In Ottawa, the Department of National Defence "there was neither a map of Hong Kong nor any accurate information to provide the basis of decisions". The Minister of National Defence, Colonel John Ralston, was visiting the United States at the time of the request, and the acting Defence Minister was Major Charles "Chubby" Power. Power had won the Military Cross in World War One, but the primary reason for his appointment as associate defence minister was because of his influence and popularity in his native Quebec. Power was an affable and bilingual Irish-Canadian from Quebec city whose Catholicism, skill as a hockey player and a sympathy for French-Canadian sentiments had established him as a leading spokesman for Quebec and hence his appointment as associate defence minister, even through as the Canadian historian Brereton Greenhous noted sourly that Power was not known for "the keenness of his intellect". The Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King privately considered Power to be a mental lightweight and kept him in the cabinet only because he was very popular in Quebec.. In turn, Power consulted General Harry Crerar, the Chief of the General Staff, who favored approving the request. Power had personal reasons to approve the request.