N.S. mother wants comatose son brought home following jail attack

AHS says badly beaten 28-year-old would not qualify for care outside of province

EDMONTON A distraught mother is pleading to have her son sent home to Nova Scotia after he was savagely beaten in an Alberta remand centre, an attack that has left him in a medically induced coma from which he may never awake.

Dylan Gogan, 28, was charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault on March 6 after a man was stabbed in Grande Prairie.

Days later, while being held at Peace River Correctional Centre, three inmates left Gogan bloodied and unconscious after brutally beating and kicking him, his mother, Christine Arsenault, said.

He was found by corrections staff unresponsive in his cell and airlifted to Edmonton.

Arsenault said her son suffered an axonal brain injury and that he may require round-the-clock care for the rest of his life.

Had he been covered under the Nova Scotia Health Authority, Gogan may have qualified for an inter-hospital transfer between the University of Alberta hospital in Edmonton to somewhere closer to Arsenault’s home in Amherst, N.S.

But as Gogan spent large portions of his life in most recent years either incarcerated in Alberta or bouncing between halfway houses with no fixed address, he instead qualifies for Alberta health care, she said.

While not able to speak to specifics about Gogan’s case, Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness spokeswoman Heather Fairbairn said to be eligible for insured health services in Nova Scotia, individuals need to be permanent residents of the province.

“Individuals wishing to transfer to Nova Scotia from out of province while receiving care are covered for insured hospital and physician services if they are medically required,” she said.

“Through the interprovincial agreements in place, these costs would be covered by the patient’s home province (in this case Alberta) during any waiting period.

“However, individuals would be responsible for any ancillary costs such as ambulance service, etc., until such time as they are eligible for coverage as a permanent resident. Travel costs associated with such a move would not be covered.”

Alberta Health said that “while we cannot confirm details of individual cases, we can confirm that anyone who is a permanent resident of Alberta would qualify for coverage under the Alberta Health Care Insurance Act.”

“AHS has reached out to the mother to discuss the process regarding repatriation and next steps,” the department said.

Gogan went to Calgary in April 2017 to look for work, but ran afoul of the law.

Arsenault doesn’t shy away from her son’s criminal past — he’s spent time in federal and provincial corrections facilities in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Alberta on a variety of charges, including break-and-enter, over the past 10 years.

“Yeah, he’s been in trouble with the law over the years, but he’s still a person, he’s still a human being and I still love him,” she said.

“It’s very tough on our family ... Some days are better than others. But he’s there all alone. “He has the most-kindest heart.” A statement from Alberta Justice and Solicitor General said an internal investigation into the attack was launched, the findings of which have been shared with police.

“Due to the security considerations of the information in the internal investigation, the findings are not typically publicly released,” the statement said.

“After consultation with Alberta Health Services, the Crown stayed the charges Dylan Gogan was facing, due to the accused’s medical condition.”

His co-accused in the Grande Prairie stabbing, Stephanie Plamandon, still faces charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault.