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The defence minister has since apologized, but the Conservatives continue to call for his resignation, accusing Sajjan of a pattern of misleading comments that they say have hurt his standing with the military.

That includes his assertions about the urgent need for Super Hornet fighter jets and that allies didn’t object when Canada withdrew its CF-18s from Iraq.

They have also asked Speaker Geoff Regan to rule on whether Sajjan misled members of Parliament when he blamed the previous government for cutting the tax benefits available for Canadian soldiers in Kuwait.

“Some would say this is just politics,” Bezan said. “This is more than that. It is quite troubling that we have a minister of national defence who has a track record of being untruthful.”

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Sajjan’s spokeswoman, Jordan Owens, said the minister will make a brief appearance and address in the House of Commons on Monday, but that he is more focused on the Liberal government’s forthcoming new defence policy.

“While the opposition chooses to focus on a mistake for which Minister Sajjan has already apologized, our government continues to deliver results for Canadians, especially our women and men in uniform,” Owens said in an email.

“We look forward to the upcoming release of Canada’s new defence policy, which will present a plan to care for our military personnel and their families.”

On Sunday, Transport Minister Marc Garneau was dispatched in Sajjan’s stead to talk about the coming defence policy on television political shows, presumably part of a Liberal strategy to keep the focus on policy and off Sajjan’s credibility.