Admiral Art McDonald
Canada's top defense Admiral Art McDonald voluntarily steps aside amidst investigation
Ottawa/IBNS: With just over two years into the job, Admiral Art McDonald, Canada's new top military commander has voluntarily stepped aside amid investigation by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service due to unspecified allegations levelled against him.
Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre, currently the commander of the army, was appointed by Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan as acting chief of the defense staff.
"As I have stated, I take all allegations of misconduct seriously and continue to take strong action on any allegation of misconduct that is brought forward. No matter the rank, no matter the position," Sajjan said in a statement posted just after 11 p.m. Wednesday (Canada time).
Sajjan refused to give further details of the allegations during the ongoing investigation.
Earlier this month, McDonald apologized after his posting a photo online about the importance of diversity depicting eight white, male colleagues sitting around a conference table with one woman on a screen in the background, which received a public backlash.
"It's true: the leadership of the CAF is, and historically has been, predominantly male and white. That needs to change... and we are committed to doing it," McDonald tweeted.
(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)
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