PM backs defense minister over ‘exaggerating’ Afghanistan role

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended  defence minister Harjit Sajjan after he faced a barrage of attacks in Parliament and opposition leaders sought his resignation over a “false” remark he made during a speech in New Delhi last month regarding his role in an operation in Afghanistan.

As Canada’s House of Commons began a session  after a two-week recess, Sajjan came under repeated fire for claiming to have been the “architect” of Operation Medusa, conducted by Nato forces in Afghanistan in 2006, while addressing an event organised by the Observer Research Foundation on April 18. Sajjan, speaking in New Delhi, had claimed that in his “first deployment to Kandahar in 2006, I was kind of thrown into an unforeseen situation and I became the architect of an operation called Operation Medusa, where we removed over about 1,500 Taliban fighters off the battlefield”.

Sajjan told the House, “I would like to apologise for my mistake in describing my role, and retract that statement, and I’m truly sorry for it.” He was forced to repeat that apology multiple times during the session.

Trudeau defended the minister, saying Sajjan had his “full confidence”. The Prime Minister added, “He acknowledged his responsibility and apologised for it; that’s what Canadians expect when one makes a mistake.”

Conservative leader Rona Ambrose said, “People in the military have a name for what he did: It’s called ‘stolen valour’ when someone takes credit for the brave actions of another.” She said the “men and women in uniform” had lost confidence in the minister and called for his resignation.

The call was echoed by Tom Mulcair, leader of the New Democratic Party. Accusing Sajjan of having told “a whopper”, he said, “That is not something you apologise for, it’s something that you have to step down for.”