(Quebec) Coroner Gehane Kamel sent a total of five subpones to the two ministers to come and testify as part of his investigation into deaths in CHSLDs during the first wave.
Updated yesterday to 7:22 pm.
Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrett made this clear during a study of his ministry’s budget allocations on Tuesday.
He spoke at length with La Pioneer’s Liberal MP Gaton Barrett about the number of ministers who have been summoned to testify.
Based on the response from the Coroner’s Office for access to the information request, Mr. Barrett said five ministers had been summoned rather than less.
Mr. Jolin-Barrett denies it with great perseverance.
According to him, only two ministers were called to the witness stand: former health minister Daniel McCann and seniors minister Margaret Blaise.
“Two ministers have been assigned; Both appeared. It ends there, ”he stressed.
After that, he clarified that a total of five sub-phonos were received for these two ministers to testify.
“(Former Minister of Health) has been subponed three times and Coroner has twice subponed the Minister responsible for the seniors,” said Simon Jolin-Barrett.
The Coroner’s office also issued a press release on Tuesday outlining information sent to the Liberal Party of Quebec.
“After certification, five assignments […] Ministers, Messrs. McCann and Blaise, as well as (former) Deputy Minister of Health Yvonne Zendron will consider the evidence, “said Jake Lamotta Granato.
“You need to know that the summons is an order to appear before the coroner on the due date. However, if the trial schedule changes, new summons must be sent to the witness. ⁇
“May Gehane Camel listened to all the ministry officials he wanted to hear as part of his extensive investigation,” Mr Granato added.
On Tuesday, the PLQ also sought to know more about the agreement reached between the Coroner’s Office and the Quebec Attorney General regarding the evidence.
According to the Office of the Coroner, “Various emails were exchanged between the prosecutors of the Office of the Coroner. […] And the Attorney General. ” But “these exchanges are subject to professional privacy”.
In an interview on Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Barrett protested against this “non-transparent abuse”.
Gehane Kamel, who heard nearly 220 witnesses, is due to file her report on deaths in CHSLDs during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic before the summer.
In the spring of 2020, in Quebec, nearly 4,000 elderly people died of CHSLD, while others were completely isolated and did not take food or hydration.
Corizondum:
This is a revised version. The first two versions had errors. “Coroner Gehane Kamel has summoned five ministers to attend, not least,” it said. The exact information is that “Gehane Kamel sent a total of five summons to the two ministers”.
