Trudeau Defence Minister 'failed to take action for three years' on sexual abuse allegations against Gen. Jonathan Vance

Former military ombudsman Gary Walbourne told a Parliamentary committee today that he raised concerns to Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan about Gen. Jonathan Vance over three years ago.

Walbourne told the committee that Hajjan has mishandled the allegations of sexual misconduct since he told Sajjan in a private meeting in March of 2018.

"I told the minister what the allegation was. I reached into my pocket to show him the evidence I was holding. He pushed back from the table and said, 'no' and I don't think we exchanged another word," Walbourne told the defence committee.

"Given the testimony at the Defence Committee today, it's clear that Minister Sajjan failed to take action for three years on allegations of sexual misconduct by former Chief Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance," said MP James Bezan, who also serves as Tory Shadow Minister for National Defence.

According to Walbourne, Sajjan asked for direction on the allegations against Vance, to which he replied that he wanted the minister to do his job.

The name of the alleged victim in the Vance affair has not been made public, as the complainant said they would not be filing a formal complaint.

"I had explained to minister Sajjan that the complainant has approached me only after the assurance of confidentiality," he said. "I will not reveal the name of the complainant or the details of the complaint, for this is their story to tell and not mine."

The defence committee is now investigating what the Liberal Party knew about the allegations against Vance.

Sajjan has insisted that he handled himself correctly and brought the matter to the proper authorities.