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A former military ombudsman says he told Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan three years ago about an allegation of inappropriate sexual behaviour against then-chief of the defence staff Jonathan Vance.
Gary Walbourne told a House of Commons committee yesterday that he met with Sajjan on March 1, 2018, and informed him of the allegation against the now-retired general. Sajjan had told the same committee two weeks ago that he was surprised to learn about the allegation when it was first reported last month.
Walbourne said that while meeting with the Defence Minister, he reached into his pocket to show him evidence and that Sajjan “pushed back from the table and said ‘no.’ “ Walbourne said Sajjan refused to look at the evidence. “This meeting was very hostile and ended bitterly,” Walbourne said.
Read more:
Adm. McDonald steps aside as defence chief amid investigation into misconduct allegations
Military police launch investigation after former defence chief Vance accused of misconduct
National Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Chief of Defence Staff Jonathan Vance listen to a question during a news conference Friday, June 26, 2020 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian WyldAdrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
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Provinces set to speed up vaccine plans after national guidelines embrace four months between shots
More provinces are planning to speed up their schedules for giving residents their first COVID-19 immunization shot after a national expert panel recommended the interval between doses can be extended to as long as four months, freeing up more of Canada’s limited vaccine supplies.
The new recommendation applies to all three coronavirus vaccines available in Canada.
The decision paves the way for health jurisdictions across the country to follow British Columbia’s decision to adopt a four-month interval on Monday. The province said its mass vaccine program will be completed two months earlier as a result. Provinces including Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba indicated that they are following B.C.’s lead.
Read more:
Trudeau optimistic Canada will beat September vaccination deadline
Editorial: How a four-month gap between shots could end Canada’s pandemic two months earlier
Novavax releases details of vaccine contract with Canada
Trudeau warns China of ‘possible consequences’ over treatment of Uyghurs
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday warned Beijing of potential repercussions from the international community after its ambassador to Canada rejected reports of genocide, forced labour and relocations of China’s Uyghur population by calling them the “lie of the century.”
Ambassador Cong Peiwu held a virtual news conference Wednesday with select Canadians news outlets, including The Globe and Mail, in which he faced questions about Parliament’s recent vote declaring that genocide was being committed against Uyghurs in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region.
He also brushed aside an internal Chinese report obtained by The Globe and the BBC that said Beijing is relocating large numbers of Uyghurs to other parts of the country to better assimilate them and thin their population in Xinjiang.
Read more:
Campbell Clark: Trudeau talks a little tougher about China now that Biden’s got his back
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Man who used van to kill pedestrians found guilty on all counts: Nearly three years after he deliberately ran down pedestrians on Toronto’s busy Yonge Street, killing 10 people and injuring many others, a 28-year-old man has been convicted of carrying out the deadliest mass killing in the city’s history.
Also:
Elizabeth Renzetti: Toronto’s van attacker: He who should not be named
Defence accuses Trudeau of politicizing Meng extradition process: Lawyers for Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou are accusing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of tainting Meng’s extradition hearing when Trudeau said in a 2019 interview that the U.S. should not sign a final trade deal with China that “does not settle the question of Meng Wanzhou and the two Canadians.”
Women at risk of prolonged unemployment, RBC warns: As the COVID-19 pandemic speeds up structural changes to the job market, Canadian women are at risk of prolonged unemployment, RBC Economics warned yesterday.
Netflix to fund Canadian programs focused on female-led film and TV production: The streaming giant Netflix will announce today that the first $5-million in its Fund for Creative Equity will go to programs that identify, train and provide work for female creators – and two of those programs are here in Canada.
MORNING MARKETS
World stocks fall as investors await Fed comments: Worries about lofty U.S. bond yields hit global shares on Thursday as investors waited to see if Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell would address concerns about a rapid rise in long-term borrowing costs. Just before 6 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 1.29 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.74 per cent and 0.49 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei dropped 2.13 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 2.15 per cent. New York futures were lower. The Canadian dollar was trading at 79.04 US cents.
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
CartoonBrian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Staycation at these seven Canadian hotels opening this year
Miss the thrill of checking in, room-service breakfast or sinking into a perfectly made bed? This spring and summer, these new accommodations are hoping to lure Canadians to staycation downtown or head into the wild for off-the-grid luxury.
MOMENT IN TIME: MARCH 4, 2019
Liberal MP Jane Philpott leaves a caucus meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Jane Philpott resigns over SNC-Lavalin affair
Jane Philpott was seen as one of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s most trusted ministers when she resigned from his cabinet on this day in 2019. Philpott, who had recently assumed the role of Treasury Board President, explained in a statement that day that it grieved her to step down from a portfolio in which she had an important mandate. She said she had to abide by her core values, ethical responsibilities and constitutional obligations. “There can be a cost to acting on one’s principles, but there is a bigger cost to abandoning them,” Philpott said. Evidence of efforts by politicians and other officials to put pressure on then attorney-general Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene in the criminal case involving SNC-Lavalin raised serious questions for Philpott, she said. Wilson-Raybould had resigned from cabinet nearly three weeks earlier. Both Philpott and Wilson-Raybould were expelled from the Liberal caucus in April. Philpott remained as an independent MP for the riding of Markham-Stouffville but lost her seat in the 2019 election. A family doctor before entering politics, she is now dean of the Queen’s University Faculty of Health Sciences. Kristy Kirkup
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