The senior military officer once tasked with overseeing Canada’s COVID-19 vaccination drive is opting to have his sexual assault case tried by a Quebec judge without a jury present.
A lawyer for Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin announced the decision to have the case tried by a Quebec judge without a jury present during a brief hearing in a Gatineau courtroom.
Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin was charged with one count of sexual assault in August 2020, related to an alleged incident in 1988.
Fortin has been fighting for reinstatement to his former role with the Public Health Agency of Canada, or an equivalent position, since he was abruptly removed from his post in May 2021.
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His dismissal came five days before military police announced they had referred an investigation of alleged sexual misconduct to Quebec’s prosecution service.
Fortin has maintained his innocence and, in challenging his removal in Federal Court, accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other senior members of the Liberal government of turfing him for purely political reasons.
His lawyer, Natalia Rodriguez, says an appeal concerning his reinstatement is expected to go to a panel hearing in the spring.
His criminal case is expected back in court Friday.