The ex-husband of an Edmonton soldier who tried to kill their children eight years ago has filed a $11-million lawsuit against the federal justice department and military over how the investigation into the situation was handled.
Nobody in the family can be identified because of a publication ban protecting the children as underage victims of crime.
The mother was found guilty of three counts of attempted murder in February, after the court determined she deliberately set fire to her home at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Edmonton on July 20, 2015.
The Crown argued the mother was motivated to kill herself and the kids because she did not want to comply the court order giving custody to her ex-husband.
According to court proceedings and a statement of claim, the kids were supposed to be at summer camp at the time while their father was deployed to help fight wildfires in Saskatchewan in July 2015, but the mother pulled them out, took them to West Edmonton Mall for a day of fun before starting the fire at their military housing home the following day.
A statement of claim filed in federal court on March 24, 2023 alleges military police failed to investigate adequately despite repeated concerns being raised before and after the fire.
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None of the claim has been proven in court.
The father is seeking $1 million from the federal government, for damages arising from its “breach of statutory and common law duties.”
He is also suing both the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) for $5 million for what he claims was a negligent investigation undertaken by the Military Police Service and the Canadian Armed Forces Investigation Service into the attempted murder of the children and arson.
The Edmonton man is also seeking $5 million in punitive and/or exemplary damages, as well as special damages to be determined for future medical and out-of-pocket expenses, along with interest and legal expenses.
The father said years of investigations, questioning, court appearances and testimony have been tough on his kids — especially his sons, who the defence tried to blame for starting the fire.
In the statement of claim, father argues it shouldn’t have taken so long for his ex-wife to be arrested and said the military police and investigation service failed to act, despite him approaching them several times asking for an investigation into the attempted murders.
During the trial, the court heard that initial military police investigations in 2015 and 2016 didn’t result in any charges.
The lawsuit alleges the father filed a complaint with the Canadian Forces Provost Marshall regarding the investigation, but it was closed on Dec. 11, 2017, and a letter suggested the complaint was unwarranted.
In February 2018, the father hired a lawyer to help him pursue private prosecution for attempted murder.
That summer, the mother was denied unsupervised access to her children by the family court, which determined “she was a risk to the children from the attempts on their lives and the subsequent psychological and emotional trauma of continued exposure to their mother who had tried to kill them.”
The lawsuit said military police and the investigative service continued to ignore these facts.
In October of that year, the father received the insurance company’s fire investigation report after filing a civil claim to have it released.
The lawsuit pleads that the father provided the Co-operators insurance company report — saying the fire was deliberately set with accelerants — to the military, but no action was taken to reopen the investigation.
It wasn’t until the legal case was launched in 2018 that military police and investigators began looking into the case again the following year, that charges were laid in September 2019.
In the time in between the fire at the Edmonton Garrison and the arrest, the father said he struggled and fought for his children’s safety, trying to prevent their mother from being alone with them.
In early 2020, the father was granted full decision-making and custody of his three children and the mother was denied any direct access to the kids — in person, written or otherwise.
On Feb. 24, 2023, the mother was convicted on all the charges.
The lawsuit alleges the father and children have suffered sustained mental and emotional trauma and the after-effects continue.
It said their entire lives changed because of the lack of investigation and conduct of the Canadian Armed Forces over the years between the fire and today.
It also says the father’s career ended early in 2015 because of the situation.
“(The father) will never be able to fully realize the career he had earned through this devoted and diligent service to his country, including but not limited to the loss of salary and pension entitlements,” the statement of claim said.
The lawsuit also noted the father incurred significant legal costs in his push for a criminal conviction and in his efforts to look after his children’s physical, psychological and emotional wellbeing.
The lawsuit said since the conviction two months ago, the department of defence and military have not taken any action to remedy the situation or compensate the family for the pain they endured the past nearly eight years.
The father is seeking the case be tried in Edmonton.
A statement of defence has not been submitted.
The Department of National Defence said because the matter is subject to litigation, it would be inappropriate for it to comment.
It also said the father’s release from the Canadian Armed Forces is still being processed.
The mother remains under house arrest until her sentencing hearing. A date has not been set for it.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins will bring in another quarterback while starter Tua Tagovailoa deals with his latest concussion, coach Mike McDaniel said Friday.
For now, Skylar Thompson will be considered the Dolphins’ starter while Tagovailoa is sidelined. Tagovailoa left Thursday night’s 31-10 loss to Buffalo in the third quarter with the third known concussion of his NFL career, all of them coming in the last 24 months.
“The team and the organization are very confident in Skylar,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel said the team has not made any decision about whether to place Tagovailoa on injured reserve. Tagovailoa was expected at the team facility on Friday to start the process of being evaluated in earnest.
“We just have to operate in the unknown and be prepared for every situation,” McDaniel said, noting that the only opinions that will matter to the team will be the ones from Tagovailoa and the medical staff.
McDaniel added that he doesn’t see Tagovailoa playing in Miami’s next game at Seattle on Sept. 22.
“I have no idea and I’m not going to all of a sudden start making decisions that I don’t even see myself involved in the most important parts of,” McDaniel added. “All I’m telling Tua is everyone is counting on you to be a dad and be a dad this weekend. And then we’ll move from there. There won’t be any talk about where we’re going in that regard … none of that will happen without doctors’ expertise and the actual player.”
Tagovailoa was 17 for 25 passing for 145 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions — one of which was returned for a Buffalo score — when he got hurt. Thompson completed eight of 14 passes for 80 yards.
Thompson said he feels “fully equipped” to run the Dolphins’ offense.
“What’s going to lie ahead, who knows, but man, I’m confident, though,” Thompson said after Thursday’s game. “I feel like I’m ready for whatever’s to come. I’m going to prepare and work hard and do everything I can to lead this team and do my job.”
TORONTO – Unifor says workers at a Walmart warehouse in Mississauga, Ont., have voted to join the union.
The union says it’s Walmart’s first warehouse to unionize in Canada.
Unifor national president Lana Payne says the employees stood up for their rights and the union is excited to get to work on their first collective agreement.
Unifor’s campaign at Walmart’s facility began in December 2023.
The vote was held from Sept. 10 to 12.
Unifor represents 315,000 workers across the country.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
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