Any blame on parents ‘deeply regrettable’
Kenney promises to act on report into suicide of Canadian soldier
Defence Minister Jason Kenney has signalled plans to make things right with the parents of an Afghan veteran who killed himself, raising hopes that their seven-year fight with the military will soon come to an end.
Earlier this week, the Military Police Complaints Commission issued a report that identified “serious flaws” in three separate investigations into Cpl. Stuart Langridge’s suicide, with poorly supervised officers seemingly unable to cope with even basic policing techniques.
The military also released the results of an internal board of inquiry into Langridge’s death that largely blames his decision to hang himself on his parents’ divorce, relationship problems with his commonlaw spouse, and drug and alcohol abuse.
The findings, which were previously kept secret, sparked outrage from Langridge’s parents, Sheila and Shaun Fynes.
Speaking in Calgary, where he was announcing new veterans’ benefits for reservists, Kenney said he had not had a chance to review either report. But he had no doubt “that there was a great degree of incompetence and unacceptable behaviour on the part of military police who handled this case.”
If the military’s internal review “in any way casts blame on the family for this tragic incident, that’s deeply regrettable, and I would look forward to an opportunity to meet with the Fynes family to express that personally,” he added.
In a statement released through their lawyer, the Fynes family called on Kenney “to exercise true and genuine political leadership to bring the military to purposeful actions.”
“Our sons and daughter serving in the military, our veterans and military families deserve respect, compassion and genuine care,” they said. “They also deserve to have a military justice system whose standards are at least equal to those available in civil society. At present, this is not the case.”
Kenney promised that the government plans to make “very significant changes” to the military police. “My staff have already begun meeting with the provost marshal, who heads the military police, to identify what things they’ve changed in recent years, and what more needs to be done,” he said.
Langridge killed himself at Canadian Forces Base Edmonton on March 15, 2008.
His parents brought 33 complaints against the National Investigation Service, claiming it was biased, negligent and incompetent in its three investigations. The MPCC rejected the allegations of bias but did recommend the military police make a greater effort to assert their independence from mainstream military.