Rouleau stepping aside as defence vice-chief following golf game with Vance
The second-in-command at the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is stepping away from his post following a golf outing with Gen. Jonathan Vance, who remains under investigation for allegations of sexual misconduct.
In a resignation letter to CAF members, Lt.-Gen. Michael Rouleau said that he accepts how his decision to golf with Vance and Vice-Admiral Craig Baines, head of the Royal Canadian Navy, earlier this month contributed to “further erosion of trust” in the investigative process.
“As a result of this incident, I am stepping aside immediately as [vice-chief of the defence staff] and will transition to the CAF Transition Group. Major-General Frawley will serve as [acting vice-chief of the defence staff ] until Lieutenant-General Allen assumes command. I am acutely aware of the tumultuous times we are navigating together,” the letter reads.
Lt.-Gen. Frances Allen had been named to take over the role in March as sexual misconduct allegations levied against top military leaders continued to surface. She will be the first woman to hold the role.
Military police launched an investigation into Vance in early February following his retirement. CTV News has not independently verified the allegations against him. Shortly thereafter, his successor Admiral Art McDonald stepped aside voluntarily as an investigation was underway into his behaviour. Both have denied any wrongdoing.
Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the public face of Canada’s vaccine rollout since November, is also facing a sexual misconduct claim against him that dates back more than 30 years. Fortin's lawyer has said he denies wrongdoing.
Rouleau has oversight over the military police and is able to issue orders to the CAF’s top police officer, Provost Marshal Brig.-Gen. Simon Trudeau. 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."
Rouleau in his letter explained that he maintains contact with a number of generals and flag officers because he is “concerned with their well-being.”
“These officers include some who are under investigation and others who are not, but as people who have committed their lives to the service of Canada, they have earned our duty of care,” the letter reads.
“In this particular case, I was reaching out to a retired member of the CAF to ensure his wellness. This was a private activity, and I can assure every member of the CAF that none of us discussed any matters pertaining to any ongoing [military police] investigations, or the CAF/DND at large. However, I understand how such an activity could lead some to perceive a potential conflict of interest and controversy, given the current context, but nothing can be further from the truth. For this I am sorry.”
In a statement to CTV News on Monday, Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre, acting chief of the defence staff, said the golf game was “troubling” and that he is seeking “relevant advice” to determine the path forward.
Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said she was “disappointed” upon hearing of the event and that the three men showed “very poor judgment.”
“I absolutely understand and sympathize with the sentiment that men and women, but maybe especially women serving in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), have having seen this, and the concern that it causes them to have about the possibility of real fairness for them,” Freeland said, speaking to reporters on Monday.
During question period, opposition MPs scrutinized the leadership of Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan.
“This brazen act by two of the military’s most senior commanders is a public declaration they are neither impartial nor think the rules apply to them. The problem starts at the top of the chain of command with this defence minister,” said Conservative MP Leona Alleslev.
Sajjan responded by noting that the government is “absolutely committed” to ensuring a swift culture change within the Forces to create a workplace free from harassment.
“I’ve been working since day one to making sure that we create institutional culture change that’s absolutely necessary,” he said, adding that the provost marshal has “complete” independence from the chain of command.
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole also pointed blame squarely at the minister.
“There is no leadership from Minister Sajjan. Not a single person I know that served in the military or is there now has respect for the minister when he’s been part of a cover-up of sexual harassment allegations for three years and so without leadership at the top, an important institution is withering before our eyes,” he said.
“As a veteran, I’m very concerned by that.”
With files from CTV News’ Annie Bergeron-Oliver & Brooklyn Neustaeter.
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 Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
Investigators have finally revealed the identity of an unknown victim nicknamed 'Midtown Jane Doe,' who was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City two decades ago.
Local Spotlight
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.
Fergus, Ont. man feels nickel-and-dimed for $0.05 property tax bill
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.