PIO is Canada`s new Defence Minister |
Indian-origin Canadian politician Anita Anand was on 26th October appointed as Canada`s new Defence Minister in a Cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The shuffle comes a month after his Liberal Party returned to power in the snap polls and amid calls for major military reforms. Anand, 54, will replace long-time defence minister Indian-origin Harjit Sajjan, whose handling of the military sexual misconduct crisis has been under criticism. Sajjan has now been appointed as Minister of the International Development Agency. The new Cabinet maintains gender balance and has 38 members. Reports said Anand has been touted as a strong contender for weeks among defence industry experts who said that moving her into the role would send a powerful signal to survivors and victims of military sexual misconduct that the government is serious about implementing major reforms. The Canadian military is facing intense public and political pressure to change its culture and create better systems for both preventing and handling sexual misconduct allegations. Anand has a deep background as a corporate lawyer and has worked extensively on corporate governance referring specifically to the laws and rules in place to manage the operations of businesses, the report said. In her role as former Minister of Public Services and Procurement, she played a very positive role in the Liberal response to the health crisis.
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