Military ‘playbook’ lacks plan for dealing with cases against defence chiefs

OTTAWA — An early version of a new “playbook” to help Canada’s top military commander deal with allegations of misconduct involving senior officers appears to provide little in the way of new direction for how to handle such high-profile cases.

The Canadian Press obtained a draft copy of the document, which appears to be a distillation of existing guidelines, processes and “considerations” for dealing with such incidents when they are reported.

It outlines the responsibilities that different parts of the military have when it comes to such incidents, as well as the specific steps taken in resolving cases.

Acting defence chief Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre first referred to the document when he appeared at a parliamentary committee on Tuesday, as he laid out a series of new military efforts to address sexual misconduct in the ranks.