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.

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

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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.