Re: Minister of National Defence

by Jeremiah Tue 09 Feb 2021, 8:57 am

Analysis: Defence Minister Sajjan's actions in the
Vance controversy increasingly under scrutiny

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Feb 09, 2021

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/analysis-defence-minister-sajjans-actions-in-the-vance-controversy-increasingly-under-scrutiny

by Matrix Thu 25 Feb 2021, 8:59 pm

25.02.2021

by Rifleman Thu 25 Feb 2021, 11:33 pm

Lied about Afghanistan on his role credit munger and lying now with 2 separate cases of misconduct with cds when does this liberal shit stop there all a bunch off pompous idiots

by **Spider** Sun 28 Feb 2021, 9:40 am

'Time for patience is over': Sajjan vows action on
culture change within Canadian Forces

Published Sunday, February 28, 2021

Minister of National Defence - Page 6 Image

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/time-for-patience-is-over-sajjan-vows-action-on-culture-change-within-canadian-forces-1.5326768

by **Braven** Sun 28 Feb 2021, 9:15 pm

28.02.2021

by **Braven** Fri 05 Mar 2021, 9:36 am

Sajjan had a duty to pursue misconduct claim
against Vance, say former military members

Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Mar 05, 2021

Minister of National Defence - Page 6 Covid-canada-20200507

https://www.cbc.ca/news/SOMNIA-1.5937500

by **Navigator** Fri 12 Mar 2021, 9:21 pm

03.12.2021

by **Navigator** Fri 12 Mar 2021, 9:23 pm

03.12.2021

by **Kizzer** Thu 29 Apr 2021, 4:21 pm

Feds initiate independent review into sexual misconduct in the military

Published Thursday, April 29, 2021

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/feds-initiate-independent-review-into-sexual-misconduct-in-the-military-1.5407336

by **Proctor** Thu 29 Apr 2021, 9:16 pm

04.29.2021

by **Navigator** Fri 30 Apr 2021, 2:59 pm

Sajjan questions judgment of general who provided character reference for sex offender

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Apr 30, 2021

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/sajjan-questions-judgment-of-general-who-provided-character-reference-for-sex-offender

by **Lincoln** Sun 02 May 2021, 4:37 pm

05.02.2021

by Lucifer Sat 08 May 2021, 4:33 pm

05.08.2021

by **Stargunner** Mon 10 May 2021, 2:51 pm

Sajjan's most difficult mission: Former 'badass' soldier now finds himself under fire as defence minister

Christopher Nardi
Publishing date: May 10, 2021

It is primarily the issue of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Forces that inflicted the damage that now threatens Sajjan’s very political career

When Harjit Sajjan first jumped into federal politics for the Liberals in 2015 and was named defence minister, it seemed nearly impossible for the “badass” with real — and successful — military experience to fail in the eyes of the public.

In the days after his nomination to cabinet, a photo of Sajjan as a reservist rocking full military gear, dark sunglasses and a satisfied smirk, after the final victory in Operation Medusa in 2006 in Afghanistan, went viral on social media.

“Canada’s new badass Minister of National Defense, Lt. Col. Harjit Sajjan: 3 tours of Afghanistan, 1 of Bosnia, first Sikh to command a Canadian Regiment and a detective in the Gang Crime Unit of the Vancouver Police Department,” read one glowing viral post on social media website Reddit at the time.

But his newest appointment would hardly be a cakewalk. Observers noted that Sajjan had a mountain of work ahead of him, including, ending Canada’s combat mission in Iraq and Syria, transporting tens of thousands of Syrian refugees to Canada, leading the military’s procurement efforts — and tackling the issue of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Forces.

It would be primarily the latter issue, among a series of other gaffes, that would put scuff marks on Sajjan’s once-impeccable resume — inflicting damage that now threatens to undermine the defence minister’s very political career.

At the time of his unexpected promotion to cabinet, the fact that Sajjan had a glowing record as a military reservist was seen as a positive, because he likely understood Canada’s military better than most, all the while never having worked within its complex bureaucracy.

“He can be more of his own person because he doesn’t have that history of being too close to the military hierarchy,” York University military expert Martin Shadwick told the Ottawa Citizen in 2015.

But six years later, Sajjan is now facing the most intense (though far from the first) criticism of his political career for how he handled — or didn’t — a sexual misconduct allegation aimed at Jonathan Vance, the former chief of defence staff, who also used to be Sajjan’s boss. (The minister’s office did not respond to an interview request for this story.)

For some critics, Sajjan has fallen from grace.

“The minister does not have the moral authority to stay in this role anymore,” well-known Canadian military lawyer Michel Drapeau told the National Post last week after Sajjan announced yet another review of sexual misconduct in the Canadian military.

This came after two and a half months of controversy for the Trudeau government and Sajjan, who have been repeatedly accused of mishandling the 2018 sexual misconduct allegation.

For many, one of the problems at the heart of this issue is the fact that Vance was once Sajjan’s direct superior, back when he was on tour in Afghanistan.

Sajjan’s military career began decades ago and came partly because of his Sikhism.

