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       Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, former vice-president of logistics and operations at the Public Health Agency of Canada, participates in a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa, on Jan. 15, 2021.

       Justin Tang/The Canadian Press

       Major-General Dany Fortin, who previously headed the country’s vaccination drive, is expected to be criminally charged with one count of sexual assault on Wednesday in Quebec for an alleged incident in 1988.

       A member of Maj.-Gen. Fortin’s legal team said an arrest warrant has been issued and he will be going to the police station in Gatineau on Wednesday.

       Maj.-Gen. Fortin is also expected to make public remarks, said Natalia Rodriguez, a lawyer representing him in separate civil proceedings who is familiar with what is taking place in the criminal process.

       Three months ago, military police referred its investigation to Quebec’s public prosecution service to determine whether criminal charges should be laid against Maj.-Gen. Fortin over an allegation of sexual misconduct.

       The Armed Forces Provost Marshal said the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service conducted a probe into an allegation of sexual misconduct against Maj.-Gen. Fortin. It has now been sent to the director of criminal and penal prosecutions in Quebec.

       Through a lawyer at the time, Maj.-Gen. Fortin denied any wrongdoing. Counsel Commander Mark Letourneau said that his client “vigorously and categorically denies this allegation.” He also said it was a news reporter who informed Maj.-Gen. Fortin of details about the allegation against him.

       Quebec is one of the jurisdictions in Canada where the Crown must review criminal charges before they are laid.

       In June, Maj.-Gen. Fortin also filed an application for a judicial review of his dismissal as head of vaccine logistics. Under normal timelines for such a case, the hearing would be scheduled in early 2022 but the court agreed to move it to the week of Oct. 4.

       In the month prior, the Department of National Defence released a statement indicating Maj.-Gen. Fortin had left his assignment with the Public Health Agency of Canada, pending the results of a military investigation. Brigadier-General Krista Brodie assumed Maj.-Gen. Fortin’s position on vaccine distribution.

       In the application for a judicial review of his dismissal, Maj.-Gen. Fortin cited “procedural unfairness” and “improper political interference” by Health Minister Patty Hajdu, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, the Clerk of the Privy Council and the Prime Minister.

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       The Canadian Armed Forces has faced a crisis over concerns about military sexual misconduct that has led to a number of major commanders stepping aside. It has also resulted in the appointment of former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour to study the creation of an independent reporting system for such incidents.

       Earlier this year, the Liberal government faced sustained political pressure from opposition parties over how it handled an allegation involving former chief of the defence staff Jonathan Vance three years ago. Mr. Vance, who has faced a probe by military police, was charged separately last month with obstruction of justice under the Criminal Code.

       Admiral Art McDonald, who succeeded Mr. Vance in the role and stepped aside in February, was also the subject of a probe by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service but the Forces Provost Marshal said the investigation did not reveal evidence to support the laying of charges under either the Code of Service Discipline or the Criminal Code of Canada.

       Last week, Adm. McDonald, who sought a return to work following the conclusion of the investigation, was placed on administrative leave in an extraordinary move by the federal government. The administrative leave was contained in an order-in-council document, legislative instruments that constitute a formal cabinet recommendation approved and signed by the governor-general.

       Without elaborating, the document said, “governor-in-council appointees have an obligation to act in a manner that will bear the closest public scrutiny, an obligation that is not fully discharged by simply acting within the law.”

       With reports from Ian Bailey and Marieke Walsh in Ottawa

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