It is past time for PM to replace Harjit Sajjan

Another week, another embarrassment for Canada’s top military leadership over sexual misconduct and how to deal with it.

This time, pathetically, it involves a golf game — one involving the second-in-command of the armed forces, the commander of the navy, and the former chief of defence staff, Jonathan Vance, who is being investigated for allegations of sexual misconduct.

Apparently Lt.-Gen. Michael Rouleau, who until Monday was vice-chief of the defence staff, and ViceAdmiral Craig Baines, who still heads the navy, saw nothing wrong about entertaining Vance at an exclusive military golf club near Ottawa.

The instant their outing became public, though, it seems the light bulb went on for both men. As the Canadian Forces are rocked by revelations of sexual harassment and abuse, how could this chummy display of support for a former officer under investigation be the right thing to do?

The answer, of course, is that it couldn’t be. Rouleau apologized, stepped down as vice-chief, and went on medical leave. Baines also said sorry and is taking some “personal leave.” But the fact that they didn’t see the issue in the first place speaks volumes.

It says a lot about how seriously the most senior officers in Canada’s military take the issues of harassment and abuse. Rouleau and Baines clearly thought it was OK to take their old comrade-in-arms out for a morale boost (something Rouleau called a “private activity”). But they didn’t appreciate the effect that this rather public display of solidarity with Vance while he’s still at the centre of an investigation could have on the morale of others in the Forces — especially women.

It also says a lot about how seriously the top brass takes all those fine-sounding statements from their civilian leadership — a.k.a. the Trudeau government — about the need for a cultural transplant to root out harassment and abuse from the ranks of the military.

The government repeated all that once again on Monday. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the golf outing “sends entirely the wrong message to the whole country, first and foremost people who serve in the Canadian Armed Forces.”

But it just keeps on happening. And at this point it’s abundantly clear that Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan isn’t up to the job of righting the ship.

Sajjan’s failure to deal with the allegations against Vance when they first surfaced in 2018 has been thoroughly exposed during parliamentary hearings. And it’s now obvious that he hasn’t been able to impress on the most senior officers the importance of doing the right thing — and being seen to do it.

It’s high time for Sajjan to go. He’s been minister for more than five and a half years now and the government would do itself and the military a favour by rotating him out of that position. The longer he stays, the less likelihood there is of real change.

At this point the Canadian Forces are being consumed by the scandals around sexual abuse and how to deal with it. Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said on Monday that “we’re seeing an important institution withering before our eyes,” and he’s right.

Canada spends more than $24 billion a year on its military, and Sajjan’s 2019 mandate letter as minister included some meaty tasks — modernizing NORAD, overhauling defence intelligence, acquiring a new fighter plane and renewing the naval fleet.

But the sexual abuse crisis is overwhelming the top ranks and causing a crisis of confidence. Recruitment was way down during the pandemic and all this won’t make it any easier to fill the ranks.

Current leadership — military and political — has failed all along the line. The government needs to get control, and that should start with a new minister.