O Canada Controversy Shows Minister Can Pass Laws When He Wants To

We hear Education Minister Kelly Lamrock is so incensed at the prospect of students at Belleisle Elementary School not singing O Canada that he is going to pass a law to make it mandatory for New Brunswick children to sing the national anthem in our schools. [Click here to read CBC news report].

Apparently, as it now works, principals can decide if they want to have students sing the anthem or not because it's just a "rule", not a "law". Gee, why does that sound familiar?

If the Minister feels so strongly about New Brunswick students singing the National Anthem, then he should listen to my son Daniel Hains proudly singing O Canada at a Bathurst High School Phantoms hockey game in Bathurst two nights before he was killed in the tragic passenger van collision on January 12, 2008. Look at him and weep. He was proud to be a Canadian, proud to be involved in sports at BHS with his friends. He was alive and young. He didn't have to die!


We can't help but be cynical when we hear Mr. Lamrock jump at the opportunity to create a law that will compel students to sing O Canada when it's easy to score political points by doing so.

Meantime, it has been more than 12 months since our children died in a tragedy that could have been prevented and still, school principals are interpreting the "rules" as they see fit, deciding on their own whether students can travel in bad weather. Vehicles are being driven by teachers and parents who are not professional drivers because it's a "rule" not a "law".

We believe Mr. Lamrock should be more worried about saveing children's lives by passing laws that would prevent them from travelling to extra-curricular events in bad weather than whether or not they are singing O Canada in the classroom. What good is O Canada if the children are dead? All I have is a video of my son singing O Canada now. He was a good boy and would have been an excellent citizen.

We want Kelly Lamrock to pass a "Bad Weather Law" that would be so straightforward and simple even a child could figure it out. If there's bad weather, there's no school. And if there's no school, there's no driving students to extra-curricular events. If the weather changes at the destination and the students have to drive back, then they stay overnight.

And we want Mr. Lamrock to be more concerned about hiring professional drivers with a Class 2 license to transport our children to extra-curricular events than the national anthem. We call it a "Van Angels" law, in memory of our two boys Javier Acevedo and Daniel Hains, who were killed along with six others that fatal night.

So please Mr. Lamrock, when you sing O Canada and you come to the words "Stand On Guard for Thee", we want you to mean it, don't try to score political points with the electorate!!

[Click here to go to YouTube video]

EMAILS FROM INFO VANANGELS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND KIND WORDS

Hello ladies,

I want to thank you for keeping the spotlight on the safety of our school children. I was born in Bathurst, now live near Saint John, and have a son in grade 1, and a daughter who will start kindergarten next year.

I want to offer my support and any practical help I can offer.

I was shocked when I heard about the bus from Jacquet River last week, my first thought, like so many other NB'ers, was of your sons, and how it could be possible that another tragedy came so close to happening again. Obviously, there has not been enough done to protect the safety of our children.

Most of all, I wanted to say, my thoughts are with you, so very sorry for your loss, and your crusade is so very important.

Sincerely, dated February 22, 2009


Hello from Sydney, N.S. My wife and I, along with people all over the world, were saddened by your loss. I have been driving professionally for 26 years and have seen, and still do, the neglect of both drivers and vehicles. I have written letters to government officials in the past to voice my concern and offer suggestions but my countless hours on the road don't seem to have much impact on those who sit in an office all day, look at statistics, then judge what is safe and what is not. If one of those young men had been the son of an elected official, lawyer, police officer, doctor, etc., would the procedure have been the same? Blame will not bring back your sons, but you are taking the proper measures to save someone else's child. I endorse your pursuit for an inquest and I hope and pray that someday our children will be able to live as God meant them to live. Thank you and God be with you!


Hello, thank you for your reply. I hear that you have been granted an inquest, which is good, thanks to your persistence. The travel, in adverse conditions, is always a problem for areas like NB. What boggles my mind is why do they cancel bingo and not a sporting event! The game, whatever the sport, seems to take precedence over safety and that's sad, not only sad, but downright criminal. Do you notice how quickly school is cancelled when there's a snowflake on someone's windshield? I don't know what to tell you, other than continue to persist. I will be following the inquest and hope that some changes will be made to the system, for the good of all concerned. Keep in touch and good luck!

12/19/08

Dear Isabelle and Ana,

From a fellow sports mom and assitant basketball coach I fully support your call for an inquest. Both my children (21 & 18) played basketball and travelled in horrible storm conditions. My daughter and I were actually on the road travelling from Hartland that treacherous night (along with your Bathurst girls team) My daughter, a senior begged our head coach to stay in Woodstock that night. We travelled home. There were cars off the road and it was freezing rain at the time. I think of all the times I put my children on that mini bus or van and questioned the weather. I am ashamed of myself for not taking a stand then and protesting the validity of , is it worth it? No, of course it isn't and wasn't. My heart goes out to each and everyone one of you affected by this tradgey. Your children will never be forgotten especially by the sports families all over.

