Lee Berthiaume

Reporter for The Canadian Press

398 Articles

Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin speaks to reporters outside the Gatineau Police Station after being processed, in Gatineau, Que., on August 18, 2021. File photo by The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

Judge rules against Maj.-Gen. Fortin's request for reinstatement to vaccine campaign

A Federal Court judge has struck down Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin’s request for reinstatement as the head of Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution campaign after he was abruptly removed from the high-profile position in May.

Maj.-Gen. Peter Dawe speaks at a Canadian Special Operations Forces Command change of command ceremony in Ottawa on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. File photo by The Canadian Press/Patrick Doyle

PM blasts top military brass on sexual misconduct, saying they 'don't get it'

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took direct aim at military commanders on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, following a whirlwind 48 hours involving a senior officer who provided a reference for a convicted sex offender.

Major-Gen. Peter Dawe speaks to reporters at a Canadian Special Operations Forces Command change of command ceremony in Ottawa on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. File photo by The Canadian Press/Patrick Doyle

Sajjan defends military amid uproar over general's handling of sex misconduct file

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan's office is standing by the military's decision to reassign a senior officer who wrote a reference for a convicted sex offender to a new job that involves reviewing ways to eliminate sexual misconduct from the Canadian Armed Forces.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau makes a campaign stop in Mississauga, Ont., on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021. Photo by The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Trudeau insists he did not coach Wilson-Raybould to lie in SNC-Lavalin affair

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau denied wanting Jody Wilson-Raybould to lie as the SNC-Lavalin affair — which figured prominently in the last election — burst back onto the campaign trail on Saturday, September 11, 2021, with the publication of an excerpt of the former justice minister's memoir.

Election 2021

A Qatar Airways aircraft takes off with foreigners from the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Bernat Armangue

Qatari flight carries 43 Canadians out of Afghanistan

Forty-three Canadians were among around 200 foreigners on board a civilian flight out of Afghanistan on Thursday — the first such large-scale departure since U.S. forces completed their frantic withdrawal over a week ago.

Canadian coalition forces assist during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Staff Sgt. Victor Mancilla/U.S. Marine Corps via AP)

Canadian groups eye Pakistan border as U.S. makes final exit from Afghanistan

America's torturous, tragic withdrawal from Afghanistan finally ended Monday, leaving Canadian veterans and refugee advocates weighing several bad choices as hundreds of stranded Afghans still wait to hear good news about their applications for passage to Canada.

Fortin's lawyers cite Hajdu interview comment in legal fight over his firing

Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin’s lawyers are citing Health Minister Patty Hajdu’s statements during a television interview in May in their fight to prove their client’s removal as head of Canada’s vaccine distribution campaign constituted improper political interference.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau waits for a virtual meeting to begin with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Ottawa, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Ottawa banks on Kabul airport reopening as Afghans with links to Canada remain stranded

Ottawa is pinning its hopes on the Kabul airport soon reopening as thousands of people with links to Canada found themselves stranded in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan on Tuesday following the overnight withdrawal of all American soldiers from the country.

Hundreds of people gather near a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane at the perimeter of the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. File photo by The Associated Press/Shekib Rahmani

Taliban checkpoints, bureaucratic hurdles stifle hope as military arrives in Afghanistan

Ongoing complaints about roadblocks in Kabul and bureaucratic hurdles in Ottawa tempered any sense of relief on Thursday, August 19, 2021, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed on the campaign trail that the Canadian military has arrived back in Afghanistan to help with evacuation efforts.

Military officer who led vaccine campaign faces sexual assault charge

The military officer who led Canada's COVID-19 vaccine distribution campaign has been charged with one count of sexual assault.