A former high-ranking officer with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has filed a statement of claim against Premier Doug Ford for libel and slander, after being fired earlier this month.

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According to a Globe and Mail report, OPP Commander Brad Blair alleges that Ford “maliciously ruined his reputation in a deliberate act of reprisal.”

The report says that in his claim, which was filed on March 15, Blair is seeking a total of $5 million, made up of $2 million in general damages, $1.5 million in punitive damages, and another $1.5 million in “exemplary and/or aggravated damages.”

The situation reportedly began back in November of last year, when Ron Taverner was appointed Commissioner of the OPP in November 2018.

It was later revealed that Taverner and Ford were close friends — raising questions about his hiring.

In the end, Taverner dropped out of the race to become the commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), but questions around the hiring process still remained.

The saga continued when Blair, who had been urging the provincial court to have Taverner’s appointment investigated by Ontario’s ombudsman, was let go from his position earlier this month.