Canada’s top military officer steps aside amid investigation

Canada’s top military officer temporarily stepped aside as chief of the defense staff after military police opened an investigation into unspecified accusations against him.

The top military officer, Admiral Art McDonald, stepped aside on Wednesday in the midst of a separate investigation into the previous chief of the defence staff, Jonathan Vance, a now retired army general.

Reports surfaced this month that Mr Vance behaved inappropriately with two female subordinates.

Citing the police investigation, Harjit Sajjan, the defence minister, declined to offer any specifics on Mr McDonald’s decision to step aside. The Department of National Defence also did not offer any details, and Mr McDonald has not publicly commented on the accusations.