By Canadian Press

Military’s key witness takes stand at court martial for Lt.-Gen. Whelan

Sep 27, 2023 | 9:35 AM

OTTAWA — The court martial for Lt.-Gen. Steven Whelan is hearing today from the complainant in the case, who is testifying about the personal relationship she had with Whelan in 2010 and 2011. 

Whelan has pleaded not guilty to a charge of conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline related to improperly changing the woman’s performance evaluation report while they were deployed together.

The woman, whom The Canadian Press is not naming due to the nature of the allegations, testified that the pair met in early 2010 and within a couple of months, they were talking almost daily and having personal conversations. 

She says Whelan helped her get deployed with a task force he was leading in Jerusalem, which caused friction between her and her colleagues.

She testified that once she was on tour, Whelan invited her to a private meeting in his hotel, which she declined — and after that, their relationship changed and he at times berated her in front of colleagues.

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The prosecution in the case is alleging that Whelan improved her score on a performance report because he wanted to stop her from releasing personal and inappropriate emails between them, while the defence says the woman manipulated him to get a better review.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2023.

The Canadian Press