Ombudsman recommends family coordinator for death investigations

[McG]

This appears to be a positive proposal.
I wonder if we would not benefit from having a CAF coroner office to take the work for which we currently convene a BOI.

Inquiries into deaths of soldiers exclude families, watchdog says
Ombudsman recommends coordinator be named to involve families in process
By: The Canadian Press
Toronto Star
20 Apr 2015

OTTAWA — The country’s military watchdog says the families of soldiers who die in the line of duty remain on the outside looking in when it comes to Defence Department investigations.

In a new report, Canadian Forces ombudsman Gary Walbourne recommends a family co-ordinator position be established to work with relatives and figure out how best to involve them in the complex board-of-inquiry process.

“The death or serious injury of a Canadian Armed Forces member is always a difficult event and none is more profoundly affected by it than the member’s family,” Walbourne said in a statement.

“These families need and deserve information, support and assistance to help them come to terms with the loss or injury.”

Inquiries frustrate families

The inquiries are technical investigations that look at the circumstances surrounding deaths, and whether military procedures or practices contributed to the tragedy.

But they are often a source of frustration and confusion for families, who complain about being kept in the dark and even accuse the military of using the inquiries as a way to cover up misdeeds.

The most high-profile example involves the public inquiry, recently concluded, into the 2008 suicide of Cpl. Stuart Langridge. During this, his parents were long denied a copy of the investigation report.

“We believe that families should be given the option of engagement throughout the board-of-inquiry process via a method of their choosing,” said Walbourne, who noted the military has instituted a series of organizational improvements and ended a backlog of dozens of investigations.

A process to involve families

Walbourne said there isn’t enough information to be able to decide how families should be included and a member of his staff will work with Defence Department for the next year to develop a process for family involvement.

Walbourne’s predecessors wrote extensively about the frustrations of families and their isolation from investigations.

An investigation in 2005 by the military ombudsman prompted retired general Rick Hillier to order a comprehensive review of the system. That produced a number of changes, including a directive to future inquiry chairs that they leave the topic of home life out of the mix when they look at suicides.

Despite that, the investigations into Langridge’s death blamed the troubled soldier for the tragedy and his biological parents, who divorced when he was five.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/04/20/inquiries-into-deaths-of-soldiers-exclude-families-watchdog-says.html

... and more here by Murray Brewster:  http://www.ipolitics.ca/2015/04/20/watchdog-says-families-still-deemed-outsiders-when-military-investigates-deaths/

 

[OldSolduer]

A good idea.

 

[The Bread Guy]

From the CF Ombudsman's statement:

Over the past 10 years, our Office has been tracking and reporting on issues related to how the Canadian Armed Forces interact with military families during a Board of Inquiry process.

Our first report on this subject, When a Soldier Falls, was published in 2005. It resulted in a complete review of the Board of Inquiry process by the Canadian Armed Forces, along with 36 recommendations aimed at making the process more consistent, coherent and reliable. In the months and years to follow, several other initiatives and directives took place, including the signing of a Canadian Forces Family Covenant in 2008.

A review done by our Office in 2009 found that while there had been some improvement, there were still many areas where more assertive action needed to be taken. The Minister of National Defence recognized that Boards of Inquiry sometimes lack the compassion needed by families, and outlined 13 initiatives of the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff to improve the process.

Our most recent review found that although much progress has been made over the past four years, Boards of Inquiry remain military-centric and difficult to understand for many families.

We believe that families should be given the option of engagement throughout the Board of Inquiry process via a method of their choosing. However, there is currently not enough data and family feedback to decide the best way forward.

As a result, we are recommending that a family coordinator position be created for a one-year trial period to help identify the needs of families and effective methods of communication and liaison. This recommendation will help ensure that the Canadian Armed Forces are better equipped to reinforce family inclusiveness in the Board of Inquiry process.

We have offered to provide a member of our team to fulfill this new role, and the Chief of the Defence Staff has accepted our offer. Together, we will carry out this project in two stages. First, we will identify the most appropriate and effective means by which the military could meet the information needs of families following the death or serious injury of a military loved one. Second, after analyzing the results, we will develop a strategy to carry out those measures.

