The Daily Courier

Senior military officer acquitted of sexual assault sues government, PM for $6 million

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OTTAWA — Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, a senior military officer who was acquitted of a sexual assault charge late last year, has filed a $6-million lawsuit against the Canadian government.

Fortin, who was dropped as the lead for Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine program in early 2021, has named 16 high-ranking officials in a wide-ranging suit, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, chief of the defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre, former defence minister Harjit Sajjan and former health minister Patty Hajdu.

A statement of claim filed on Wednesday with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice accuses the officials of “reprehensi­ble, extreme, flagrant and high-handed” conduct and seeks $5 million in general damages and $1 million in punitive damages.

The document alleges that Fortin suffered the damages due to defamation and misfeasanc­e in public office. It also accuses the officials of negligent investigat­ion, the inappropri­ate public disclosure of private facts, breach of confidence and conspiracy to cause damages.

“He was not afforded due process,” Fortin’s lawyer, Thomas Conway, said in an interview.

“It’s caused him the kind of grief that you expect anyone would go through, facing the kinds of allegation­s that he had to face publicly.”

Fortin was removed as head of the government’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout in May 2021 pending the investigat­ion of a historical allegation stemming from his time at military

college in 1988.

He was charged with sexual assault in August 2021 and acquitted of the charge last December in the Quebec Superior Court.

The lawsuit alleges that the investigat­ion was grossly negligent and that there was never any basis to make a criminal prosecutio­n in the first place. It accuses officials of dismissing Fortin from the prominent vaccine role for political reasons.

“There is a certain, I would say, chill that has descended over the Canadian Armed Forces relating to all of these allegation­s of sexual misconduct,” Conway said.

“And we are not by any means trying to trivialize that issue. Not by any means. It’s a serious issue. However, unfortunat­ely, everyone seems to have tossed out the notion that someone is entitled to a fair process.”

He added that despite Fortin’s acquittal, there is a stain on his reputation.

“That stain, that damage, is not something that is ever going to be removed unless he seeks redress for what has happened in the courts by way of civil remedy,” Conway said.

The military formally cleared Fortin of misconduct on the balance of probabilit­ies in January, and said it would assign him to a new role. But the lawsuit alleges the Canadian Armed Forces is either refusing or unreasonab­ly delaying his reintegrat­ion.

The statement of claim says that’s because defendants it names as “political actors” have “made it clear” to the military’s leadership that Fortin cannot return to his regular duties, have “tarnished” his reputation with the military itself and have created a climate in which someone who “has done nothing wrong” cannot advance their career once someone else makes an allegation.

The Defence Department still intends to reassign Fortin to “appropriat­e duties commensura­te with his rank and experience,” spokespers­on Jessica Lamirande said in a statement.

“We will review the statement of claim and will not be commenting further at this time,” she said.

The Prime Minister’s Office did not immediatel­y respond to a request for comment.

No statement of defence has been filed responding to the allegation­s in the lawsuit.

Separate proceeding­s are still ongoing at the Federal Court of Appeal, in which Fortin is appealing a Federal Court decision that tossed out his request for reinstatem­ent last year.

In that matter, Fortin has argued that he was ousted from the vaccine role due to political interferen­ce and without due process.

 ?? The Canadian Press ?? Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin speaks to members of the media following an acquittal in his case at a Gatineau, courthouse Decemeber.
The Canadian Press Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin speaks to members of the media following an acquittal in his case at a Gatineau, courthouse Decemeber.

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