WATCH: A grieving Alberta family is accusing the Canadian military of not following orders. The province ordered the Dept. of National Defence to cooperate with an inquiry into the death of Lt. Shawna Rogers, but that still hasn’t happened. Jacques Bourbeau reports.
OTTAWA – Lieutenant Shawna Rogers joined Canada’s military dreaming of a long career, but died in 2012 from a drug overdose. She was 27. Now her parents are fighting to investigate the role military doctors played in their daughter’s death.
Rogers hurt her back during basic training, which led to surgery, then painkillers and depression. Her parents believe the military doctors made her an addict, citing a long list of powerful painkillers, prescribed in just a one-month period.
“The highest they reached was 700 milligrams a day, which is way too much to function on normally for any adult,” said Rogers’ mother, Ellen, in a past interview.
The military held its own internal inquiry which was completed in June, which Rick Rogers said he wasn’t allowed to sit in on. During that time, the military served the Rogers family with subpoenas to try to obtain documents related to Shawna, and threatened the family with legal action if they didn’t comply. The Rogers’ fought the subpoena, and won. They don’t know what the internal investigation found.
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Since then, the Alberta government ordered a separate inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the young woman’s death, but it still hasn’t started.
WATCH: Circumstances surrounding soldier’s death kept secret
In October, the defence minister said that the information should be provided. But Alberta’s justice department told Global News it has “no record of receiving disclosure” from DND in the matter.
“As soon as our government learned of this matter, the Minister of National Defence asked the Department of National Defence to respect the family’s wishes and turn over the necessary documents to allow for an inquest by the Alberta government,” said James Bezan, parliamentary secretary to the defence minister.
Two months have passed, and still no documents have been handed over, as Bezan said they would.
Sources tell Global News the defence minister is not happy his order has been ignored, and claim the military will hand over the documents soon.
Watch Global National Friday night for reaction from Rogers’ parents and what a retired colonel-turned-lawyer in the case has to say about the military’s actions.
With files from Global News
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