The death or serious injury of a Canadian Armed Forces member is always a difficult event, and none is more profoundly affected by it than the member’s family. These families need and deserve information, support and assistance to help them come to terms with the loss or injury. My Office is committed to helping identify these needs in the near future; in the meantime, I encourage military family members to contact my Office if they have any questions or concerns about the Board of Inquiry process or about the treatment they receive from the Department or the Canadian Armed Forces. We are ready to help.

Report findings here, PDF of full report here and CDS's response to the report here.

 

[Tibbson]

I wonder if we would not benefit from having a CAF coroner office to take the work for which we currently convene a BOI.

I don't see where this is either possible or practical for a number of reasons:

1)  We don't have a CAF coroner's office.  To establish one would require both some form of legislation to create the office and the authority to oversee such events and changes to each of the individual provinces' Coroners Acts to take deaths in the province out of their jurisdiction. 

2)  Nothing currently stops a Provincial Coroner from launching an inquest over the death of a CAF member that occurs within the province.  They are free to take action any time they choose within their jurisdiction.

3)  Deaths of CAF members that occur outside the country (while the member is on leave, on exchange or a non-Ops deployment) remain the jurisdiction of the local coroners and the country in which the death occurred.  Nothing stops the CAF from conducting it's own but local officials in the country where the member died have no requirement to cooperate or provide what ever evidence available to them. 

4)  For those deaths that occur outside the country when members are on deployed Ops in locations where there is no suitable local authority or where the member is under the control of a TF where a CF authority in situ could issue a CAF death certificate then that would be the responsibility of the CAF and under current MOU, the Ontario Coroners office.

 

[McG]

A CAF coroner's office would not need to take up the responsibility of issuing death certificates; investigations would be its responsibility.  We are doing the investigations already in the form of BOIs.  It would seem more effective to have a dedicatede staff of trained, experienced specialists conduct the investigations, in contrast to the current practice of pulling senior officers away from thier assigned duties to undergo quick training and then conduct a lengthy investigation.

 

[Tibbson]

I don't necessarily disagree with you however Provincial Coroners already have both the jurisdiction and the ability to conduct any inquiry they want for a death in the Province.  In fact they already do in all CAF deaths in Canada.  I'll refer to the Ontario standards and definitions which essentially outline:

Coroner’s Investigation
When a death is reported to the Coroner, he/she has the authority to collect information, conduct interviews, inspect and seize documents and secure the scene.  Upon conclusion, the facts as determined by the investigation, are released on a report. It sets out the coroner’s findings, including a cause of death and whenever possible, recommendations to prevent future deaths. For a copy of the coroner's report contact the regional coroner office in your area.

This happens in every case and I have been directly involved in more then a dozen.  The Provincial Coroners office is in fact the ones who already have the investigative authority and they routinely enlist the support of the police.  Most people fail to realize that when the police are conducting an investigation into a death they are often required to obtain warrants for documents, records or evidence required for the investigation.  They are often not able to get a warrant unless its an obvious crime because in order to get a warrant there must be an offence.  Thats why the police get a warrant through the Coroners office under the Coroners Act which does not require a known offence. 

If that is not deemed to be sufficient the Provincial Coroner also has the ability to call for a Coroners Inquest.  Inquests are formal court proceedings, with a five-person jury, held to publicly review the circumstances of a death.  They hear evidence from witnesses under subpoena in order to determine the facts of the death not to assign blame.  If there is any indications or illegality the matter is turned over to the police.  An inquest is held if the coroner determines that it would be beneficial in: addressing community concern about a death, assisting in finding information about the deceased or circumstances around a death and or drawing attention to a cause of death if such awareness can prevent future deaths.  It is not done because of the wishes of the family. 

Even if a Provincial Coroner called for an Inquest there would still be an administrative need for DND to convene a BOI so nothing really changes.  Its not unheard of for a provincial coroner to call for an inquest into a soldiers death in Canada.  It was done in the case of the death of an RMC Cadet back in 2003 and a review of the news articles found online will show the same frustrations expressed by the family over the Coroners Inquest process as we hear about our BOI process. 

I just don't see a need to create a whole new system when one currently exists.  Because provincial coroners are involved in a death from the beginning and still choose, in the vast majority of cases, not to call for an inquest tells me there is no need to reinvent the wheel.

 

[OldSolduer]

I think the focus of this is simply to provide a DA (Designated Assistant) to the family of a soldier who are "on the outside looking in" to keep them abreast of what's happening.

 

[Tibbson]

Since that is already being done, and they are only there to assist not advise, it would seem the system already exists.