Local news delivered daily to your email inbox. Subscribe for FREE to the rdnewsNOW newsletter.

Tories accuse Liberals of ruining military officers’ careers

Jul 10, 2019 | 10:49 AM

OTTAWA — Federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is accusing the Liberal government of having created an unprecedented crisis inside the Canadian military following news it is losing another second-in-command.

Lt.-Gen. Paul Wynnyk tendered his resignation as the vice-chief of the defence staff on Tuesday, which he linked to an aborted attempt to reinstate Vice-Admiral Mark Norman into the position.

Wynnyk made the connection in a surprisingly frank resignation letter he sent to defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance that was subsequently leaked to several media outlets.

Wynnyk’s departure, effective Aug. 9, is the latest blow to the Canadian military, whose top ranks have been in a perpetual state of disarray since Norman was suspended as second-in-command in January 2017.