Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin is challenging the federal government’s decision to publicly terminate his secondment to lead Canada’s vaccine logistics at the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).
Last month, the Department of National Defence issued a terse three-line statement late on a Friday saying that Maj.-Gen. Fortin would be leaving his post and his future would be decided by the acting chief of the defence staff.
Sources later told CBC News that a sexual misconduct allegation against Fortin had been raised that predated the start of Operation Honour in 2015 — the military’s now-defunct campaign to stamp out inappropriate behaviour in the ranks.
Today, Fortin’s lawyer filed an application for a judicial review of his removal from the PHAC post. The application argues that “Fortin was denied procedural fairness in the lead-up to the decision, which the respondents knew or ought to have known would have grave consequences on his life, reputation and career.
“The decision-maker(s) failed to give him an opportunity to be heard on why he should not be removed from his position at PHAC and not reassigned.”
‘Quash the decision’
Fortin’s legal team argued that “as a result of the unreasonableness of the decision” and “significant breaches of” Fortin’s procedural fairness and right to privacy, the military should “quash the decision” and either reinstate him to his role at PHAC or give him another position suited to his rank.
Three separate confidential sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly because of the sensitivity of the file, described the allegation against Fortin as an older claim but declined to be more specific. The Globe and Mail was the first to report the allegation against Fortin was sexual in nature.
A branch of the military police referred the matter last month to a Crown official to decide whether criminal charges should be laid.
“Since the termination of his secondment, MGen Fortin has been without assigment at the CAF and has, de facto, been relieved from performance of military duty,” reads the notice of application filed in court today.
On March 17, 2021 Fortin met with acting Chief of Defence Staff Lieutenant-General Wayne Eyre, and was informed about an investigation by the Canadian Forces Investigation Service against him over sexual misconduct, but was not given any information about the allegation at the time, according to the court document.
More to come …