Employment Lawyer on Sexual Misconduct in the Canadian armed forces

The Canadian Armed Forces have faced several allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment over the past year. Recently, Gen. Dany Fortin was dismissed from his position as the head of the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out after a sexual misconduct investigation began. Fortin states he was not given fair due process and the decision was made due to public opinion.

An employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP spoke with Global News to discuss how harassment and misconduct allegations should be addressed.

The lawyer states the timeline of the investigation is important. “The application that has been brought seems to indicate a suggestion that the decision was made not because of some conclusion being reached in an investigation, but for optics,” the lawyer explains, “If that’s the case, then I do think that there are some live issues of procedural fairness there.”

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Investigation of Military Sexual Misconduct
Harassment Allegations in the Canadian Armed Forces

They go on to state that Fortin’s removal will have to be proven and justified by the government, however, the allegations do raise more questions.

“This is part of a national reckoning where we are encouraging individuals to come forward, encouraging people to believe survivors of sexual harassment, and so I think it’s tricky to do anything other than bring forward some form of disciplinary measure against the individual who’s accused of it,” The lawyer states. “In this particular setting, the optics for somebody who is in a senior, public-facing role could be enough to constitute a reason to terminate.”