Sajjan out as defence minister; Anand takes helm of embattled military amid misconduct crisis
Global News
Among the most pressing of the files on the government agenda is the Canadian Forces sexual misconduct crisis, which has only continued to escalate over the past nine months.
After months of criticism over his handling of the military sexual misconduct crisis, Harjit Sajjan will no longer serve as the minister of national defence – Anita Anand is taking over the role.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled his new cabinet in a ceremony at Rideau Hall on a rainy Tuesday morning in Ottawa, shuffling a number of major roles as the government prepares to confront key challenges, including the military misconduct crisis when Parliament returns next month.
Anand has been touted as a strong contender for weeks among defence industry experts who told Global News that moving her into the role would send a powerful signal to survivors and victims of military sexual misconduct that the government is serious about implementing major reforms.
She was first elected as a rookie MP in 2019 representing Oakville—North Burlington and served as procurement minister throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, stickhandling the country’s contracting and negotiations for coveted COVID-19 vaccines and is widely viewed as a rising star in cabinet.
Anand has a deep background as a corporate lawyer and has worked extensively on corporate governance, which refers specifically to the laws and rules in place to manage the operations of businesses.
READ MORE: From climate to COVID, Trudeau’s cabinet faces pressing policy choices
The Canadian military is facing intense public and political pressure to change its culture and create better systems for both preventing and handling sexual misconduct allegations.
Among those changes are calls for an independent reporting system to ensure allegations of sexual misconduct are handled outside of the chain of command.
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