12/18/2008

Thank you for sharing that night with me. My son told me that morning when I dropped him off at school. I was telling him about the storm alert and that it was going to start late in the day. He said dont worry mom if the weather is bad we will stay in Moncton. They have funds to stay in Moncton. I paid money for Daniel to play Basketball and Daniel raised money going to a Kinsmen Bingo. I ask myself why. they didnt stay. My son was told to get in the van. he was underage. Now I want to fight for changes so that everyone follows the same rule. a weather law to protect our childrens safety. A game is a game. I am sure once a law "A Vanangels law" its like any other it will all fit into place. Thank you for your support.
Isabelle

You are very welcome Isabelle. I hope to see "The Vanangels Law" become law and hold all persons accountable to that law with no exceptions. I know your son is so proud of you right now. I've witnessed more than the one instance I told you about and questioned more often than not. I have at times not allowed my children to go or my husband or I would take them ourselves. The not knowing has always bothered me. I am going to contact my MLA in York with this also, he sits in the opposition but a strong force on that side may help as well.

12/22/2008

Dear Ana & Isabelle,

I am not a Canadian citizen, or else I would email the coroner to support your cause. However, I am a bereaved mother myself, and I know how much more difficult the holidays are without your beloved child. It probably won't help much, but please remember/know -- you do not walk this lonely journey alone; many other mothers around the globe know the same heart-rending pain you both suffer.

One day at a time... one hour at a time... and sometimes one minute at a time...

Thinking of you,

__________________________________________________

12/19/08

Hi....I am a singer/songwriter and a mother as well! Last year when I heard of the tragic news in Bathurst...I was terribly sad and it was very close to my heart being a mother of children in that age group. I went to bed that night and for some reason it was bothering me a lot. I woke up that morning with a tune in my head....words even...and I rushed to the piano to capture the haunting melody and to write the words about the red roses. I felt it was special somehow and so I worked on it until all the words were out. I recorded this song as a rough demo on just piano and a bit of guitar .... it's very spare and simple but I wanted to share it with you . I think you might like it...and if you want it you can have it as a gift.... I have it posted on my myspace site (my artist site) so you can hear it there - if you have a computer its easy to link. As well I can send it to you on a CD if you would like it enough.

The song link is:

www.myspace.com/christinedonovan


The song is in my profile page as the first track - "Red Roses in the Snow"

I want to rerecord it and do a more orchestrated version of it in the future...but that is what it is right now. I've held on to the song all year...not knowing how to contact you and I've seen that you're still fighting to get some legislation changed regarding the accident.
My heart goes out to you and I just feel that maybe this song might mean something to you. Maybe you can use it? I dont know..I just felt that when it came to me....it came from somewhere else and I always felt it was a special song ...its not often that a song comes like this...so I thought I have to get it to you somehow.

Please if you have any questions, feel free to email me back...I'm in Kingston, ONtario....quite a bit aways but, I'm pretty easy to reach and check myemails every day.

I also tried to download your petition but for some reason was having trouble with the PDF download...I'll try again and want to sign it and have some of my friends and family sign it too.

You are in my thoughts and prayers....

God bless you and keep you
Love and hugs

______________________________________

01/23/09

My Heart goes out to all the families so deeply affected by the horrible accident that took the lives of their children.
My prayers also go to the remaining members of those traumatized families.

An inquest is in order!

The driver of the bus should NOT have been on active duty for 16 hrs & the condition of the bus is a question mark!

Sussex Bus Crash Recommendations Could Have Saved Our Children?

We were shocked to read that one of the recommendations of the Coroners Inquest into the tragic Sussex Bus crash in 2001 which took the lives of four American children was a campaign to educate drivers on the dangers of driving while tired!!

Recommendation # 5: Public awareness campaign to educate drivers on dangers of driving while tired.

It's obvious that nobody learned from the 2001 Sussex bus accident because, as we now know, seven years later, in January 2008, absolutely no measures were ever implemented to help tired coaches transport children to out of town sporting events like the one our sons attended in Moncton that fatal night. We know because if the recommendations had been followed, there is no way the coach would have been behind the wheel after working a full day at the High School, driving to Moncton, coaching a game and then driving back to Bathurst in bad weather. He had enough to do just coaching the team. He should never have been put in that position!!

We've said it before and we'll say it again: we need a Van Angels law that ensures Class 2 drivers, professional drivers who drive yellow buses, transport our children to out of town events. They do it in Nova Scotia, why can't they do it here?

A teacher is not a professional driver and already has too much on his or her hands than to worry about driving all the way to out of town events on a dark night in bad weather.

It's bad enough New Brunswick's Coroners Act is 110 years old and we can't even have a lawyer cross examine witnesses, but how can we have faith in a Coroners Inquest when the recommendations of the 2001 Sussex bus crash were never followed?

