From the CBC:
“Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin
replaced as head of vaccine rollout following sexual misconduct claim”
An army logistics officer who's
spent more than 30 years in uniform has been named the military officer in
charge of the Public Health Agency of Canada's vaccine rollout. PHAC announced
today the appointment of Brig.-Gen. Krista Brodie following the sudden
departure of Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, who left the post on Friday after an
allegation of sexual misconduct was raised. At one point in her career, Brodie
commanded 1 Service Battalion, one of the military's largest units. She has
also served in overseas deployments in Croatia, Bosnia and Afghanistan. Since
the military was brought in last year to help with the planning and logistics
of vaccine distribution and to keep the supply chain safe from cyber attacks,
Brodie has been a key member of the team led by Fortin. She returned briefly to
the Department of National Defence but will now move back to oversee the
vaccine distribution drive. Iain Stewart, president of the public health
agency, said putting Brodie in charge "allows for a seamless
transition." Fortin had been the
public face of the vaccine distribution drive — a calm, reassuring presence
throughout many televised events. His 27-member team included experts in global
logistics, health care and planning.
Sources told CBC News on Friday
that the sexual misconduct allegation against Fortin predated 2015 and the
start of Operation Honour, the military's now-defunct campaign to stamp out
inappropriate behaviour in the ranks. The confidential sources, who could not
speak publicly because of the sensitivity of the file, would not specify the
nature of the allegation. On Sunday, however, CTV News reported that the
allegation involved a claim of indecent exposure more than 30 years old, dating
from when Fortin attended the Royal Military College in St-Jean, Quebec. His
lawyer, Cmdr. Marc Létourneau, said his client will fight the claim. "It
is a news reporter who informed Major-General Fortin of the allegation against
him Sunday, May 16," Letourneau said in a written statement. "This
took him completely by surprise. He vigorously and categorically denies this
allegation." Fortin joins a list of half-a-dozen military leaders who have
come under fire for alleged sexual misconduct. His departure came about
suddenly. As late as Friday morning, Fortin was listed as being seconded to
PHAC in a Department of National Defence statement involving the assignments of
general officers. CBC News reached out to Fortin for comment, but he declined
and has referred questions to the Department of National Defence. Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau tasked Fortin with leading Canada's COVID-19 vaccine
distribution effort in the fall. The
prime minister ducked questions today about how the general's sudden departure
would affect vaccine distribution. On Friday, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan
took a stab at reassurance, saying the military would remain focused on the
task of getting millions more life-saving vaccine doses into the country. There
were signs Monday that opposition parties were gearing up to reopen
parliamentary hearings on the sexual misconduct crisis in the military. A
meeting of the House of Commons defence committee has been called for Tuesday
to discuss a proposal to hear more witnesses. Public hearings looking into who
in the Liberal government knew about a sexual misconduct allegation against the
former chief of the defence staff, retired general Jonathan Vance, had largely
concluded. The committee was on course to begin writing its report but the
latest allegations involving Fortin could raise more questions.
^ I hope she can do a better job
of distributing Vaccines to all of Canada and that Canadians can start to enjoy
the freedoms the rest of us (who are vaccinated) are now enjoying. ^
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/dany-fortin-vaccine-krista-brodie-1.6030332
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