Hello,
Former Trudeau adviser Elder Marques will testify before a House of Commons national defence committee on Friday, where he is expected to be asked about the misconduct allegations against the former chief of defence staff, Jonathan Vance. Mr. Vance is facing allegations of inappropriate behaviour with two female subordinates.
This comes after Major Kellie Brennan, one of the two subordinates making the allegations, spoke at a House of Commons status of women committee on Thursday evening. She said that Mr. Vance told her to lie about their relationship and said there would be “consequences” if she didn’t follow his orders.
Maj. Brennan said the relationship with Mr. Vance began in 2001, and her testimony shed light on the power dynamics between the two of them. She said that he also fathered two children with her, and doesn’t pay support.
“In my experience, in many different areas, the law does not apply to him,” Maj. Brennan told the committee.
Mr. Vance has not released a statement about the misconduct allegations, but in an interview with Global News he denied any wrongdoing.
At Friday afternoon’s committee meeting, MPs will have the opportunity to ask Mr. Marques about what the Prime Minister’s Office knew, and when they became aware of the misconduct allegations against Mr. Vance.
This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Ian Bailey. Menaka Raman-Wilms is filling in today. It is available exclusively to our digital subscribers. If you’re reading this on the web, subscribers can sign up for the Politics newsletter and more than 20 others on our newsletter signup page. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.
TODAY’S HEADLINES
The federal government has suspended direct flights from India and Pakistan for the next 30 days, as a result of the surging COVID-19 cases and “variants of interest” in those countries. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra made the announcement on Thursday, and the measures took effect Thursday evening.
Aid groups are disappointed with the lack of international assistance in the federal budget, and say that the pandemic and other humanitarian needs have highlighted the necessity of funding. Monday’s budget allocated $1.4-billion over five years in international assistance.
Canada’s Labour Minister Filomena Tassi says the pandemic has made the right to disconnect a bigger government priority, after remote work has removed clear distinctions between work and home life. The right to disconnect was a proposed addition to the federal labour code a few years ago, with the aim of giving people some distance from work e-mails and messages.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Thursday that Canada’s housing needs an increase in supply in order to help make prices more affordable, but that the federal government is also ready to work with other levels of government to address the issue.
OPINION
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail) on the many myths on which this budget is based: “Whether to spend more on stimulus, or on a national daycare plan, are good debates to have. They would be even better debates if we could work off the same set of facts.”
Tanya Talaga (special to The Globe and Mail) on why Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s apologies mean nothing: “How many of our essential moms, dads, brothers, sisters and friends died while Mr. Ford wasted time empowering Ontario’s police? How many more will die before paid sick days actually come into effect? Only decisive action, not saying sorry, will help.”
Chris Alexander (special to The Globe and Mail) on why Vladimir Putin is consumed by fear, and his worries aren’t likely to subside: “The past year has given the Stalin-revering Mr. Putin many reasons to replay the fear card. This has been an annus horribilis for the Russian dictator – his worst yet.”
Tom Koch (special to The Globe and Mail) on why Canada isn’t facing a third wave of COVID – we are facing a new epidemic: “The pandemic that began in December, 2019, was the great-grandchild of the 2003 SARS virus. It has been proven to be a more robust version of its ancestor. Today’s variants of concern are its offspring – and again more infectious and deadly than the parent.”
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop