Military police watchdog calling rare public hearing into alleged mishandling of suicide case

WARNING: This story contains references to suicide.

The country's military police watchdog is launching its first public interest hearing in over a decade into an alleged negligence case involving a defence intelligence analyst in Ottawa who died by suicide.

A complaint alleges military police may have played a role in the death of Master Corporal Shaun Orton in April 2024 by failing to conduct a welfare check sooner and delaying going into his home and performing first aid.

"The allegations in this complaint are serious," wrote the watchdog's chairperson Tammy Tremblay in her decision to hold a public hearing.

"If substantiated, they could amount to a failure to conduct a welfare check in an adequate and timely manner which could have potentially saved a life."

It's rare for the Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC) to hold this kind of public hearing.

The commission said that despite repeated attempts over the past year, the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal — an advisor to the military's top soldier on police matters — still has not disclosed information it requested about the case. A public interest hearing gives the watchdog the power to summon witnesses to testify and compel the military to disclose information, the commission said.

Tremblay also wrote in her decision that this kind of hearing can ensure there's accountability and broader systemic issues about responding to suicides is addressed.

Orton died after "the challenges of his youth and the demons of his past finally overtook him," his obituary says.

He served in the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry including a tour in Afghanistan where he was involved in counter-insurgence operations, according to his LinkedIn.

He later transferred to the intelligence branch in Ottawa as an advisor, his obituary said, and was part of a one-year tour in Kuwait with Operation IMPACT. That mission's aim is to build up military capabilities in the Middle East.

Orton's wife filed a complaint with the watchdog last year saying she told military police on April 21, 2024 she was concerned about her husband's safety after receiving "disturbing communications" from him.

The complaint alleges that military police "repeatedly dismissed her concerns" and when they finally agreed to check on her husband stood outside his house for 45 minutes before going inside, Tremblay's decision to conduct a public interest hearing said.

The complaint also said when military police found Orton's body, they called civilian police who discovered Orton was still alive and began first aid, Tremblay's decision said.

His wife told the commission that he was transported by ambulance to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Military police did not go to the hospital or notify Orton's wife about his death, she told the commission.

The complaint also said military police misplaced Orton's suicide note and failed to collect other evidence in the house. Orton's wife also reported struggling to get information updates from military police.

"She also noted that the military police detachment Commanding Officer sent a priest to provide her with support without asking her permission and even though she had made known that she was Jewish," Tremblay wrote in her decision.

None of the allegations have not been proven in court.

Orton's spouse also filed a complaint with the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal office in June 2024. The office closed the file without investigating and instead said it would be more appropriate to deal with it through an ongoing criminal investigation, Tremblay wrote in her decision.

Tremblay sent a letter saying that a criminal investigation is not a substitute for an investigation into a complaint about military police conduct and urged them reconsider. But they declined, Tremblay wrote.

The MPCC said it received confirmation in March that the military's criminal investigation was complete, but the forces still has not shared documents related to the case. The commission said in the past, the military cited the ongoing criminal investigation as a reason for not disclosing information.

CBC News asked the defence department for the results of the criminal investigation and it's response to the allegations, but has not yet received a response.

A date for the hearing which will be virtual has not yet been released.

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