Bus jury wants highway ramps upgraded; Safety first; INQUEST: Six recommendations made after testimony into Sussex bus crash
New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal
Friday, October 11, 2002
Section: News
Byline: BY MAC TRUEMAN Telegraph-Journal

Recommendations of a coroner's jury investigating the April 27, 2001, tour bus accident near Sussex.

Install device on buses that alerts drivers when doors and windows tampered with or opened.

Seat-belts installed and enforced.

Rumble strips and flashing lights where speed reduction is considerable.

Rest periods for bus drivers in berth areas or off-vehicle sleeping accommodations.

Public awareness campaign to educate drivers on dangers of driving while tired.

Safety checks on windows and doors carried out at all rest stops and marked in drivers' log books.

Rules and safety procedures reviewed in advance with those in charge of trip. Drivers should review rules and safety procedures with passengers.The teacher in charge of the school trip that ended in the Sussex bus crash last year doesn't think seat-belt legislation will increase tour bus safety.

Roy Miller called the six recommendations made Thursday by a coroner's jury in Sussex "pretty reasonable." But Mr. Miller, who is school band director at Oak Hill Middle School in Newton, Mass., doesn't think their proposal to make seat- belt use mandatory in motor coaches would work with teens.

"If you had a chaperone in the aisle at every seat, then you could possibly enforce seat-belts on a bus with kids," he said. Otherwise, "I think it unlikely that kids would leave their seat-belts on for the duration of a long trip."

Mr. Miller commented at the conclusion of a four-day inquest into the deaths of Stephen Glidden, 12, Kayla Rosenberg, 13, Gregory Chan, 13, and Melissa Leung, 14. They were among 42 school band members and six chaperones travelling to a music festival in Halifax, N.S., when their bus took a wrong exit ramp at Sussex, skidded from the pavement and spilled on its side.

The four fatal victims were crushed beneath the side of the careening bus when the force of the crash threw them through a partly unlatched window.

The jury also recommended that motor coaches be equipped with devices that would alert the driver whenever a door, window or emergency hatch has been opened or tampered with.

The panel also wants rumble strips and flashing yellow lights to become the standard "where speed reduction is considerable" on highways.

Chief among their recommendations was a public awareness campaign to teach drivers about the dangers of driving while tired, and that cross-country drivers have mandatory rest periods either off the bus or in a separate sleeping berth aboard the vehicle.

The province's chief coroner will notify the agencies responsible for these changes, and in her annual report would review the progress of each agency in responding to the recommendations, deputy chief coroner Heather Harrison said.

"So, there is a public accountability, to see what has been done with them," she aid.

But Public Safety Minister Margaret-Ann Blaney said seat-belt laws for motor coaches would be Ottawa's job, not the province's.

Transport Canada's has jurisdiction over motor coaches, and the National Safety Act regulates what manufactures build into these buses, she said.

"I think what we need to do now is sit down and have a look at the recommendations and see where there is a fit for us provincially and where there is a fit for us to interact with national organizations and the federal government."

As for a publicity campaign on the dangers of fatigue, she said she would have to review what safety campaigns the province already has underway.

Paul Ram said that when his Diamond Coach bought its first charter bus, the vendor told him that seat-belts had been taken out of Canadian buses after some passengers were trapped in a coach fire. But he favours revisiting the seat- belt issue.

"If anything can save lives, I am for that."

A separate sleeping compartment for the alternate driver may be a rare, but Mr. Ram says he knows it can be done, because he's done it.

For several chartered bus trips he ran to Florida last year, he built a plywood bunk room at the back of the coach to house the spare driver.

"The driver can close the door, and it is like a separate sleeping room." The door has to be kept shut if the driver is to get his sleep while en route, he said.

"Even if it is a bunk bed, if people are sitting there and they are talking and watching TV or listening to music or whatever they are doing, it has to be separate quarters."

Sussex Crash Recommendation Met with "Buck Passing and Denial"

We started investigating previous Coroners Inquests to see how the participants felt about the process because we had heard that family members who have testified before at Inquests were not satsified with the Coroners Act because of a number of reasons, including the fact that they had no standing at the Inquest.

There are three cases in particular that strike as important because in all three cases the survivors publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the process and the recommendations that came out of the inquiry. In this blog we'll reproduce some articles from the media that speak to the issues facing the tragic Sussex bus crash of April 27, 2001 which took the lives of four American children who were on their way from Boston to Halifax to attend a music competition.

Sussex bus crash recommendations met with buck-passing or denial

New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal
Tuesday, February 4, 2003
Section: News
Byline: MAC TRUEMAN Telegraph-Journal

It's been more than 20 months since four young American students died in the pre-dawn crash of a chartered bus near Sussex.

