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate (later identified as Maj. Kellie Brennan) for years, and that he had sent an email inviting another woman he outranked to go to a clothing optional resort with him.
Then this week, Brennan alleged in front of a parliamentary committee that Vance had fathered two of her children during their 20-year relationship, that he had boasted he was untouchable and that he owned the military police investigating him.
Vance has not yet responded to any of these allegations, which could not be independently verified.
The most important conclusion I draw from all of these revelations is we have some deep problems in the Canadian Armed Forces. We need to get to the root of these specific allegations, and that is very important. And we also need a systemic solution, because young women who want to serve their country need to know that they can do that safely, Freeland said on West Block.
But what are those solutions, and when are they coming?
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The deputy prime minister refused to give concrete answers during the interview, instead repeating that last weeks federal budget committed $236.2 million over five years to expand the governments work to eliminate sexual misconduct and gender-based violence in the military.
She also refused to commit to additional civilian oversight of the military that reports directly to Parliament instead of the military chain of command.
I just want to assure them that we take it very seriously, and putting this measure in the budget is one sign of that seriousness and there is a lot more to come, Freeland said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was equally vague when questioned Friday on what his government would do to address sexual misconduct in the CAF.
I can tell you we continue to work very hard and closely with various organizations to move forward in the right way and we will have more to say shortly, he said, later saying to expect more announcements in the coming weeks.
Sunday, Freeland also reiterated her confidence in Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, who has been accused of inaction after being warned by an ex-military ombudsman of the allegations against Vance back in 2018.
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She also expressed her support for the prime ministers Chief of Staff Katie Telford. On Friday, former PMO staffer Elder Marques told the Commons defence committee that he had briefed the Liberals top staffer of the allegations against Vance after Sajjan heard of them, but that he had not told the prime minister.
To date, Trudeau insists that he was not told about the allegations until media reports in February.
I have confidence in the people who took the decisions in the moment, Freeland told reporter Mercedes Stephenson. Every single person youve mentioned is someone who cares deeply about women, who cares deeply about safe workplaces, and who cares deeply about serving Canada.
A few weeks ago, the former clerk of the Privy Council Office Michael Wernick told committee members that his office had lost track of the issue when came time to follow up on the allegations made against Canadas top soldier back in 2018.
I do concede it dropped off the radar in 2018, Wernick said to committee members about the Vance allegations. I did lose sight of the conduct issue.
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