OTTAWA – The president of the Public Health Agency of Canada has learned that he may have a “problem” with the officer who oversaw the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in Canada eight weeks before his resignation.
Iain Stewart explained that the Deputy Minister of National Defense informed him “around” the third week of March that there could be an issue with Major-General Dany Fortin.
However, Mr. Stewart did not learn until May 13 that this “problem” was in fact allegations of sexual misconduct.
“It was just kind of a warning that there might be something,” Stewart said, describing his conversation about it last March.
On May 13, he was informed that there was an allegation of sexual misconduct against Mr. Fortin and that a process had been initiated. That same afternoon, he discussed the next step with Federal Minister of Health Patty Hajdu.
The next day, Major-General Fortin left his post as Vice President of Logistics at the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) for the vaccination campaign pending the outcome of the military police investigation. Since then, the National Investigation Service of the Canadian Forces (CFNIS) has transferred the case to the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions of Quebec (DPCP) who must determine whether charges should be laid.
Mr. Fortin’s lawyer assured that his client was not aware of these allegations until Sunday, when a reporter contacted him to discuss the matter. Mr. Fortin categorically denied having committed a reprehensible act.
This investigation is one of a long list of complaints filed against senior officers of the Canadian Armed Forces in recent months. The army has been called upon to remedy this scourge of inappropriate behavior within its ranks.
Mr Stewart’s comments drew admonition from Conservative health critic Michelle Rempel Garner on Friday morning. The member said she was worried about the message we send when we decide to remain silent on such a situation for almost two months.
“I am stunned that you could find out about this case in the middle of March and did nothing,” she said.
Iain Stewart insisted he couldn’t be clearer saying he didn’t know the “problem” was related to an allegation of sexual misconduct.
“There was a possible problem, but there was no allegation,” he replied. You say I was aware of an allegation. There was a problem and I was aware that there was a problem, but the exact nature was not specified. We had no allegations. ”
Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan also said he was informed in March of an investigation into Mr. Fortin and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admitted that he had learned “several weeks ago” that something was going on.
Michelle Rempel Garner sought to find out why public health had not been better prepared for the eventuality of losing the logistics chief of its vaccination campaign.
“Did you do everything to get more information to understand how this could jeopardize the vaccination campaign in Canada?” She asked.
Iain Stewart replied that he had started to think about a replacement plan, but the situation remained too vague.
“We have a high performing and efficient team involving more than 200 people in vaccine distribution and we have several managers to lead this team. So the vital mission of distributing vaccines was taken very seriously by the organization. At the time, it was not clear what the possible problem was or what repercussions it could have, ”continued the President of PHAC.
Major-General Fortin Dany Fortin is still an active member of the Canadian Armed Forces, but was appointed head of logistics for the vaccination campaign on November 27, 2020. His mandate was to oversee the distribution of millions of doses of vaccine received by Canada and to be distributed to provinces and territories.
On May 17, the federal government appointed Brigadier-General Krista Brodie to take over. She previously held an assistant role, at the second level of the hierarchy behind Mr. Fortin. However, she left the team in February before returning to the helm last Monday.
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