And whether a similar accident can be prevented in New Brunswick "is solely a function as to how seriously government officials and manufacturers take the recommendations of the coroner's jury," warns Tom O'Neil, a Saint John lawyer who represented the estates of the four dead students at the inquest held in Sussex last October.

But many of the recommendations have been met with buck-passing or denial. Others are ideas some agencies were already working on before the inquest was held.

For example, Public Safety Minister Margaret-Ann Blaney has argued that it's federal Transport Canada's job to make sure buses are equipped with seatbelts.

Francois Asselin, Transport Canada's spokesman for road safety, agrees that Ottawa can legislate seatbelts for new buses built or bought in Canada.

But he says only the provinces and territories can make passengers use them. Furthermore, only the provinces and territories have jurisdiction to make the bus companies retrofit seatbelts on vehicles they already own.

In the early morning hours of April 27, 2001, the bus was carrying 42 members of a student band from Oak Hill Middle School, in Newton, Mass., plus a few teachers and parents, to perform at a concert in Halifax. At the intersection where Route 1 joined what was then the Trans-Canada Highway at Sussex, the bus missed the Moncton turnoff (which would have taken it to Nova Scotia) and instead went off the hairpin Fredericton ramp and skidded on its side.

Gregory Chan, Steven Glidden, Melissa Leung and Kayla Rosenberg, ages 12 and 13, were thrown out an unlatched window and crushed beneath the vehicle.

Several witnesses suggested that the American driver Hin Chi Kan, who rode as a passenger from Newton and took the wheel at the St. Stephen border crossing, may have been too dozy with fatigue to notice the Moncton turnoff or the ramp that he took instead. Others argued that the Nova Scotia turnoff wasn't marked and the loop was hidden behind the overpass.

But Mr. Kan, who faces being jailed on a Motor Vehicle Act charge if he comes back across the Canadian border, was not at the hearing.

This robbed the community of the closure they could have felt, Sussex Mayor Ralph Carr says.

"There's still a lot of unanswered questions right there that people have, parents in particular."

Even so, the inquest played an important role for lawyers like Mr. O'Neil, who are involved in the victims' families' lawsuit against the two involved bus companies and the Province of New Brunswick. The action is registered in Massachusetts.

Because they had charges pending against the driver, the RCMP refused to reveal their evidence to lawyers in the civil suit. "It was only through the forum of the inquest that the estates of the four children that were killed were able to obtain the details about the police investigation," Mr. O'Neil said.

The jury called for rumble strips and flashing lights to warn unwary drivers of intersections like this - even though the Transportation Department had already taken these measures in Sussex after months of media hounding. By the time of the inquest, the province was ripping up the fatal ramp and replacing it with a four-lane interchange.

Tracey Burkhardt, communications director, said her department has adopted the policy of considering these signals for every intersection that may be dangerous. It's just that they haven't found one dangerous enough.

"The engineers have a concern that just installing rumble strips as a rule in every case could lead to people not paying enough attention to them."

Chief Coroner Dianne Kelly made sure the jury's recommendations for compulsory seatbelts and alarms that signal when a door or window is unlatched were sent to the Canadian Bus Association, Transport Canada and both of Canada's motorcoach manufacturers.

Sylvain Langis, bus association president, said his members would comply with a seatbelt law, but he's not sure the law would be a good idea. Studies have shown that lap belts themselves cause injuries, and that unbelted passengers are safer in buses than in cars, he said. As for enforcing a seatbelt law, "there's not much we can do during the trip when the driver's attention is on the road."

Taser Inquest Disappoints Relatives of Kevin Geldart

When we first heard about calls for changes to the Coroners Act, one of the cases that was brought to our attention was that of Kevin Geldart, a man who was tasered to death in Moncton. At issue was conflicting evidence, as noted in the Canadian Press article below. We wonder if the relatives had had the opportunity to cross examine the witnesses if the truth would have actually come out of this inquest? We'll never know because the NB Coroners Act is only one of 3 in Canada that does not allow for cross examination of witnesses. If they allow it in Nova Scotia, why can't they do it here?

Taser inquest disappoints relatives of N.B. man

March 5, 2007
CHRIS MORRIS, Canadian Press; Rick Cash and Johanna Boffa

MONCTON -- Relatives of a New Brunswick man who died after he was repeatedly shocked by police with a taser say they are disappointed with a coroner's jury that recommended better training for police and medical officials.

A coroner's inquest into the sudden death of 34-year-old Kevin Geldart ruled on Friday that he died accidentally of a condition known as excited delirium, with contributing factors.

A pathologist testified during the eight-day inquest that "contributing factors" included repeated shocks to Mr. Geldart's torso and head from an RCMP taser weapon.

"There should be a moratorium on tasers until they know more about them and their effect on people," said Margaret Geldart, Mr. Geldart's aunt.

Mr. Geldart's sister, Karen Geldart, said she was disappointed the five-member jury did not go beyond recommending more training and education for police and emergency medical personnel.

