Former NATO mission head to lead Canada’s coronavirus vaccine rollout

A Canadian general who commanded NATO troops in Iraq has been tapped to lead the rollout of an eventual COVID-19 vaccine across the country.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin to lead the Canadian military’s role in coordinating logistics.

Fortin most recently served as the chief of staff for the Canadian Joint Operations Command.

But he was also commander of the NATO military training mission in Iraq from November 2018 until last fall.

1:59 Coronavirus: Trudeau says majority of Canadians could be vaccinated by next September

Fortin led the alliance’s training efforts aimed at professionalizing Iraq’s military in a time of massive internal unrest and the ever-present threat of retreating but still-plotting Islamic State militants.

The announcement follows days of criticism of the Trudeau government’s vaccination strategy and uncertainty about when Canadians might have access to an eventual vaccine.