Maj.-Gen. Fortin facing historic sexual misconduct allegation: CP source
Posted May 17, 2021 6:03 am.
Last Updated May 17, 2021 2:32 pm.
We are now learning more details about why the public face of Canada’s vaccine rollout was forced to step aside on Friday.
The Liberal government is scrambling to reassure Canadians that the COVID-19 vaccination campaign will not be hurt by Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin’s sudden departure, but are remaining tight-lipped over why he has been sidelined and who will replace him.
The Department of National Defence issued a terse three-line statement on Friday evening that Maj.-Gen. Fortin was leaving his role as head of the government’s vaccine distribution efforts because of an unspecified “military investigation.”
Some experts have expressed worry over the lack of information about the nature of the investigation given the importance of Fortin’s role and recent concerns about a lack of transparency and accountability from the military.
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They have also questioned why it is taking so long for the government to identify a replacement to take over leadership of the vaccination rollout.
The Canadian Press has confirmed via a source who was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly that the investigation relates to an allegation of sexual misconduct.
CTV News reported on Sunday that Fortin is being investigated for having allegedly exposed himself to a woman while he was an officer cadet at the Royal Military College in Saint-Jean, Quebec in 1989.
Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough, who sits on the cabinet COVID committee, wouldn’t comment directly on why Fortin was sidelined and who will replace him.
“The mission is ongoing. I don’t have the exact details of the individual who will be replacing in the interim or permanently who will Maj-Gen. Fortin,” said Qualtrough.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan issued a brief statement late Friday, saying the military is committed to lasting change that “sheds toxic and outdated values, practices and policies.”.
“As I have stated previously, I am committed to working to build a true culture of inclusion for the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect,” said Sajjan in an email.
Fortin was picked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to lead the logistical rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine across Canada in November 2020.
Fortin most recently served as the chief of staff for the Canadian Joint Operations Command. He was also the commander of the NATO military training mission in Iraq from November 2018 until late 2019.
That followed several leadership posts in Afghanistan the previous decade, and on NATO and United Nations missions to Bosnia in the 1990s.
With files from the Canadian Press
