Minister says he skipped veteran fundraiser to prepare speech

OTTAWA — Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says he could have gone to a fundraising dinner for Afghan war veterans on Tuesday to make amends for how he described his role in that conflict.

But preparing for a speech Wednesday on the future of Canadian defence spending was more urgent, Sajjan told the Canadian Press in an interview Wednesday.

“With veterans, with soldiers, I’m going to have many opportunities,” he said. “As a minister, I am not here to step away from anything, I am here to own my mistake, but I also have a job to do to deliver for them.”

In a speech in India last month, Sajjan described himself as the “architect” of Operation Medusa, a major combat offensive in Afghanistan in 2006.

The 15-day battle was overseen by then major-general David Fraser, who was in charge of all NATO forces in southern Afghanistan. That Sajjan would describe himself as the architect raised eyebrows in military circles and, despite repeated apologies, he has faced opposition calls for his resignation for days.

The Opposition Conservatives described his decision to skip the veterans’ dinner as going into hiding.

“Last night, the defence minister had the perfect opportunity to personally apologize to veterans of the Afghanistan campaign at a fundraiser for Afghan vets,” interim leader Rona Ambrose told the Commons on Wednesday.

“He was supposed to be there but, clearly, he felt so uncomfortable that he cancelled.”

Sajjan’s office had said Tuesday that a scheduling conflict prevented the minister from attending.

In the interview, Sajjan said his schedule had filled up with “other things,” and he needed to prepare for Wednesday’s remarks and the defence policy review, a blueprint expected to be released ahead of this month’s NATO meeting.