OTTAWA -- A newly released email appears to support former military ombudsman Gary Walbourne's assertion that he informed Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan about an allegation of misconduct against then-defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance three years ago.
The email is dated March 5, 2018 and shows Sajjan's chief of staff Zita Astravas telling Walbourne she trusted he had spoken to the Privy Council Office about allegations the ombudsman had raised with the defence minister.
Astravas did not specify in the email, which The Canadian Press obtained through access-to-information law, what the allegations were or who they concerned, but they dealt with a "GIC" or "governor-in-council" appointment, of which the chief of the defence staff is one.
Walbourne told the House of Commons defence committee on Wednesday that he first spoke to Sajjan about an allegation of sexual misconduct against Vance four days earlier, on March 1, 2018, but that the minister refused to look at evidence that the ombudsman brought with him to the meeting.
Sajjan refused to confirm to the committee last month when he first became aware of potential misconduct by Vance, and said he was as surprised as anyone when Global News first reported in February allegations the former chief of defence staff had an ongoing relationship with a subordinate and sent an inappropriate email to a much more junior soldier in 2012.
Vance has denied any wrongdoing.
