Judge expected to deliver verdict in Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin sexual assault trial
Global News
Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, who has maintained his innocence, was charged with one count of sexual assault by Quebec prosecutors last year.
A judge is expected to deliver a verdict in a sexual assault trial on Monday involving Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the former head of Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine campaign.
Fortin, who has maintained his innocence, was charged with one count of sexual assault by Quebec prosecutors last year. Judge Richard Meredith is expected to deliver a decision Monday afternoon in Gatineau, Que. There was no jury in the trial, which began in September and wrapped up in October.
The complainant in the case, who was attending military college with Fortin in 1988 in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., testified at the trial that she woke up one night in her dorm room to find a man masturbating himself using one of her hands, while another hand was on her breast.
A publication ban protects her name and any details that could identify her.
She alleged during the trial Fortin was the perpetrator “without a doubt.” In the Crown prosecutor’s closing statement, Diane Legault argued there was no reason to believe the complainant would have forgotten, or become mistaken about the identity of her aggressor in the years since the alleged incident.
The complainant testified she was aware of how such complaints were handled by the Canadian Armed Forces at the time, and that knowledge deterred her from wanting anyone to know what happened. It was only after she had retired and no longer feared career repercussions that she brought the alleged incident forward in 2021, the prosecutor said.
Fortin’s defence lawyer, Isabel Schurman, had asked the judge for an acquittal. She said that the complainant’s testimony lacked credibility, and that other witnesses had failed to back up some of the details of her story.
A key point for the defence was that while the complainant said she told her ex-boyfriend about the incident right afterward, he told the court he had no memory of the conversation.
Budget 2025 has $160 million for wildfire personnel, equipment, training and contracts, but the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees worries funds will focus on gear, not people.
Quebec provincial police, the fire department, paramedics and representatives from the group managing the bridge were called to the scene.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that tariffs on Canada and Mexico are still coming, but that President Donald Trump would determine the level of the levies.
Two men remain in critical condition following a home explosion Friday in Langley, B.C. One woman is still missing, and RCMP cannot confirm if she was in the home at the time.
After floating the idea of potential tariffs on lumber, President Donald Trump ordered a probe into U.S. imports that must be completed within 270 days.
Despite an explosive exchange in the Oval Office, the Kyiv-Washington relationship is not lost, analysts say, but future U.S. support in the war effort is still undetermined.
St. Mary's Academy says the decision to shutter the program was driven by operational and resource requirements.
A recent survey from CIBC said that two-thirds of Canadians say recent economic changes, including inflation and the cost of living, have made them adjust retirement plans.
A Halifax man died after he was taken into custody Friday night for what police described as a mental health episode. The provincial police watchdog is investigating.
A B.C. entrepreneur experienced a once-in-a-lifetime wildlife encounter this week when a pod of dolphins chased him down while he was shooting a video on his personal watercraft.
A new idea has emerged in G7 capitals in recent years — using the cash in frozen Russian accounts, or interest earned on those accounts, to help fund Ukraine's defence.
As Ontario is still working to clean up after the back-to-back winter storms, cities like Waterloo and Toronto face challenges with snow storage facility infrastructure.
Transport Minister Anita Anand says she plans to run for re-election amid President Donald Trump's tariff threats, a shift from her original plans earlier this year.