Maj-Gen. Dany Fortin, the former head of Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, is expected to be charged on Wednesday morning with one count of sexual assault, according to his lawyers.
The details of the charge remain unclear at this time.
Fortin is expected to appear in court at around 9 a.m. ET.
READ MORE: Dany Fortin says career ‘appears to be over’ after sexual misconduct investigation leak
A spokesperson for Quebec’s prosecution service, the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales (DPCP), confirmed the sexual assault charge on Twitter Tuesday evening.
Audrey Roy-Cloutier wrote in French that a publication ban is in place to protect the identity of the victim, adding the DPCP will not be commenting further.
Fortin stepped aside on May 14 as the head of the vaccine rollout after an allegation of sexual misconduct that came in the midst of a reckoning over the Canadian Forces’ handling of misconduct in its ranks.
The Department of National Defence at the time said the decision was the result of a “military investigation,” which sources later confirmed was in regards to an allegation of sexual misconduct.
Five days after the investigation was revealed, military police concluded the probe and referred the decision on whether to lay a charge to Quebec’s prosecution service.
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There has been little new information on the state of the matter since and it remains unclear whether the charge expected to be laid against him is related to the same investigation.
READ MORE: Here’s everything you need to know about Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin’s legal challenge
Fortin filed a legal challenge against the government in Federal Court in June.
In it, Fortin said he had been denied “procedural fairness” over the decision to remove him from the role as head of the vaccine rollout, and alleged he decision was a result of “improper political interference in the military chain of command.”
Fortin’s lawyers have said he denies any wrongdoing in that matter.
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