Committee votes to investigate handling of Vance allegations

Ex-defence chief accused of improprieties

• A parliamentary committee has agreed to hold formal hearings into the Liberal government’s handling of allegations of inappropriate conduct by former defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance, which are already the subject of a military police investigation.

Members of the House of Commons defence committee voted unanimously on Tuesday in favour of an investigation following a Global News report last week that Vance allegedly engaged in an ongoing relationship with a woman he significantly outranked.

The Global report also alleged the former chief of the defence staff made a sexual comment to a second, much younger, soldier in 2012, before he was appointed commander of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Vance has not responded to requests for comment by The Canadian Press and the allegations against him have not been independently verified.

The allegations come only weeks after Vance turned over command of the Canadian Armed Forces following five years in the top job, during which he led the military’s efforts to eliminate sexual misconduct from the ranks.

defence Minister Harjit Sajjan headlines the list of witnesses who will be called to testify, with Conservatives on the committee indicating they want to hear what the minister knew of the allegations and how he responded to them.

Multiple sources have told The Canadian Press that the allegations against Vance were shared with Sajjan in March 2018 by then-military ombudsman Gary Walbourne, who resigned from his position a short time later.

Those sources are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Sajjan has not directly addressed the allegations against Vance, but insisted all proper steps are followed when he receives reports of inappropriate conduct. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also sidestepped questions.