TORONTO -- A former deputy Commissioner of Ontario's provincial police force is launching a $15 million wrongful dismissal lawsuit against the Ontario government.
Brad Blair, originally from Essex, is also calling for a commission of inquiry to investigate what he alleges are a string of "corrupt" government appointments.
The veteran officer says his firing in March traumatized his family and he has still not been told why he was terminated.
Blair's lawyer alleges the former officer was targeted for speaking out about government attempts to hire a longtime friend of Premier Doug Ford as OPP commissioner.
Blair has also asked the courts to force the provincial ombudsman to investigate that hiring, which was eventually abandoned by the government.
He had previously launched a defamation suit against Ford himself, alleging the premier damaged Blair's reputation when he accused him of breaking the Police Services Act.
Ford's office declined to comment on the wrongful dismissal suit, saying the matter is before the court.
Blair is graduate of the University of Windsor where he obtained a sociology degree.
He joined the OPP in 1986 and worked his way up from Constable in rural and northern Ontario, serving in detachments including Sioux Lookout, Red Lake and Chatham.
With files from CTV Windsor
