Gen. Wayne Eyre officially taking over as new chief of the defence staff – National | Globalnews.ca

Gen. Wayne Eyre is officially taking over as the chief of the defence staff for the Canadian Forces as the military grapples with an ongoing crisis of sexual misconduct allegations against multiple senior leaders.

The Prime Minister’s Office announced the move in a press release on Thursday afternoon.

Eyre has been serving in the role in an acting capacity since late February, when Adm. Art McDonald temporarily stepped aside six weeks into his own appointment to the position amid a military police investigation into an allegation of sexual misconduct made against McDonald.

READ MORE: Military sexual misconduct apology coming before end of year, Anand’s office confirms

That investigation ended in the summer with no charges.. Military police cited a lack of evidence for the decision, and shortly afterwards McDonald began waging an increasingly public fight to return to the duties of the role, claiming he had been exonerated and the allegation deemed “unsubstantiated.”

However, military police issued a statement emphasizing that was not the case, and that the allegation against him had not been deemed “unfounded.”

McDonald has denied the allegation against him.

More to come.