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 commission’s 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 commission’s interim report in the final report. The Provost Marshal’s response, called a Notice of Action (NOA), includes the Military Police’s position on the findings, whether the findings are accepted, and what, if any, actions will be taken to implement the report’s recommendations.
The Provost Marshal has sought and obtained a security designation for the NOA known as “Protected B,” a government designation that prevents the publication of sensitive personal, private or business information that could result in “grave injury.”
Under “Protected B,” 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 “challenging the jurisdiction” of the Provost Marshal to prevent the NOA’s publication.
“The Commission’s 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 Police’s response to the Commission’s findings and recommendations,” 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.
Langridge’s mother and stepfather, Sheila and Shaun Fynes, filed a formal complaint with the MPCC in January 2011 regarding the investigation into their son’s 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 Fynes’ 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.
“As 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,” Maj. Yves Desbiens told CTV News in the email statement.
‘Beyond a slap in the face’
Sheila Fynes told CTV News Thursday that the DND’s refusal to release its response to the inquiry is “beyond a slap in the face.
“I think it’s insulting to our family, I think it’s insulting to members of the military and veterans in general,” she said.
Fynes said her family has been “stonewalled at every turn” throughout the painful process.
“We actually think that it’s almost stunning in their arrogance that they feel they can continue to do this.”
She also called the suggestion that the DND is trying to protect her family by withholding its response to the suicide inquiry “ludicrous.”
The Fynes’ lawyer, retired colonel Michel Drapeau, said Thursday that if the commission’s report is released without the NOA, it will only tell “half the story.”
“This is a slap in the face to them and to every military family,” Drapeau told CTV News. “It’s unexplainable and, as far as I’m concerned, it’s beyond the pale.”
The purpose of the commission’s inquiry is to find out what works in the Military Police investigation process, what doesn’t, and determine what fixes must be made.
“They just want to make sure that the pain and suffering, the loss of a son, that they’ve 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,” Drapeau said.
With a report from CTV’s Omar Sachedina
