The sister of health researcher Roderick MacIsaac, who killed himself after being fired, says her brother’s suicide letter had been deleted from his computer when it was returned by the B.C.Coroner Service.
In an open letter to B.C. Premier Christy Clark today, Linda Kayfish asks for a public inquiry to get to the bottom of the health firings scandal and said that, as part of that inquiry, she will share the suicide letter.
“After long thought and much soul-searching, I would also like to make you aware of a related event,” Kayfish wrote. “This matter involves the decision by the government, through the coroner, to delete Roderick MacIsaac's final note from his computer before it was returned to his family in October 2013.”
A 2012 Health Ministry investigation based on allegations of privacy breaches, contract irregularities and data mismanagement resulted in the firing of eight drug researchers beginning in September 2012.
Since then, two of the researchers have been rehired and four settled with the government. Two cases remain before the courts. The government has apologized for MacIsaac’s firing, saying it was wrong and heavy-handed.
Kayfish says her brother left a suicide note to be easily found on his laptop after his death on Dec. 7, 2012.
It was the last thing he wrote and the coroner said in a report that the subject of the document was causing him stress before he committed suicide.
The letter says the fired workers were not guilty, asks that the misguided investigation be probed, and suggests, if there is wrongdoing, it was at management levels above their pay level and authority, Kayfish said in an interview today.
“In my view, Roderick would have wanted those reviewing the matter to see it and for his family to have it. It is not necessarily accurate nor correct. It reflects his frustration with the public dismissals at the Ministry of Health,” Kayfish wrote.
“Though little in detail, it is clear and concise. There was no personal message to me or anyone other than those meant to be found by the investigators that I can discern.”
In June 2013, the document was read to the family over the phone.
“Having asked several times regarding the document, the coroner's office arranged to read the document to us over the phone, substituting letters of the alphabet for names,” the letter says.
In hindsight, Kayfish said she should have recorded it because when the computer was eventually returned to the family in October 2013, almost a year after his death, the document was missing.
Linda Kayfish’s husband, Doug, is an IT specialist and easily retrieved the deleted item, she said.
“In January 2013, we were made aware of this document written by him and left up on the desktop of his laptop computer. When we asked about it, we were told they could not disclose its contents to us until the investigation was complete.
“We do not dispute the coroner's right to access it as part of the investigation. However, once the investigation was complete, the private writings, thoughts and ideas of my brother, whether or not they concerned his associates or government officials, belonged to his estate,” she said.
“We are waiting for an inquiry to share it and would submit this document for purposes of an independent inquiry.”
Kayfish says the decision to suppress the suicide note raises serious concerns for her family and is another issue to be dealt with in a public inquiry.
The B.C. government has so far rejected calls for a public inquiry. Instead, B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake announced the province’s independent ombudsperson, Jay Chalke, will investigate.
Chalke is a former top Justice Ministry official and critics have questioned his possible conflict, dismissing an investigation by his office as less arm’s length than an inqury.
“It is part of a continuing pattern to cover up mistakes and actions by the powerful, while exposing those, such as Roderick, to the full force of government power,” Kayfish wrote. “Rod had rights, they were not respected and continue to be disrespected after his death”
Kayfish says, upon review of the Ombudsman's Act, she 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.
Click here to read the open letter.
