Harjit Sajjan

Ottawa, May 2

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has rebuffed resignation calls for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan over his comments on a 2006 offensive against the Taliban.Sajjan, a decorated former military intelligence officer, erroneously claimed before the Indian think-tank Observer Research Foundation last month to have been the “architect” of Canada’s largest military operation since the 1950s, known as Operation Medusa.It delivered a blow to the Taliban, loosening its grip on Kandahar province, but at a cost — a dozen Canadian and 14 British soldiers died.Trudeau and his embattled Minister endured a withering question-period offensive as Opposition MPs accused Sajjan of “stolen valour” for overstating his role in planning Operation Medusa.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Opposition parties trained their sights squarely on Sajjan, who apologised again in the House of Commons.Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose called it a “cardinal sin” in military circles for stealing valour of others. Trudeau, however, seemed unmoved. “The Minister made a mistake,” the PM said repeatedly. “He acknowledged his responsibility and apologised; that’s what Canadians expect.”Sajjan, on his part, repeated his apology. What he  didn’t do is explain his “mistake”, which Ambrose noted he’d made twice — once in 2015 and again two weeks ago. “It’s not an error when you keep repeating the lie,” New Democratic Party Leader Tom Mulcair said. — Agencies