CAF, Sajjan look at 'next steps' after reports senior military leaders golfed with Vance amid misconduct probe
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is determining "next steps" after being made aware that senior military leaders, including one who can issue orders regarding military police investigations, went golfing with former defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance, who is currently under military police investigation for alleged sexual misconduct.
In a statement to CTV News, the CAF said it has been made aware that Lt.-Gen. Michael Rouleau and Vice-Admiral Craig Baines, head of the Royal Canadian Navy, went golfing with Vance earlier this month at a private club in Ottawa.
"We recognize the seriousness of the matter and, as such, we will gather facts and advice in order to determine next steps," the CAF said in the statement.
Rouleau has oversight authority for the military police who launched an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Vance in early February following his retirement.
"It’s a conflict of interest," Charlotte Duval-Lantoine, an expert on sexual misconduct in the military at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, told CTV News. "You have the Vice Chief who is responsible for military police and can intervene and interfere in the investigation into Vance. This is a serious problem."
Rouleau is able to issue orders to the CAF’s top police officer, Provost Marshal Brig.-Gen. Simon Trudeau, and since changes made to the National Defence Act in 2013, those orders have included the ability to "issue instructions or guidelines in writing in respect of a particular investigation."
A retired Supreme Court Justice, Morris Fish, criticized this policy in a report released at the start of June, saying the provision "significantly encroaches on police independence."
Rouleau, Baines and Vance met for a round of golf in early June at an exclusive Ottawa club for military members and their families.
A spokesperson for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan issued a statement to CTV News saying Sajjan was made aware of the situation Saturday afternoon following media inquires.
"The decision by the Lt.-Gen. Rouleau and Vice-Admiral Baines to go golfing with Gen Vance is troubling and unacceptable," the statement read. "The Minister will discuss next steps with Acting Chief of the Defence Staff."
Baines released a statement Sunday night apologizing for his conduct and saying he would be "taking a few days of personal leave."
"I fully accept responsibility and accountability for not understanding how such a public display of support sends the wrong signal as to my commitment to lead in resolving our systemic cultural and misconduct issues," the statement reads. "For this, I sincerely apologize."
On Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau deferred to that discussion when asked whether the two officials should lose their jobs.
“I know the minister of defence is following up with the acting chief of [defence] staff on this issue,” he told reporters at the end of the G7 summit in the United Kingdom.
CTV News has not independently verified the allegations against Vance. Vance’s successor, Admiral Art McDonald, is also under a separate investigation. Both have denied any wrongdoing.
Recent high-profile cases, including the allegation against Vance, have prompted the force and its top leaders to re-commit to ending sexual misconduct within the ranks, but after years of broken promises, many survivors say that trust has eroded, with this golfing incident casting further doubt.
“It demonstrates the old boys club is still alive and well, and I question whether they are really committed to culture change and due process,” Lori Buchart, volunteer with It’s Not Just 700, told CTV News.
Rouleau is nearing the end of this time as Vice Chief of Defence Staff. In a statement, the Prime Minister’s office said Rouleau has not issued any instructions of guideline in regards to any on-going military police investigation.
With files from Canadian Press, CTV National News parliamentary correspondent Kevin Gallagher, and CTVNews.ca's Alexandra Mae Jones
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
'What have we done?' Lawyer describes shock at possible role in Trump's 2016 victory
A lawyer who negotiated a pair of hush money deals at the centre of Donald Trump's criminal trial recalled Thursday his "gallows humor" reaction to Trump's 2016 election victory and the realization that his hidden-hand efforts might have contributed to the win.
Conservative MP says Chinese hacking attack targeted his personal email
A Conservative MP is challenging claims by House of Commons administration that a China-backed hacking attempt did not impact any members of Parliament, because the attack was on his personal email.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Loblaw leaders call criticism 'misguided,' say they aren't to blame for high food prices
Loblaw chairman Galen Weston and the company's new CEO are pushing back against critics who blame the grocery giant for soaring food prices, as a month-long boycott of the retailer gets underway.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
'Giant-killer' Kazushi Kimura to race in Kentucky Derby this weekend: 'I'm representing Canada and Japan'
Six years ago, at age 18, Kazushi Kimura left his home and family behind in Hokkaido, Japan to chase a dream. This weekend, he'll ride in the Kentucky Derby.
President Joe Biden calls Japan and India 'xenophobic' nations that do not welcome immigrants
President Joe Biden has called Japan and India “xenophobic” countries that do not welcome immigrants, lumping the two with adversaries China and Russia as he tried to explain their economic circumstances and contrasted the four with the U.S. on immigration.
Local Spotlight
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
Haida Elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.