UPDATE: Government apologizes to Roderick MacIssac’s family

VANCOUVER — The B.C. Government has apologized to the family of Roderick MacIsaac for terminating his employment. According to a recent statement, Minister of Health Terry Lake has asked the Deputy Minister Stephen Brown to send a letter to MacIsaac’s family. The letter also conveys sympathy and condolences to them.

The government announced today it is conducting a review of the situation. “The information gathered from this review will be used to make recommendations to improve how the public service responds to allegations of employee misconduct in the future,” according to the statement. Marcia McNeil, an independent third party with a background in labour relations law and investigations will be heading this initiative. The report is expected to be completed by Oct.31.

Previous Story — The BC NDP is calling on the premier to issue a formal apology to the family of a University of Victoria researcher.

PhD candidate Roderick MacIsaac was working for the Health Ministry when he and seven others were suddenly fired after a flawed probe into the privacy breaches.

He took his own life four months later due to the stress of being wrongfully dismissed.

In the past two years there has been no evidence uncovered to find MacIsaac had done anything wrong. He was let go three days before his Co-Op term ended, which also ended his chances of finishing his PhD.

MacIsaac’s sister spoke out at the BC Legislature in Victoria on Tuesday about what happened.

“They have added insult to injury by misleading people,” said Linda Kayfish, Roderick’s sister. “Roderick did nothing to merit the treatment he received. He was bullied and accused without the bother of a decent explanation. This is an injustice. An injustice that should not go unchallenged in our society.”

NDP leader John Horgan said millions and millions of dollars were put towards besmirching the good names of the eight people.

“Their government failed them and particularly, they failed Roderick MacIsaac.

So far, more than $3 million has been spent on the investigation.

– With files from Keith Baldrey

WATCH: Vaughn Palmer discusses the case on BC1’s Prime with Aaron McArthur:

If you, a family member or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, or you believe they may be suffering from severe depression and/or anxiety, there are many organizations available to help.

Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Centre of B.C.

Youth in B.C.

Crisis Line Association of B.C.