"There is so much that is unknown about these tasers," she said. "It was clear to me that even though the police officers were trained to use the taser, they didn't seem to have a good understanding of when it is appropriate to use and when it is not."

Mr. Geldart, described by his family as a gentle giant of a man, died on May 5, 2005, after four RCMP officers attempted to take him into custody at a downtown Moncton bar.

The victim, who weighed 350 pounds, had earlier slipped out of a hospital psychiatric ward where he was being treated for bipolar disorder.

The coroner's jury made 16 recommendations calling for such things as seminars on tasers for police, recertification of taser instructors every five years and changes to the weapon itself to make sure it accurately records each firing.

It was not clear from police evidence presented at the inquest exactly how many times the taser was used against Mr. Geldart, although pathologist Ken Obenson said there were eight taser injuries on his body.

Karen Geldart said there were inconsistencies in the evidence, which has left family members wondering what actually happened. She said she was bothered by the fact that witnesses at the bar described her brother as scared and confused in his final moments, while police officers said he was aggressive and combative.

Coroner Dianne Kelly made several recommendations of her own on Friday, including the referral of all in-custody deaths to independent agencies for investigation.

Although four RCMP officers were involved in the incident, the investigation into what happened was handled by fellow RCMP officers in Fredericton.

Ms. Kelly also recommended that New Brunswick police agencies develop policies on tasers, including training.

The inquest came at a time when more people are asking questions about the usefulness of the taser as a so-called non-lethal weapon to control violent behaviour.

So far, 212 people have died in incidents in Canada and the United States where tasers have been deployed.

In the vast majority of those cases, pathologists have not been able to clearly identify a cause of death. In many cases, including the Geldart case, death has been attributed to a relatively new condition called excited delirium.

Do You Have A Story To Tell About Schools Violating the Weather Policy and Travel Regulations?

After we launched this blog / website in December we received numerous phone calls and emails from New Brunswick parents who shared with us some of their horror stories of driving to sports events in treacherous weather.

In fact, two days before our press conference in Fredericton on December 12, there was an incident in Fredericton where the two different English high schools, Leo Hayes and Fredericton High, took two completely different approaches to driving to a sports meet in Miramichi in bad weather. One school went, the other stayed behind until the weather cleared. Both principals said they were following the guidelines. (Click here to read our previous post on this issue "It's Reasons Like This That Make Us Want A Coroners Inquest December 16, 2008.)

The Department of Education tried to diminish parents' complaints and in the end, nothing was done.

If you have a story about your children driving to sports events in bad weather we want to hear about it. We want to show that this is happening a lot more than New Brunswickers believe. We promise you anonymity and will not reveal your name or the place where it happened upon request. Contact us by email at info@vanangels.ca

Candlight Vigil, 12:08 am, January 12, 2009

Here are some pictures that were sent to us by a friend who took photos the night of the Candlight vigil at the crash site.

Memorial Service at Holy Family Church

A friend of ours took some photos after the service was over at Holy Family Church.

Retraction in Telegraph Journal: Mothers ARE NOT CONSIDERING LEGAL ACTION

Yesterday Ana and I did an interview with Marty Klinkenburg of the Telegraph Journal. He told us before we started the interview that the story was going to be a sensitive portrayal of our children and we were pleased because it gave us a chance to talk about our sons, how much we loved them and the kinds of things that they loved to do.

We were glad to do the interview because we knew that most of the other parents had taken part in the article and felt this was a positive move for all of us, especially since so much of the focus has been on Reconstruction Report, the RCMP Report and the Coroner's Inquest, the shortcomings of the Coroner's Act [Click here to read blog from January 7, 2009. We Want Standing at the Coroners Inquest ] and more recently, the changes to Policies at the Department of Education [Click here to read blog from Thursday, December 8, 2008 Some Good and Bad, but New Policies of Department of Education Don't Go Far Enough ].

This was going to be different, it was going to be about our sons lives, who they were and what they meant to us.

NOT TRUE

We picked up the paper this morning and started to read the article. It seemed to be just as Mr. Klinkenburg said it would be: a sensitive portrayal of our sons and of the other parents and their children. Then, when I came upon the sentence that said Ana and I were "considering legal action" my jaw dropped.

WE NEVER, EVER SAID THAT WE WERE CONSIDERING LEGAL ACTION. IN FACT, THE SUBJECT NEVER EVEN CAME UP IN THE COURSE OF THE INTERVIEW.

What makes it worse is that it's NOT TRUE!!

To clarify: WE ARE NOT CONSIDERING LEGAL ACTION.

