Former Trudeau adviser to testify before committee on Vance allegations: chairwoman

OTTAWA — The chairwoman of a parliamentary committee examining allegations of sexual misconduct involving former defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s former adviser has agreed to appear before the panel.

Liberal MP Karen McCrimmon, who chairs the House of Commons defence committee, confirmed that members have been told Elder Marques is prepared to testify this coming Friday.

Marques could not immediately be reached for comment.

The revelation represents a major turn of events as the Liberal government had recently prevented other senior ministerial aides from appearing before parliamentary committees.

Opposition parties have said Marques’s testimony is critical to understanding who in Trudeau’s office knew about the allegation involving Vance after the military ombudsman raised it with Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan in March 2018.

Sajjan has said he referred the matter to the Privy Council Office for investigation, while Trudeau has said he was not made aware of it at the time.

Global News has reported that the allegation involved a lewd email Vance sent to a junior female military member in 2012, three years before he became chief of the defence staff.

Vance has denied any wrongdoing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Apr. 21, 2021.

The Canadian Press