B.C. family sues health authority and school district following teenage daughter’s suicide

Surrey parents searching for answers and accountability in their daughter’s death by suicide are taking the fight to court.

Editor’s note: If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental health there are a number of ways to get help, including by calling or texting Suicide Crisis Helpline at 9-8-8. A list of local crisis centres is also available here.

A South Surrey family is suing a B.C. health authority and the school district their daughter attended following the teenager’s death.

Laura and David Donovan, as well as their two daughters, are named in a notice of civil claim filed August 12 against the Surrey School District, a school counsellor, Fraser Health, and an employee of Fraser Health.

The family is claiming the defendants engaged in negligence and breach of duty in relation to their daughter’s death.

Daughter died two days after cancelled appointment

On Dec. 19, 2023, Felicity Donovan died by suicide.

The 16-year-old previously attended a program through Fraser Health called START, which stands for Short Term Assessment Response Treatment.

The month she died, her weekly appointment was cancelled due to her counsellor being ill.

Two days after the cancelled appointment, the teenager, who was an Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation, died.

‘We haven’t had a chance to grieve’

Felicity’s father David said the family has been pleading for answers for months, meeting with stakeholders and filing Freedom of Information requests.

David said they have faced a number of challenges, such as Fraser Health previously providing the Donovans with inaccurate information.

“We haven’t had a chance to grieve, because we’ve been fighting the Surrey School District and Fraser Health,” he said.

Read more: Grieving B.C. family wants answers after losing teenage daughter to suicide

The family believes taking their fight to court is the only way to get the answers’ they’ve been searching for.

“I see Fraser Health as a place where truth goes to die and the school district is basically a stone wall vault for truth,” Laura said. “I’d like to shed some light in these dark places.”

Allegations haven’t been proven in court

The claim cites general and punitive damages, as well as a formal public apology to the Donovan family and the Abenaki Nation of Odanak.

In the claim’s statement of facts, the Donovans allege, “the defendants knew or ought to have known that Felicity was an Indigenous youth experiencing mental health challenges and suicide risk, and that timely, co-ordinated, culturally safe intervention was required.”

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

In a statement to CTV News, the Surrey School District said, “Surrey Schools does not comment on ongoing legal matters or matters involving individual students.”

Fraser Health said it also does not comment on matters that are before the courts.

The health authority added, “the loss of a child is an unimaginable tragedy, and our hearts go out to this young person’s family. We extend our deepest condolences.”

‘Felicity’s truth’

The Donovans’ advocacy has forged some change.

In August 2024, Fraser Health implemented a new standard protocol in its START program related to the employee absence reporting process.

Read more: B.C. family’s search for answers in teenage daughter’s suicide met with challenges

Laura said she wants to see systemic change for other families, and Indigenous children who are at a higher risk of suicide.

“I’m not going to let them bury Felicity’s truth,” she said.