Rather, we want CHANGES to the Coroners Act so that we can have legal standing at the Coroners Inquest when it is held in the spring. [Read our previous blog on this from Wednesday, January 7, We Want Standing at the Coroners Inquest ] At present, interested parties such as family members and even the witnesses themselves cannot have legal standing at the Inquest. Legal standing would allow us to hire a lawyer at our own expense to cross examine witnesses. We have made this point abundantly clear in all our correspondence and interviews and on this website and we want people to know that we ARE NOT CONSIDERING LEGAL ACTION.

WE WANT CHANGES, NOT CHARGES

We immediately contacted Mr. Klinkenburg and asked him to print a retraction in the Telegraph Journal on Monday and to remove the offensive sentence from the on line version of the article, which he has done. Mr. Klinkenburg was very apologetic and confirmed that we never said we were were considering legal action yesterday during the interview. He admitted that he was relying on the old reports from November. We have come a long way since November and our opinions on CHANGES NOT CHARGES have been widely reported. To repeat those old reports was a mistake which he has admitted to and apologized profusely.

RECENT REPORTS CONFIRM WE WANT CHANGES, NOT CHARGES

For those who have not read the more recent reports in which we made it clear that WE WANT CHANGES, NOT CHARGES, you can listen to our press conference from December 11 on YouTube in which we specifically said to the reporters that we are NOT interested in laying charges. You can also read some of the more recent articles on this subject, including this one from Mr. Klinkenburg's own newspaper on December 16, 2008 from the Telegraph Journal, as well as another article from the Northern Light, also on December 16, 2008.

December 16, 2008 : Telegraph Journal
Pleas put outdated act in the spotlight

December 16, 2008: Bathurst Northern Light, Bathurst, New Brunswick
Mothers want answers, not to lay any blame: Van Inquest Sought

December 13, 2008
MOTHERS WANT A VAN ANGELS LAW

Some Good and Bad, but New Policies of Department of Education Don't Go Far Enough

We have been advised that the Department of Education is planning to release to the public revised policies regarding transportation of students and ownership of vehicles. (See proposed new policies below).

We feel that the new policies are not substantially different from what was there before. While we commend the move to phase out the 15 passenger vans in a responsible manner that does not financially cripple the schools, we seriously wonder if the new policies will actually change the way our children are transported day to day, to and from extra-curricular activities.

We want qualified drivers with Class 2 licenses driving our children to events. Teachers are paid to teach. They are not professional drivers and they should not be burdened with that responsibility. They have enough on their hands trying to educate our children. We understand that some parents have even been asked to drive the rented vans which the schools are using. That is not acceptable. We see nothing in the proposed new policies which will change that. Teachers are still going to be driving the vehicles, albeit with the proper training which is NOT equivalent in any way whatsoever to that of a professional bus driver.

We see nothing there about enforcing a bad weather policy which is something that we are very concerned about knowing what happened as recently as late December in Fredericton when two high schools in the same city took two completely different interpretations of the policy for travelling in bad weather to attend a swim meet in Miramichi. One school went in bad weather, the other waited until the storm subsided. Nobody has learned a thing from our childrens' deaths.

-- POLICIES ---

The new policies will address Superintendents' responsibilities, principals' and extra-curricular activity organizers' responsibilities, vehicle standards, driver requirements, and out of province travel, as well as ownership of the vehicles, maintenance, insurance coverage, funding and operation of student extra-curricular activity vehicles. There will be some new money, including $100,000 for a mandatory driver training for those designated by the school to transport students.

The ban on 15 passenger vans and the requirement for winter tires on all vehicles transporting students will remain. The province will actually begin buying the 15 passenger vans from schools and will use them as maintenance vehicles.

Remembrance Activities at BHS

The following is the text of a letter that was sent to us by Coleen Ramsay, Principal of BHS, outlining remembrance activities for the first anniversary.

"On (Monday) we will be inviting all students and staff to wear Red and Black to honour Javier, Codey, Nathan, Justin, Dan, Nikki, Nick, and Beth. At noon we will gather at the Boys in Red memorial in the school courtyard for a moment of silence and a laying a wreath. Between 3:30 and 5:00 pm, friends and previous BHS graduates will be invited to drop in to the school cafeteria and we will have light refreshments as they come together in an informal way to mark the passage of a year and to remember the friends they lost.

The Student Council and our staff are in agreement that this school based commemoration should be meaningful, low key, and away from the glare of public attention. With that in mind, we will not be granting any media access to the school or to the memorial site on that day.

In addition to these events, we will open the gates to the memorial from Friday afternoon until Monday morning, and this will allow the general public to pay their respects as they see fit.

On Sunday evening, from 10:30 pm until 12:30 am, while the memorial will remain open, we will ask the media to leave the site so that families and friends may observe the moment in a quiet and personal way, should they wish to be there at that time. While we will not be organizing any events at the memorial that night, we are aware that a number of people are interested in holding an informal vigil at that time, and we are pleased to grant access to the site while doing our best to maintain a private atmosphere."

