CNC News
Despite only weeks ago denying knowledge of allegations of sexual misconduct against former defence chief Gen. Vance, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday conceded he has known about allegations since 2018.
A House of Commons committee is investigating the apparent failure of the Trudeau government to investigate allegation against Gen Vance. It has called a senior advisor to the prime minister to testify this week.
On February 24 in Question Period, the prime minister told the House "I first learned of allegation against Gen. Vance in Global News reporting."
Now Trudeau says his office did know about the allegations in 2018, but did not know the specifics.
Global has reported that Vance allegedly had an ongoing sexual relationship with a subordinate that continued after he became defence chief in 2015, and sent a sexually lewd email to a different and much younger soldier in 2012.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan also earlier claimed to have learned about the allegations of wrong-doing from hearing Global News reports. That line of defence was last week contradicted by former military ombudsman Gary Walbourne, who testified at a Commons committee that he had informed Sajjan about allegations during a meeting on March 1, 2018.
Walbourne testified that he had brought specific evidence of impropriety to the meeting and offered to show it to Minister Sajjan, who refused to see it.
Sajjan, who was previously called to testify to the Commons committee, has been called to testify again to explain the contradictions between statements by Walbourne and him.
