Compromised Minister of Defence, Dysfunctional Canadian Military

"[Canada's 'whistleblower' laws are slow to deal with cases, often ruling against whistleblowers; they are] nearly entirely dormant."

"Too often the rights that look impressive on paper are only a mirage of protection in practice."

"It takes tenacity and financial resources for any whistleblower to sustain a reprisal dispute for over six years, only to lose."

International Bar Association report

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced criticism from Democracy Watch for the poor protection of whistleblowers. Photo by Adrian Wyld /THE CANADIAN PRESS

"I'm not surprised."

"The report doesn't go far enough. We need whistleblower protection for everyone involved in federal politics."

"Whistleblower protection is one of the most potent accountability mechanisms you can have, and it's clear the Trudeau Liberals don't want that accountability."

Duff Conacher, co-founder, Democracy Watch

CF ombudsman Gary Walbourne  CP/Sean Kilpatrick

"I left the job early on the advice of my doctors and my own realization that no reasonable person could possibly be expected to continue in the hostile circumstances created by the Department of National Defence."

"It was obvious this process was being used as a means of intimidation prior to my testimony before the committee."

"The only thing I ever wanted the minister to do was his job. Doing nothing was not the response I was looking for."

Gary Walbourne, former Canadian Military Ombudsman

"The Minister has always been committed to having a productive working relationship with the CAF [Canadian Armed Forces] Ombudsman and had regular meetings up until he was informed of the then-Ombudsman's intention to resign."

Tod Lane, spokesman, Minister of Defence, Harjit Sajjan

Oddly enough, just as former National Defence and Canadian Forces ombudsman Gary Walbourne was testifying before a Parliamentary committee, news came from a study released by the International Bar Association, rating Canada's performance with respect to commitment for the protection of whistleblowers; which is to say people who reveal misdoings and misbehaviours on the part of institutions and leaders to alert government, industry and the public that matters are not as they should be.

The International Bar Association report ranks Canada at the very bottom of the list of nations which have committed to whistleblower protection. Canada meets a mere one of twenty best practices -- for transparency and review -- placing it alongside Norway and Lebanon for weakest protections, well behind nations such as Ireland, the United States and Serbia, all three top-ranked. Canada fell back on whether whistleblower laws protect identity, protection against harassment, prevention of gag orders and granting a "genuine day in court".

Through former ombudsman Gary Walbourne's testimony we now know that Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan saw fit to cancel no fewer than 17 consultative meetings in lock step with the military watchdog's increasingly vocal voicing of the need for government to give greater aid to injured soldiers. Mr. Walbourne tabled his calendar and dates of the cancelled appointments with the House of Commons committee in their examination of allegations of sexual misconduct against General Jon Vance, who recently stepped down as chief of the defence staff.

Minister Sajjan headed a conspiracy along with senior defence officials, to freeze Mr. Walbourne out of the position he occupied for the past four years in reaction to his insistence on doing the work he was hired for. Mr. Walbourne did not consider himself a decoration the government could point to elaborating its commitement to whistleblower protection, but a dedicated spokesman for the vital task of ensuring members of the military had a voice that would be heard at the executive level and into the governing cabinet.

 

Canada's new top military commander, Admiral Art McDonald, has voluntarily stepped aside as he is investigated by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service on unspecified allegations. McDonald assumed command on Jan. 14   CBC

 

 

Once he began pressing into the shabby way injured Canadian Forces personnel had been treated it gave him sufficient ammunition to produce six reports within a two-year period, detailing lack of support for military staff and families. Ombudsman Walbourne recommended that his office would be more effective were it to be removed from the control of senior defence officials, to enable the office to report instead directly to Parliament. Reprisals came his way as he found himself cut off in 2018 once he had informed Sajjan of serious allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of General Vance, personal friend of the Minister.

The immediate result of that meeting was cancellation of seven scheduled meetings, with another ten to follow. A portrait of a toxic culture prevailing at National Defence headquarters was revealed through the ombudsman's testimony before the Commons defence committee which heard testimony directly contradicting that of Minister Sajjan who insisted he had no knowledge of the situation until several weeks ago when it became public news. Not only had Mr. Walbourne briefed the minister in March of 2018, but he had offered evidence of the allegations which the minister refused to accept.

Additionally, his request for independence resulted in a vindictive campaign to drum him out of the ombudsman position, and the military. Soon Mr. Walbourne found himself requiring permission from the deputy minister to enable him to travel to a base for the purpose of hearing concerns expressed by military personnel and their families. A few months following his report in March 2017 recommending his office be made independent, DND officials informed him that a complaint had been lodged against him, refusing to divulge details, but suggesting it involved inappropriate contracting.

In October of 2017, deputy minister Jody Thomas informed him the allegation would proceed to a formal investigation even as the specifics were withheld from him. That notification arrived the very day prior to Mr. Walbourne's testifying before a Commons committee about DND's failure to act on his recommendations to give assistance to military personnel.

Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan cancelled 17 meetings with the military ombudsman between November 2016 and September 2018. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick /Canadian Press