Remembrance Activities January 11 - 12, 2009

People have been asking us if there are any Remembrance activities to mark the first anniversary of the Bathurst tragedy. What follows are some of the activities planned to mark this sad anniversary.

1. Sunday, January 11, 2009: Holy Family Church, Bathurst, NB, a memorial church service at 2 pm

2. Sunday, January 11, 2009: We have been told that people are planning to gather at the site at midnight for a candlight vigil.

3. Monday, January 12, 2009: The following is the text of a letter that was sent to us by Coleen Ramsay, Principal.

On (Monday) we will be inviting all students and staff to wear Red and Black to honour Javier, Codey, Nathan, Justin, Dan, Nikki, Nick, and Beth. At noon we will gather at the Boys in Red memorial in the school courtyard for a moment of silence and a laying a wreath. Between 3:30 and 5:00 pm, friends and previous BHS graduates will be invited to drop in to the school cafeteria and we will have light refreshments as they come together in an informal way to mark the passage of a year and to remember the friends they lost.

The Student Council and our staff are in agreement that this school based commemoration should be meaningful, low key, and away from the glare of public attention. With that in mind, we will not be granting any media access to the school or to the memorial site on that day.

In addition to these events, we will open the gates to the memorial from Friday afternoon until Monday morning, and this will allow the general public to pay their respects as they see fit.

On Sunday evening, from 10:30 pm until 12:30 am, while the memorial will remain open, we will ask the media to leave the site so that families and friends may observe the moment in a quiet and personal way, should they wish to be there at that time. While we will not be organizing any events at the memorial that night, we are aware that a number of people are interested in holding an informal vigil at that time, and we are pleased to grant access to the site while doing our best to maintain a private atmosphere.

We Want Standing at the Coroners Inquest

Something very interesting has happened since the Coroner's Inquest was called and it wasn't what we expected. In the days before the Inquest was called on Thursday, December 18 and in the following weeks, there were a series of articles and editorials in the New Brunswick Telegraph Journal about problems with the Coroners Act. [Click here to go to Press Room to read articles].

The Coroners Act governs the conduct of a Coroners Inquests in New Brunswick. [Click here to read the Coroners Act on the Government of New Brunswick website].

When we had our press conference on December 12, we had every reason to believe that a Coroner's Inquest would answers all the questions we were asking, such as:

"Why is the passenger van owned by a non-profit company run by the Principal, two Vice-principals and a teacher and not the Department of Education?"; and

"Why are there different inspection standards for passenger vans than school busses?"; and most importantly,

"Why were our sons out on the road that night in a van that was unfit for travel and in those weather conditions?"

Coroners Act Does Not Allow for Cross Examination of Witnesses

But, as we found out, we may not get the answers to these questions because the Coroners Act does not allow for cross examination of witnesses. According to Saint John lawyers David O'Brien and John Barry, the NB Coroners Act is one of the oldest in Canada, and except for some amendments over the past century, it remains virtually unchanged since it was introduced more than 100 years ago.

O'Brien and Barry say the Coroners Act needs to be completely revamped starting from scratch, and they are not alone. While both lawyers are with the firm Barry Spalding out of Saint John, O'Brien represents the Canadian Bar Association, NB Branch. We have since found out that the CBA-NB has been trying to convince successive provincial governments starting with Bernard Lord's Conservatives and now with Shawn Graham's Liberals, to scrap the old Coroner's Act in favour of a new one. In fact, the CBA-NB Branch even wrote a detailed, 71 page report and analysis in 2003 that it submitted to the government. [ Click here to download the 2003 CBA-NB Report in PDF format].

When you read the report you will see it clearly points out the shortcomings of the present Act and calls for a completely new Act that is up to modern forensic standards, one of the most basic being cross examination of witnesses. But as of today, the report still sits on a shelf somewhere, gathering dust in the Department of Public Safety or in a drawer in Shawn Graham's desk.

Further to this, we found out that this past April 21, Mr. O'Brien wrote to Hon. John Foran asking him to please consider an amendment to Bill 48, (Bill 48 was an Act to Amend the Coroner's Act which was passed on April 30, 2008), that would allow standing for interested parties but Foran refused. Apparently he said there was nothing wrong with the Coroner's Act. Mr. O'Brien said the change could come at little cost to the province and would be an interim measure while the Act is revamped, allowing interested parties standing at future Coroners Inquests. The answer was NO. [Click here to read the letter from the CBA-NB to Hon. John Foran, dated April 21, 2008 in PDF format]

We now are left to wonder if the reason Minister Foran refused to implement the amendment to the Act was because he knew our son's deaths would result in a Coroners Inquest sooner than later and if we had standing some things would come out that would not look very good for the Department of Education, specifically, with regards to the ownership of these vehicles. The non-profit organization that owns the vans is left to shoulder all the responsibilty for the tragedy while the Department of Education walks away scott free.

