Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, a senior military officer who was acquitted of a sexual assault charge late last year, has filed a $6-million lawsuit against the Canadian government.

Fortin, who was dropped as the lead for CanadaB次元官网网址檚 COVID-19 vaccine program in early 2021, has named 16 high-ranking officials in a wide-ranging suit, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, chief of the defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre, former defence minister Harjit Sajjan and former health minister Patty Hajdu.

A statement of claim filed on Wednesday with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice accuses the officials of B次元官网网址渞eprehensible, extreme, flagrant and high-handedB次元官网网址� conduct and seeks $5 million in general damages and $1 million in punitive damages.

The document alleges that Fortin suffered the damages due to defamation and misfeasance in public office. It also accuses the officials of negligent investigation, the inappropriate public disclosure of private facts, breach of confidence and conspiracy to cause damages.

B次元官网网址淗e was not afforded due process,B次元官网网址� FortinB次元官网网址檚 lawyer, Thomas Conway, said in an interview.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 caused him the kind of grief that you expect anyone would go through, facing the kinds of allegations that he had to face publicly.B次元官网网址�

Fortin was removed as head of the governmentB次元官网网址檚 COVID-19 vaccine rollout in May 2021 pending the investigation of a historical allegation stemming from his time at military college in 1988.

He was charged with sexual assault in August 2021 and acquitted of the charge last December in the Quebec Superior Court.

The lawsuit alleges that the investigation was grossly negligent and that there was never any basis to make a criminal prosecution in the first place. It accuses officials of dismissing Fortin from the prominent vaccine role for political reasons.

B次元官网网址淭here is a certain, I would say, chill that has descended over the Canadian Armed Forces relating to all of these allegations of sexual misconduct,B次元官网网址� Conway said.

B次元官网网址淎nd we are not by any means trying to trivialize that issue. Not by any means. ItB次元官网网址檚 a serious issue. However, unfortunately, everyone seems to have tossed out the notion that someone is entitled to B次元官网网址� a fair process.B次元官网网址�

He added that despite FortinB次元官网网址檚 acquittal, there is a stain on his reputation.

B次元官网网址淭hat stain, that damage, is not something that is ever going to be removed unless he seeks redress for what has happened in the courts by way of civil remedy,B次元官网网址� Conway said.

The military formally cleared Fortin of misconduct on the balance of probabilities in January, and said it would assign him to a new role. But the lawsuit alleges the Canadian Armed Forces is either refusing or unreasonably delaying his reintegration.

The statement of claim says thatB次元官网网址檚 because defendants it names as B次元官网网址減olitical actorsB次元官网网址� have B次元官网网址渕ade it clearB次元官网网址� to the militaryB次元官网网址檚 leadership that Fortin cannot return to his regular duties, have B次元官网网址渢arnishedB次元官网网址� his reputation with the military itself and have created a climate in which someone who B次元官网网址渉as done nothing wrongB次元官网网址� cannot advance their career once someone else makes an allegation.

The Canadian Armed Forces and Prime MinisterB次元官网网址檚 Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

No statement of defence has been filed responding to the allegations in the lawsuit.

Separate proceedings are still ongoing at the Federal Court of Appeal, in which Fortin is appealing a Federal Court decision that tossed out his request for reinstatement last year.

In that matter, Fortin has argued that he was ousted from the vaccine role due to political interference and without due process. The government has denied those claims. A spokesperson for Fortin said a date has not been set for further proceedings.

Fortin, who previously served as commander of the NATO training mission in Iraq and as commander of the 1st Canadian Division, also initiated a complaint with the Military Police Complaints Commission after his acquittal.

When asked about whether Fortin pursued a settlement with the government before filing the suit, Conway would only say that Fortin does not have any interest in getting into extended litigation with his former colleagues, and with an institution he served for more than 30 years.

B次元官网网址淏elieve me, this is the last thing he wanted to do.B次元官网网址�

Defendants named in the Fortin lawsuit include:

B次元官网网址� Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

B次元官网网址� Gen. Wayne Eyre, the chief of the defence staff

B次元官网网址� Harjit Sajjan, former defence minister and current international development minister

B次元官网网址� Patty Hajdu, former health minister and current Indigenous services minister

B次元官网网址� Janice Charette, clerk of the Privy Council Office

B次元官网网址� Ian Stewart, former head of the Public Health Agency of Canada and current president of the National Research Council

B次元官网网址� Jody Thomas, former deputy minister of national defence and current national security adviser to Trudeau

B次元官网网址� Lt.-Col. Eric Leblanc, commander of the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service

B次元官网网址� Retired Col. Bruce MacGregor, former director of military prosecutions

B次元官网网址� Brig.-Gen. Simon Trudeau, the militaryB次元官网网址檚 provost marshal

B次元官网网址� Retired Brig.-Gen. Dyrald Cross, who was the supervisor of the complainant in the sexual assault case

B次元官网网址� Laurie-Anne Kempton, the assistant deputy minister of public affairs at the Defence Department

B次元官网网址� George Young, SajjanB次元官网网址檚 then-chief of staff and current acting chief of staff to the fisheries and oceans minister

B次元官网网址� Warrant officer Denise Hachey, a military police investigator

B次元官网网址� Brig.-Gen. Alan Mulawyshyn, the then-chief of staff for Eyre and now a deputy executive director at VeteransB次元官网网址� House

B次元官网网址� The Attorney General of Canada, who is named in the suit as a defendant in the proceeding on behalf of the Canadian Armed Forces, the Department of National Defence, the Ministry of Health, the Prime MinisterB次元官网网址檚 Office, the Privy Council Office and the Public Health Agency of Canada.

B次元官网网址擬arie-Danielle Smith, The Canadian Press