Lawsuit accusing Phil Fontaine of sexual assault discontinued

A sexual assault lawsuit involving former National Grand Chief Phil Fontaine has been discontinued.

A lawsuit accusing former national chief and Indigenous advocate Phil Fontaine of sexual assault has been discontinued.

A notice filed in Manitoba’s Court of King’s Bench last month “wholly discontinues” the action taken against Larry Phillip Fontaine and the Sagkeeng Education Authority.

The suit had alleged a sexual assault had occurred when the plaintiff was a student in or around 1970, during a school trip Fontaine had “arranged and led” in coordination with the Sagkeeng Education Authority.

The Sagkeeng Education Authority had filed a statement of defence this summer, denying that Fontaine was ever an “employee, servant or agent” of the education authority. It called for the suit to be dismissed.

No statement of defence was filed on behalf of Fontaine.

None of the claims in the lawsuit were tested in court. The notice said the discontinuance is to be a defence to any subsequent action that may come out of the facts at issue.

Lawyers representing Fontaine and the Sagkeeng Education Authority both signed their consent on the notice of discontinuation. CTV News has reached out to the lawyers for comment.