We firmly disagree with Minister Foran's statement that there is nothing wrong with the Coroners Act. We want standing at the Inquest into our son's tragic deaths. What is the use of a Coroners Inquest if we can't get the answers to the questions we are asking about the deaths of our children? We don't want a regurgitation of the July 2008 Accident Reconstruction Report [click here for report] or the November 2008 RCMP report which ruled out charges in the tragedy - and which we are not allowed to have a copy of despite a request under the Access to Information Act.

We want answers to our questions and recommendations from a fully informed jury that has heard witnesses testify under cross examination. Anything else is an insult to the memories of our sons.

We are still educating ourselves about the Coroners Act and know that we have a long way to go, but after reviewing the Canadian Bar Association 2003 Report New Brunswick Branch Report and knowing what changes Mr. Barry and O'Brien are seeking, we feel that we are heading in the right direction.

Here's just a little bit of what Mr. O'Brien and Mr. Barry had to say in the Telegraph Journal. We're also including some of the quotes from the Telegraph Journal editorials that followed over the following weeks.

Click to Read Pleas put outdated act in the spotlight

While heartbroken parents in Bathurst hope a coroner's inquest will settle lingering questions about the van crash that killed their children, legal experts caution that New Brunswick's outdated Coroner's Act is not up to the task. [Click here to read Telegraph Journal article on line.]

Click to Read Seek the best inquest process
Published Thursday December 18th, 2008

The parents of seven Bathurst teens who died in a van crash last winter are seeking a coroner's inquest. Their request has led to renewed calls to rewrite the 104-year-old Coroner's Act.

Public Safety Minister John Foran seems reluctant to do so, and we don't understand why. New Brunswick's legislation should be benchmarked against the best practices in other jurisdictions.

When the Coroner's Act was proclaimed, the science of forensic investigation had barely begun. Plane and automobile accidents were a thing of the future. Officials sorting through investigators' reports today need to understand the science of death investigation and the process of accident investigation. Coroner's juries need access to a range of expert opinion. The Coroner's Act, in its present state, does not demand the rigour an inquest requires. That's why the Canadian Bar Association and this newspaper have pushed frequently for changes. [Click here to read the entire Telegraph Journal editorial on line]

What Happened the Day the Coroner's Inquest was Called December 18, 2008

On Wednesday, December 17, 2008 I was in Moncton visiting my son Clark when I received a phone call saying there was going to be a meeting on Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. in Bathurst with Acting Chief Coroner Greg Forestell. He had made a decision about the Coroners Inquest and was going to announce it to the families.

I wasn't sure which way the decision was going to go. Ana and I worked hard on the petitions and the press conference to put pressure on the Coroner to call for an Inquest. We believed it was important to have this inquiry. As soon as we found out Ana and I got ourselves organized to leave Moncton. We drove in separate cars all the way to Bathurst so we could be there in the morning. Waiting until Thursday morning meant another sleepless night. It was a day we had been waiting for a very long time.

On Thursday morning December 18th, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. We arrived at the Dannys Inn where all the families had gathered to hear what the Deputy Chief Coroner decision was going to be. The media were outside waiting and we were very nervous.

Mr. Forestell said it was important that he meet with the families to let the families know the decision in regards to a public inquest. He said it was his decision to have a public inquest and that he had come to that conclusion because of a number of things. The main reason is the complexity of the case, the facts from the RCMP Investigation and Transport Canada, the Department of Education has done some work since the accident and of course, because of the public interest he said he felt it best to call for inquest that would bring all the facts together and announce it publicly.

Ana was sitting beside me I grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard. Greg Forestell explained how the proceedings were to lead up to a Coroners inquest. It will be held here in Bathurst. It could last 10 days or two weeks. He said he will meet with the families individually to find out what our concerns are and make sure that we can address those concerns and talk about how our sons were and will represent the information at the inquest.

He said the inquest does not assign blame or responsibility, rather it presents only the facts and makes recommendations to prevent similar death from occurring in the future. However, he made it clear to us that the recommendation from the coroners inquest are not binding. He said he, as the Acting Chief Coroner, will send out the recommendations to provincial or federal government departments or agencies or to any person that has an leading interest or concern with this inquest.

There was considerable media attention outside our meeting so after it was over I went to Greg Forestell and introduced myself. I told him that he made the right decision. He said that he couldn’t contact me before until all the evidence was put forward. He said that the petition and the community interest helped make his decision. I thanked him. I wanted to talk to the press and let the public know how I felt about the decision. Changes are important for the safety of children travelling for extracurricular activities.

Now our next step is to educate ourselves about Coroners Inquests in New Brunswick. Ana and I will research information about other Coroners Inquests and jurisdictions. We will be prepared when the inquest is ready for our sons so that we know exactly what the proper procedures are.

Thank you to everyone who supported all the families for a Coroner’s Inquest.