MPs want answers on why Liberal government approved a raise for Gen. Jon Vance, despite allegations

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Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan claims he was never involved in Vance’s 2019 pay increase.

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David Pugliese  •  Ottawa Citizen

Publishing date:

Mar 22, 2021  •  1 hour ago  •  3 minute read Former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Jon Vance was given a raise despite allegations of misconduct against him. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick /THE CANADIAN PRESS Article content

The decision to boost Gen. Jon Vance’s salary to as much as $306,000 even when government officials knew about sexual misconduct allegations would have been based on information from public servants and ministers, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office.

But Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan claims he was never involved in Vance’s 2019 pay increase.

The Commons defence committee is expected to look into the issue of why Trudeau decided to give Vance a raise and keep him on as chief of the defence staff for years, even after being informed about sexual misconduct allegations against the general. Opposition MPs on the committee have asked for the government documentation used to support the salary increase Vance received in 2019.

Vance was put under military police investigation in February after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced just after he retired. Vance has not responded to repeated requests from this newspaper for comment. But he has told Global News he did nothing wrong.

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The Commons defence committee looking into the allegations heard from former Canadian Forces Ombudsman Gary Walbourne who revealed that, in March 2018, he informed Sajjan about the sexual misconduct allegations. The Prime Minister’s Office and Privy Council Office were also informed.

Both Trudeau and Sajjan have now acknowledged they knew about the allegations, but say they didn’t know the specifics until they were recently revealed in the news media.

In response to the question about why Trudeau authorized the raise even though he and his office knew of the allegations, PMO spokesperson Alex Wellstead told this newspaper that such pay “is based on the advice and recommendation of the public service” and follows the guidelines set out by the government. Those guidelines include the need for ministers and senior officials to provide input and support for the raise.

“Due to privacy concerns, we cannot discuss individual instances,” Wellstead said.

When asked why the PMO continued to keep Vance in the job for years after, Wellstead responded: “We don’t comment on specific OIC (Orders in Council) decisions.”

Even though they were privately aware of the sexual misconduct allegations, both Trudeau and Sajjan continued to publicly commend the general. Trudeau had praised Vance for his military service, pointing out the general served with distinction as the longest-serving chief of the defence staff.

In December 2019, Sajjan said that “Canada has been very fortunate to have somebody like Gen. Vance in this role at a very important time.

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“I’m very happy with the service that Gen. Vance has given,” the defence minister added.

The Commons defence committee also heard testimony that Vance and Sajjan had a close relationship, having both served in Afghanistan.

NDP defence critic Randall Garrison suggested during the March 12 hearing that Sajjan didn’t want to see evidence of misconduct against Vance because of his long personal relationship with the general. Sajjan responded by accusing Garrison of being one of the “many white men trying to tell me what my experience is.”

Sajjan later told the committee that Vance wasn’t his friend when the two served together in Afghanistan. “He was my boss,” Sajjan said.

Asked if there was a review before Vance got his wage increase, Sajjan responded that he did not know. “I am not part of that process,” he told the committee.

Trudeau recommended in May 2019 that Vance’s upper salary limit be boosted to $306,500. The lower end of the pay package was $260,600. The increase was retroactive to April 1, 2018.

The specific salary Vance received is protected by the privacy law, but military sources indicate he would have received the upper-level amount.

Before that, Vance received a raise on Oct. 12, 2017, when the salary range for the chief of the defence staff was set at $247,900 to $291,600.

Vance was appointed to the position by the Conservative government shortly before it was defeated. But before that appointment, a military police investigation looked into allegations that Vance, then married, had a relationship with a lower-ranked U.S. officer while serving in Italy. Vance eventually married that U.S. officer.

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The Canadian Forces acknowledged in February that military police had investigated Vance in 2015. “The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service investigation did not meet the elements of the offence to lay charges under the Code of Service Discipline or the Criminal Code of Canada,” the military noted in a statement.

Vance was popular within the Liberal government and was seen by some defence analysts as a top-notch military leader. Last year, David Perry, a vice-president with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, tweeted out praise for Vance, highlighting that he is now, “Canada’s longest serving Chief of the Defence Staff. Pretty remarkable, congrats!”

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