Uncertainty surrounds committee probe into Vance allegation as clock ticks to summer

OTTAWA — A parliamentary committee will hear this morning from the senior officer who was recently tapped to lead the military’s efforts to change its culture.

Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan’s appearance before the House of Commons committee on the status of women, which is looking at the broader issue of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Her testimony comes amid uncertainty about a separate probe by the Commons defence committee into how the Liberal government handled an allegation involving former defence chief Jonathan Vance.

Opposition members says they still have many unanswered questions about the issue, including why no one told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the allegation in March 2018, as Trudeau has claimed.

Yet the clock is fast ticking toward summer and members say they are torn between trying to dig deeper, and having enough time to write a report with the committee’s findings and recommendations.

Defence committee members aren’t the only ones torn, with experts questioning whether the defence committee’s probe is keeping a light on the issue of military sexual misconduct or distracting from it.  

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2021.

The Canadian Press