The complainant in the sexual assault trial against Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin testified in a Gatineau courtroom this morning that she woke up to the alleged assault after midnight one night in early 1988. 

 

 

The complainant told a Crown prosecutor that she and Fortin were both attending military college in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.

She testified that she was panicked and horrified when she realized the position she was in, and said that after signalling to him that she had woken up, she pushed him and whispered, “Get off me,” and he backed away.

The complainant, who gave her testimony in English, has not yet been cross-examined by the defence. 

Fortin was abruptly removed as head of the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccine campaign in May 2021, and was charged with one count of sexual assault in August 2021. 

Fortin has maintained his innocence and in addition to his criminal case, is challenging his removal from the vaccine campaign in Federal Court.

In challenging his removal, Fortin has accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other senior members of the Liberal government of having turfed him from the vaccine campaign for purely political reasons.

While his request for reinstatement was denied last year, an appeal is scheduled to be heard early next month.

(The Canadian Press)