Grieving mom fights Ottawa over lawsuit for slain daughter
Lawyers for the federal government say the family of a B.C. woman who died after RCMP failed to investigate the gunshots that killed her can't sue the government because the victim lost her rights when she died.
Rosemary Surakka, mother of shooting victim Lisa Dudley, filed the lawsuit in 2011, alleging the B.C. and federal governments — in their responsibility for the RCMP — failed to uphold rights of her daughter under Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the section that guarantees the right to life, liberty and security of the person.
Although the RCMP was called to the scene by a neighbour who heard the gunshots, the officer never got out of his car or knocked on a single door, reporting later that everything looked normal at the house.
McKay was killed instantly. But Dudley was paralyzed, and survived four days in the house until a neighbour stumbled on the scene. She died before reaching the hospital.
The officer who failed to investigate the gunshots was later found guilty of disgraceful conduct and docked one-day’s pay.
A tearful Surakka told CBC News she filed the lawsuit on behalf of her daughter.
"Well, I have to speak for her. I'm her mom, somebody has to," Surakka said.
"What happened that night was so wrong and for those four days she suffered there, it counts for a lot to me what she went through, and I can't just dismiss it and I don't think they should dismiss it either. I think there's something terribly wrong there that needs fixing. For them to say they never speak to 911 callers is ridiculous," Surakka said.
Federal justice department lawyers want the case thrown out, arguing that Charter rights are personal, not even a grieving mother can claim the rights of a dead child and that any constitutional claim was extinguished with Dudley’s death.
Whether governments can escape responsibility for a death in which they might be involved is an issue constitutional lawyer Andrew Loak believes, should be allowed to go to trial.
"You get to a point — and I'm not saying we've reached it in this case — but you get to a point where you are tempted to quote Dickens: 'If the law says that, then the law is an ass,’" Loka said
Justice department officials did not return CBC News calls on the case.
Surakka said she is appalled at the government's strategy.
"It's so clear, everything that needs to be done, and they don't want to do it. They won't do it. They won't even hear of it."
Surakka’s lawyer will argue against the government’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit in a two-day B.C. Supreme Court hearing Vancouver, starting Wednesday.
