The Department of National Defence says its response to a Military Police Complaints Commission inquiry into the suicide of an Afghanistan war veteran cannot be included in the commissionâs final report. And the MPCC is asking the Federal Court to review the extremely rare decision.
The MPCC conducted an inquiry into the investigation of the March 15, 2008 suicide of Cpl. Stuart Langridge, and was set to release its final report next Tuesday.
But in a rare move, the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal is preventing the inclusion of its response to the commissionâs interim report in the final report. The Provost Marshalâs response, called a Notice of Action (NOA), includes the Military Policeâs position on the findings, whether the findings are accepted, and what, if any, actions will be taken to implement the reportâs recommendations.
The Provost Marshal has sought and obtained a security designation for the NOA known as âProtected B,â a government designation that prevents the publication of sensitive personal, private or business information that could result in âgrave injury.â
Under âProtected B,â the commission cannot release the NOA or publicly discuss its contents.
In response, the commission has applied to the Federal Court of Canada for a judicial review âchallenging the jurisdictionâ of the Provost Marshal to prevent the NOAâs publication.
âThe Commissionâs Application for Judicial Review asserts that the initiative to block publication is wrong in law and that publication of the NOA is important to ensure that the Parties and the public are aware of the Military Policeâs response to the Commissionâs findings and recommendations,â reads a statement issued Thursday by the commission.
Langridge took his own life at Canadian Forces Base Edmonton after struggling for years with drug and alcohol abuse. His struggles were later thought to be related to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Langridgeâs mother and stepfather, Sheila and Shaun Fynes, filed a formal complaint with the MPCC in January 2011 regarding the investigation into their sonâs death that was conducted by the Canadian Forces National Investigations Service (CFNIS).
Among their complaints was the fact that they were originally told their son had not left a suicide note. They learned 14 months later that was not true.
In the spring of 2012, the MPCC held a public interest hearing on the Fynesâ complaint that included testimony from more than 90 witnesses.
The commission submitted its interim report to the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal on May 1, 2014.
The Provost Marshal delivered its NOA to the commission last December.
On Thursday, a public affairs officer for the Provost Marshal said in a statement that the NOA was supplied to the commission according to the law.
âAs this matter is now the subject of an application for judicial review before the Federal Court, no additional comment will be made at this time,â Maj. Yves Desbiens told Âéśš´ŤĂ˝ in the email statement.
âBeyond a slap in the faceâ
Sheila Fynes told Âéśš´ŤĂ˝ Thursday that the DNDâs refusal to release its response to the inquiry is âbeyond a slap in the face.
âI think itâs insulting to our family, I think itâs insulting to members of the military and veterans in general,â she said.
Fynes said her family has been âstonewalled at every turnâ throughout the painful process.
âWe actually think that itâs almost stunning in their arrogance that they feel they can continue to do this.â
She also called the suggestion that the DND is trying to protect her family by withholding its response to the suicide inquiry âludicrous.â
The Fynesâ lawyer, retired colonel Michel Drapeau, said Thursday that if the commissionâs report is released without the NOA, it will only tell âhalf the story.â
âThis is a slap in the face to them and to every military family,â Drapeau told Âéśš´ŤĂ˝. âItâs unexplainable and, as far as Iâm concerned, itâs beyond the pale.â
The purpose of the commissionâs inquiry is to find out what works in the Military Police investigation process, what doesnât, and determine what fixes must be made.
âThey just want to make sure that the pain and suffering, the loss of a son, that theyâve gone through, they want to make sure that lessons can be learned from it and corrective action can be made so no other family will suffer the same fate,â Drapeau said.
With a report from CTVâs Omar Sachedina