‘Trust is earned,’ he wrote, hours later he was gone
Hours before defence chief Admiral Art Mcdonald stepped aside from the country’s top military job, he sent a message to all Canadian Forces personnel saying he was committed to earning their trust as well as taking bold action against sexual misconduct.
Mcdonald, who had only been the chief of the defence staff since Jan. 14, appealed to all members of the Canadian Forces to come forward and speak up about alleged misconduct.
“Trust is earned,” he wrote in the message sent at 11:52 a.m. Wednesday. “I as the Chief, along with all the leaders in CAF, need to work every day to earn your trust. And we are all committed to doing so.
“We need to continue to see courageous and frank talk combined with bold, supportive actions. This task belongs to each and every one of us and I know I can count on your support.”
At 4:12 p.m., a source contacted the Ottawa Citizen and the CBC outlining a series of allegations against Mcdonald involving sexual misconduct and providing the specific file number for an ongoing police investigation that had been launched a month earlier. A victim had come forward and multiple witnesses were providing corroborating statements to police, the source noted.
both news organizations requested comment from the department of National defence.
At 11:15 p.m. Wednesday night, defence Minister Harjit
Sajjan released a statement confirming that the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service was investigating Mcdonald, who had voluntarily stepped down until the probe was completed.
“As I have stated, I take all allegations of misconduct seriously and continue to take strong action on any allegation of misconduct that is brought forward,” Sajjan said in the statement. “No matter the rank, no matter the position.”
Sajjan and the department of National defence declined to discuss details of the investigation.
Sajjan appointed Army commander Lt.-gen. Wayne eyre as acting chief of the defence staff. eyre had previously been interviewed for the chief of the defence staff job and was considered a strong candidate, but the Liberal government decided to select Mcdonald because of the need to oversee the troubled multibillion-dollar shipbuilding program.
Mcdonald is currently on paid leave, department of National defence spokesman dan Le bouthillier confirmed Thursday.
Mcdonald used his inaugural speech Jan. 14 to promise he would stamp out sexual misconduct and racism in the Canadian Forces. He also apologized to those in the ranks who have suffered from such actions.
but on Feb. 10, Mcdonald found himself in trouble on social media when he tweeted out a photo of himself and seven other white male senior officers at a meeting. He pointed out that he counted on the senior male leaders in the photo to champion cultural change and diversity. The pushback was immediate, with Twitter followers calling the tweet embarrassing and an example of the failure of the military on diversity.
In announcing Mcdonald as the new defence chief, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau praised the naval officer. “Vice-admiral Art Mcdonald brings decades of experience in a variety of command and staff roles, and I am confident that he will provide dedicated leadership to the Canadian Armed Forces as they continue to respond wherever is needed to protect Canadians and our values,” Trudeau said.
The investigation into Mcdonald is yet another blow to the Canadian Forces. It is already dealing with allegations made against Mcdonald’s predecessor, Gen. Jon Vance. The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service launched an investigation Feb. 4 into Vance after a series of reports from Global News, which alleged the officer had an ongoing relationship with a woman he significantly outranked. Global also reported Vance is alleged to have made a sexual suggestion to a second, much younger soldier in 2012, before he was appointed chief of the defence staff.
Postmedia has asked Vance repeatedly for comment about the allegations, but he has not responded. He told Global he did nothing improper.
no matter the rank, no matter the position.