No time for sleep as mother explores ‘dark side’ of alleged ‘tunnel vision’ investigation into Ontario pathologist
TORONTO –
An Ontario mother is among several families alleging corruption at the top of the provincial pathology profession.
Nathalie Louis and other parents are calling for investigative powers to seek answers from the Ontario Forensic Pathology Commission, including powers to requisition records or conduct unannounced searches.
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In a news conference Thursday at the University of Toronto Hospital, Louis said she wants to be sure her daughter’s autopsy records aren’t being falsified to “hide the truth.”
Alexandra Racicot, 25, was shot in 2008 during a confrontation outside the family home in Nepean, a suburb north of Ottawa. She died as a result of gunshot wounds to the head and a fatal injury to her heart.
The death of Racicot, and the deaths of three other young girls – ages 13, 14 and 16 – in similar circumstances, sparked a public inquiry that uncovered a corrupted medical system that under-investigated many factors.
But Jean Gliedman, a top pathologist, was accused of corruption during the probe and was removed from the commission while cases involving him are still under investigation.
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Gliedman is appealing the appointment of special prosecutor William Wright as part of the Ontario Superior Court.
But Louis said she wouldn’t let politics stand in the way of finding out how the deaths of her daughter and others may have been mishandled.
“We’re looking for answers from an organization that is meant to protect us, of course, and that’s what we want,” she said.
Her daughter’s case is “demonstrating the dark side” of the pathologists and raising questions about the integrity of records and the ethic and professionalism of the forensic pathologist, she said.
“We need an organization that can protect us, and protect our children, for the public’s sake,” she said.