The family of a B.C. health researcher who committed suicide after being improperly fired by the government says coroners deleted his suicide note.
Roderick MacIsaac was one of eight health researchers fired in 2012 over what the government claimed was mishandling of private information. He took his own life four months later due to the stress of being wrongfully dismissed.
In the years since, the government has apologized for his firing and those of other workers, reached settlements with five workers, and rehired others. An external review also criticized them for failing to follow existing procedures in their original investigation that prompted the firings.
Earlier this month, the government announced they would ask the Ombudsperson to formally investigate the government’s actions.
READ MORE: B.C. calls for investigation into health firings
But yesterday, a new development occurred when MacIsaac’s family claimed that the suicide note he wrote that explained his actions was taken by coroners and subsequently deleted.
“Roderick created a document as a private citizen on his personal equipment. He was no longer a government employee. He took steps to ensure this document was easily read. It is a view of what happened to him in a process where he was wrongfully dismissed, a fact subsequently admitted, acknowledged and apologized for by your government,” wrote Linda Kayfish, MacIssac’s sister, in an open letter to Premier Christy Clark.
Kayfish says the letter was written on a laptop taken by coroners as part of their investigation.
“When we asked about it we were told they could not disclose its contents to us until the investigation was complete. Over the course of the next few months we were informed the investigation would take longer then expected to complete. Being anxious for any understanding we again asked about the contents of the document left up on the laptop and were told it was possible it would never be disclosed to us and most likely be deleted,” she wrote.
Eventually, a person with the Coroner’s office read the letter to the family, substituting the names of people MacIssac identified with letters.
When the family was given back his laptop, the document was not there.
“Imagine our disappointment,” wrote Kayfish.
“A man’s last words, meant to be read by family and friends regarding his abrupt departure, were no longer available.”
The government has requested Jay Chalke, B.C.’s Ombudsperson to investigate why MacIsaac and the seven other workers were fired and who was involved in the decision.
But today, Chalke told MLAs his investigation would be limited under the current powers given to the Ombudsperson’s office.
“I…ask that the Committee not refer this matter to this office unless it also confirms that it has obtained a commitment from government that it is prepared to introduce legislation to amend the Ombudsperson Act,” he wrote today.
Kayfish also believes that an investigation by the Ombudsperson would be ineffective.
“In our brief review of the Ombudsman’s Act, I cannot see how the Ombudsperson could conduct a meaningful investigation of the Coroner’s action in this matter, another reason why the matter requires a full public inquiry.”
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