Officer suspended for inappropriate relationship dropped as Sajjan’s assistant

OTTAWA -- A reserve military officer who was ordered suspended from the Vancouver police three years ago for an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate is no longer working for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan. Department spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier said in an email Friday that Maj. Greg McCullough is no longer employed as a military assistant to the minister of national defence. McCullough was hired in March 2020 to support Sajjan’s work in Vancouver despite an external investigation that found him guilty in 2018 of two counts of misconduct for his relationship with Const. Nicole Chan, who later took her own life in January 2019. Le Bouthillier said McCullough is now working with the Army Reserve in Vancouver on other duties.

Sajjan’s office has said the two men served together in the same army reserve unit in B.C., but that the military was responsible for hiring him to the unique position and neither the minister nor his staff knew about McCullough’s past.

Sajjan has faced opposition calls to resign for his handling of sexual misconduct allegations involving senior commanders.

The prime minister has insisted that Sajjan, who has served as Trudeau’s only defence minister since the Liberals first took office in late 2015, is the right person to lead the charge when it comes to changing the military’s culture and eradicating sexual misconduct and hate. McCullough has told The Canadian Press that Sajjan played no part in his hiring process.