Former top military commander pleads guilty to obstruction of justice charge
CBC
Canada's former top military commander has pleaded guilty to a single charge of obstruction of justice in the highest profile case in the crisis of sexual misconduct that has shaken the Defence Department to its foundations.
Jonathan Vance was charged by military police last summer in relation to an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.
Vance appeared virtually in an Ottawa court where he entered the guilty plea on Wednesday morning.
The judge accepted a joint request from both the Crown and defence and sentenced him to a conditional discharge, plus 12 months of probation.
His lawyer, Rodney Sellar, read a number of letters of support into the court record. Vance, upon sentencing, chose not to address the court.
The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS) laid the single charge against Vance but did not provide details.
The CFNIS said only that the charge relates to events that happened after the military police began investigating Vance over an allegation of misconduct on Feb. 4, 2021.
Provincial court documents allege that Vance "willfully" attempted to obstruct justice by repeatedly contacting Maj. Kellie Brennan and attempting to persuade her to make false statements to investigators.
Brennan, a staff officer at army headquarters, told Global News last winter that she and the former chief of the defence staff had an on-again, off-again intimate relationship. She subsequently testified before a parliamentary committee and claimed Vance had fathered two of her eight children.
At the outset of the controversy, speaking to Global News, he denied any wrongdoing.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a farewell message to Canadians Thursday as he marks his last full day in office.
The Association of Yukon Fire Chiefs says about 80 per cent of volunteer firefighters in the territory are wearing expired protective equipment, putting them in danger and in violation of occupational health and safety regulations when they respond to emergencies.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault will be given a new portfolio in Mark Carney's cabinet, a source with knowledge of the decision told Radio-Canada.
The Alberta government has suspended a loan program at Picture Butte Feeder Cooperative, the province's largest cattle financing cooperative, after an inspection alleged a number of financial mismanagement and regulatory issues.
If you look up at the sky late, late Thursday in the Toronto area, there's a chance you'll be able to see a total lunar eclipse and what's called a blood moon.
When wintertime calls, go where it's warm.
Colby Leamon had lost a close family member, and was looking for a dog to provide emotional support.
The cost of a 24-pack of beer could increase $3 to $5 because of 25 per cent tariffs on aluminum exported to the United States, according to a craft brewery in northern Ontario.
Fire tore through a seafood processing plant in Cape John, N.S., on Wednesday night.
Another of New Brunswick's new municipal councils has become embroiled in drama and bitter conflict.
Tardiness is nothing new at Via Rail, but late arrivals are reaching historic levels in a key corridor since passenger trains have been forced to slow down at hundreds of rail crossings operated by CN Rail.
Walmart Canada will stop selling machetes — a type of weapon frequently used in violent crimes — in stores across the country, after Manitoba's government pressured the retailer to restrict online sales.
The parents of two 15-year-old girls at Evan Hardy Collegiate in Saskatoon say they went to police and the school multiple times between June and August 2024 with concerns about escalating online threats from the student now accused of setting one of the girls on fire in a school hallway.