Fortin's departure sparks call for answers
`Military investigation' behind general's removal as boss of national vaccine rollout
OTTAWA — The federal government faced growing calls for answers from experts and political opponents alike on Sunday amid lingering questions about the abrupt reassignment of the military general who was overseeing Canada's COVID-19 vaccination campaign, as well as who may be stepping into his critical role.
The Defence Department announced in a terse threeline statement on Friday evening that Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin was stepping aside from his role overseeing the delivery and distribution of COVID-19 vaccine doses across the country.
The reasons for his departure were not revealed, aside from a brief mention of a “military investigation.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office and the Defence Department, including Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan's office, have since refused to provide further information, including on the nature of the investigation.
The government has also declined to say when officials became aware of the probe and whether Fortin was vetted before being appointed to lead the vaccination campaign in November. Nor has it yet indicated who will be taking over from Fortin as government across the country to ramp up their immunization efforts.
Experts say the lack of information underscores existing frustration over a lack of transparency within the military and Defence Department, as well as raising concerns about Canada's vaccination effort.
“There is a lot of speculation about what's going on,” said Charlotte Duval-Lantoine, an expert on sexual misconduct in the military at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
“Dany Fortin had an impact on everyday Canadians because he was responsible for the vaccine rollout. So I think the Department of National Defence, at least in my opinion, has an additional duty to kind of tell us what's going on.”
Nobody is expecting the Defence Department and government to reveal the specifics of any allegation, Duval-Lantoine added. But she argued a lack of transparency now undercuts already shaky confidence that the military will hold top officers to account.
“There's no question that type of secrecy is going to be an additional blow to the legitimacy of the military justice system and how the military regulates itself,” she said.
University of Ottawa law professor Penny Collenette, who previously served in prime minister Jean Chrétien's office while her husband, David Collenette, was Canada's defence minister, echoed some of those concerns.
“This is a huge operation we're doing, probably one of the most important ever,” she said of the vaccination campaign.
“And we don't know what the allegation is . ... We're all at a loss.”
The Defence Department has taken a mixed approach to the release of information about investigations into several other senior officers, revealing details for some cases but remaining tightlipped about others.
It has also approved media interviews by two female officers at the centre of allegations into the conduct of former defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance and his successor, Adm. Art McDonald, despite ongoing police investigations.
Conservative defence critic James Bezan called on the government on Sunday to start answering questions.
“As the sexual misconduct crisis continues to rock the Canadian Armed Forces and now our vaccine rollout, the Liberals' lack of leadership is making the situation worse,” he said in a statement.