Born in a farming village in Punjab, India, Sajjan moved with his mother and older sister at five years old to join his father (a trained policeman) in British Columbia in 1976.

In a 2015 profile in the Vancouver Sun, Sajjan said he felt “total sadness” when he arrived in Canada, and eventually started frequenting the wrong circles in his teens.

That ultimately pushed him to become a baptized Sikh.

“It wasn’t really a religious thing. It was an identity thing. I needed the commitment because I knew it would keep me on the right path. I found the true meaning of Sikhism and I loved the warrior aspect of it,” he said at the time.

His Sikhism is partly what led him to join the military, because at the time the RCMP had just refused the application of a turbaned Sikh, noted the Vancouver Sun. The Canadian military, on the other hand, had no issue with that.

In a 2016 interview with Maclean’s, he also partly credited his interest in military service to a high school teacher who was also a naval veteran and spoke highly of the experience.

He joined the Canadian military reserves in 1989, and his first deployment oversees was during a NATO peacekeeping mission in Bosnia in the 1990s as a junior captain.

Shortly after returning, he joined the Vancouver Police in 1999, where he would end up serving for 11 years, rising to the rank of detective in the service’s unit specializing in fighting drug gangs.

In the meantime, he took leave from policing in 2006 to do his first tour in Afghanistan with the reserves as an intelligence officer to fight Taliban resistance as part of Operation Medusa. One decade later, he would be lambasted for overstating his role by claiming he was the “architect” of the mission.

But he was so good at his job that his then-superior, Brig.-Gen David Fraser, sent a laudatory recommendation letter to the Vancouver police chief.

“He was the best single Canadian intelligence asset in theatre, and his hard work, personal bravery, and dogged determination undoubtedly saved a multitude of Coalition lives,” Fraser wrote. “I rate him as one of the best intelligence officers I have ever worked with.”

Sajjan returned to Afghanistan during Operation Medusa two more times, notably in 2009 as a special adviser at the request of then-Brig.-Gen. Vance.

A few weeks into his time as defence minister, Sajjan requested and received his discharge from the Canadian reserves.

Looking back at his time in the military, Sajjan has often said that his success in Bosnia and Kandahar came from his ability to slowly earn the trust of locals, often casting himself as a “neutral” force because of his Sikh faith.

“Sajjan says his success in Kandahar grew mainly out of his ability to talk to village leaders over countless cups of tea, patiently earning their trust. His turban signified something important to them,” reads a 2016 Maclean’s profile of the minister. “They came to trust him.”

That trust, Sajjan said, as quoted in the report, allowed him to save countless lives as those same leaders would then warn him of impending ambushes, suicide bombers or mortar attacks.

But now, Sajjan is at the centre of fire for a warning he allegedly didn’t heed back in 2018.

Speaking to the parliamentary defence committee in March, former armed forces ombudsman Gary Walbourne said he met the defence minister in 2018 to discuss an allegation of sexual misconduct against Vance, who was chief of defence staff at the time.

But when he offered to show Sajjan proof of the allegation, Walbourne says Sajjan pushed away from the table and refused to look at any evidence.

“The only thing I ever wanted the minister to do was his job,” he said at the time. “Doing nothing was not the response I was looking for.”

Sajjan’s office has since responded that he “took this concern so seriously” that “he raised it to the appropriate independent authority outside of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces.”

Ultimately, that meant referring the issue to the Privy Council Office (PCO), which former clerk Michael Wernick said ultimately hit a roadblock.

“Our judgment in mid-March (2018) was that we had reached an impasse. There was no complainant to interview, no witnesses to interview and it would have been inappropriate to confront Gen. Vance. There was no path forward,” he told parliamentarians in early April.

Earlier this year, Global News published accounts from two different women alleging they were the victims of sexual misconduct from Vance. The first, later identified as Maj. Kellie Brennan, alleged that she had been in an inappropriate relationship with the former general for about 20 years. The second, detailed an email she’d allegedly received from Vance inviting her to go to a clothing optional beach with him. Vance has previously denied any wrongdoing.

Facing increasing criticism for the government’s “inaction” in addressing serious sexual misconduct allegations towards Vance, Sajjan announced last week that former Supreme Court justice and United Nations human rights czar Louise Arbour will lead a new review of the military’s handling of sexual misconduct at large.

Her job will also be to review the military justice system, determine how the government should set up a misconduct reporting system that is independent of the chain of command, and advise on how best to transform the culture at the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces.

In many ways, Arbour’s job will be to figure out how to implement some of the recommendations made by Deschamps, whose 2015 review concluded that there needed to be an independent centre to hold the military to account for sexual assault and harassment.

This time, Sajjan swears the new report will have the government’s full eyes and ears when it is ready.

“Announcements don’t make change,” he said. “Our actions do.”

https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/sajjans-most-difficult-mission-former-badass-soldier-now-finds-himself-under-fire-as-defence-minister

by Lucifer Tue 01 Jun 2021, 4:36 pm

06.01.2021

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