A final report resulting from an investigation into the suicide of a Canadian soldier will include the military’s response after all.
As CTV News reported Thursday, the Department of National Defence had its response to the Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC) inquiry designated as "secret." This was in order to keep its response from being released as part of the final report into Cpl. Stuart Langridge's suicide on March 15, 2008.
Col. Rob Delaney is the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal and commander of the military police. It was reported he had been preventing inclusion of the military's response -– called a Notice of Action (NoA) -- to the commission in the final report.
On Friday, Delaney removed a "Protected B" restriction on the NoA, thereby allowing Langridge’s family, and the public, to see the final report which will be released next Tuesday.
The commission had challenged the military's attempt at secrecy, filing an application in the Federal Court for a judicial review to get it overturned. If the challenge had failed, Langridge's family -- and the public -- would not know whether the military accepted or implemented recommendations from the inquiry.
Provost: 'never' an attempt at secrecy
In a statement on Friday, Delaney claimed there was never an attempt to prevent the inclusion of the NoA in the commission’s final report. In fact, he said he offered on Feb. 11 to remove the "Protected B" designation so that the commission could freely use any information contained in the NoA in its final report.
Delaney claimed the commission chairperson "declined that offer."
Delaney explained further that he wanted the commission to "incorporate the contents of the NoA" into the final report rather than simply "appending" it. This was over concerns the NoA would not be understood without proper context, "and in particular, the impact on the openness of communications between our respective organizations during the period between the issuance of interim and final reports."
Commission's response
The Military Police Complaints Commission, meanwhile, said it will respond Tuesday to Delaney’s claim that the commission chair declined an offer to remove the secret designation from the final report. The commission also said it would notify next Tuesday whether it will drop its application for a judicial review with the Federal Court.
Earlier Friday, Defence Minister Jason Kenney confirmed the military's response to the inquiry will in fact be released as part of the report.
"I understand that the Provost Marshal's office has actually agreed to release that information that has been requested by the commission," Kenney told CTV News at Ottawa airport, where he was welcoming home Canadian soldiers who were serving as part of a contingent in Sierra Leone.
Kenney added: “These are legal matters dealt with by the Judge Advocate General” -- the senior legal officer in the Canadian Armed Forces -- and “these are not political decisions.”
The Military Police Complaints Commission inquiry into Langridge’s suicide was completed in early 2013. Its purpose was to find out what works in the Military Police investigation process, what doesn’t, and determine what fixes must be made.
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.
