Saskatchewan’s ombudsman said a victim of the La Loche school shooting has been provided with proper benefits and supports from the Workers’ Compensation Board and the Ministry of Justice under applicable legislation.
Charlene Klyne was one of seven people injured on Jan. 22, 2016 during a deadly shooting rampage that left four people dead.
“I couldn’t figure out why there would be no recommendations,” Klyne told Global News at her home in Saskatoon.
“To me, it was a big waste of time,” she said.
She lost all vision in her left eye, can only see dark shadows in her right eye, and has numerous pellets lodged in 13 different spots from her jaw to her chest. She’s been told it’s too risky to have surgery to remove the pellets.
Klyne said she is now considering legal action against multiple agencies – both government and non-government.
“It’s not fair and I’m not going to have any moneys, really, saved for retirement,” Klyne said.
Klyne spoke out publicly, stating she did not think she was getting the support she needed, which she believed was promised to her by the Saskatchewan government.
Her issue was raised in the Saskatchewan legislature and the province’s minister of labour relations and workplace safety asked the ombudsman, Mary McFadyen, to review Klyne’s case.
McFadyen said after meeting with Klyne, she launched an investigation into whether Klyne was receiving the proper supports and benefits under provincial legislation.
The investigation did not include Klyne’s employer, the Northern Lights School Division, which is outside the ombudsman’s jurisdiction.
McFadyen said Klyne is not satisfied with the level of support available to her and is worried about having enough money to live on in the future.
“Through no fault of her own, Ms. Klyne was badly injured at work in a horrific event,” McFadyen wrote on Wednesday.
“We looked at the government agencies within our jurisdiction and found they provided her the supports that were within their authority to provide.”
Benefits do not include compensation for pain and suffering.
McFadyen added it is not the role of the ombudsman to comment on whether the government should make changes to the amount of compensation available victims of crime or injured workers.
“It is not our role to make recommendations on expanding any of their mandates because that is the role of the legislative assembly,” she said.
FULL COVERAGE: La Loche school shooting
McFadyen said her report will not be made public as no recommendations are being made to the government, and it contains a significant amount of Klyne’s personal information.
The report was sent to Klyne, the minister of labour relations and workplace safety, the leader of the Opposition, and the heads of the agencies that were investigated.
-With files from Global’s Ryan Kessler
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