Trudeau rebuffs calls for Sajjan’s resignation
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his embattled defence minister endured a question-period offensive Monday as opposition MPs accused Harjit Sajjan of “stolen valour” for overstating his role in planning a 2006 battle in Afghanistan.
Opposition parties trained their sights squarely on Sajjan, who apologized again in the House of Commons for having described himself as the architect of Operation Medusa, one of the bloodiest and most pivotal battles of the Afghan war.
Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose went so far as to accuse Sajjan of stealing credit for the actions of others — a cardinal sin in military circles.
“How much more does the prime minister need to hear before he understands why our men and women in uniform have lost confidence in the minister,” Ambrose said.
“People in the military have a name for what he did: It’s called ‘stolen valour,’ when someone takes credit for the brave actions of another.”
Trudeau, however, would not be moved from his talking points.
“The minister made a mistake,” the prime minister said repeatedly. “He acknowledged his responsibility and apologized for it; that’s what Canadians expect when one makes a mistake.”
Trudeau went on to insist that Sajjan had served his country with distinction in a number of capacities, including as a police officer and as a soldier. As a minister, he added, “he has my full confidence.”
Sajjan, for his part, later rose and repeated his apology.
“I would like to apologize for my mistake in describing my role, and retract that statement, and I’m truly sorry for it,” Sajjan said.
“I in no way intended to diminish the great work that our men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces have done … and I’m truly sorry for it.”
What Sajjan didn’t do is explain his “mistake,” which Ambrose noted he’d made twice — once in 2015 and again two weeks ago. As such, his apology did little to assuage the opposition, with both the Conservatives and NDP calling on Trudeau to sack him.
Sajjan was a major with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan during Operation Medusa, and received a special commendation for “his understanding of counterinsurgency tactics.”
In speech in Delhi on April 18, Sajjan told the Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation that he had been the “architect” of Operation Medusa, which the minister has since acknowledged was wrong. He made the same claim in a podcast in 2015.