OTTAWA — Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin’s sexual assault case will go to trial in September.

Two days were set aside for the trial during a brief, virtual courtroom hearing this morning, five months after the senior military officer once tasked with overseeing Canada’s COVID-19 vaccination drive was charged.

The Sept. 19-20 trial will be held in a Gatineau courtroom without a jury after Fortin opted earlier this week for the case to be tried by a Quebec judge without a jury present. 

Fortin was charged in August with one count of sexual assault dating back to 1988. The charge came five months after he was abruptly removed from his position on the vaccine campaign due to a police investigation.

The senior officer has pleaded not guilty and waged a battle with the government in Federal Court for reinstatement to a role similar to his previous position at the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Fortin has accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other senior members of the government of having turfed him for purely political reasons after the Liberals were accused of not doing enough to address sexual misconduct in the military.

A Federal Court judge tossed out his request for reinstatement in October, but Fortin is appealing.

His lawyer, Natalia Rodriguez, says an appeal concerning his reinstatement is expected to go to a panel hearing in the spring.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2022.

The Canadian Press