Reilly And Her Family Are the Victims Here. They Should Have Their Legal Costs At An Inquest Into Her Death Covered By The Province

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Why should the victim’s family have to pay? Why, in all fairness, should they?

That is the appeal we should all be making to Niagara’s provincial members of parliament – Liberals Jim Bradley and Kim Craitor, Tory leader Tim Hudak and NDP justice critic Peter Kormos – and through them to the province’s Liberal government as a whole on behalf of the family of the late Reilly Anzovino.

It is an appeal that must be made soon because an Ontario coroner’s inquest into the circumstances surrounding Reilly’s death could begin as soon as this coming February and the cost for her to have proper representation at the inquest could be substantial.

Reilly, as many of you may recall, was the Fort Erie, Ontario teen who was involved in a traffic accident a year ago this coming Boxing Day on a stretch of Highway 3 in her hometown. The 18-year old, home from college for the holidays, died during or shortly after an ambulance trip to a hospital emergency room in Welland.

The question that his been haunting her family, friends and many residents in south Niagara ever since is this. Would Reilly still be alive today had the Niagara Health System, the board responsible for managing most of the region’s hospitals, had not converted the emergency rooms at what are left of the hospitals in Fort Erie and Port Colborne into “critical care centres” that no longer admit some of the most seriously injured or ill patients?

That question is the bases for the inquest to be held in Fort Erie and called last year by Ontario’s chief coroner and no doubt the Niagara Health System will be represented there with one or more attorneys and other witnesses, paid for by the taxpayers, to defend its role in this case.

Niagara’s regional government, which operates ambulance and paramedic services, will likely have representation at the inquest which will obviously be paid for by the taxpayers and so too may municipal firefighters who also responded to the accident on that icy December 26 night.

Unfortunately for the Anzovino family, they do not appear to qualify for any kind of intervener funding from the province to have legal representation at the inquest, according to Kim Craitor, the Liberal MPP for the Niagara Falls riding (including Fort Erie) who has been trying to help the family get funding. This appears to be the case, added Craitor, under old rules for funding interveners at inquests.

“These rules have been there for a while,” said Craitor, “and they need to be changed, not only for this family, but so that no other family has to go through something like this.”

The Anzovino family should be accorded the same consideration as the NHS or any other party being represented at the inquest and have their costs, which could amount to as much as $40,000 or more given past cases, paid for by the taxpayers, concluded Craitor.  “It is only fair.”

Indeed, it is also in the best interest of the public in this region and others that the Anoints have the best representation possible at the inquest to question any problems in our health care system that need fixing. After all, this inquest is not just about the tragic death of one much beloved girl. It is about decisions that were made about emergency room services in our region that could have tragic consequences for other individuals and their families in the future.

Please go online and search out the contact information for your provincial member of parliament, and let them know that the rules should be changed so that this family, that has been victimized once already, is not victimized again with legal bills.

Members of the south Niagara community have already been doing some fundraising for the family’s legal costs.  A Christmas concert was held in the Fort Erie area earlier this month to raise money for the inquest, but there is still a long way to go. 

If you wish to make a donation, you can email Joy Russell, a member of the Yellow Shirt Brigade (a south Niagara citizens group lobbying for better hospital services) for more information. Her email address is jbarton52@cogeco.ca .

NAL is also including below a recent exchange in the provincial legislation between Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath and the province’s Attorney General Christopher Bentley on this same matter.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My question is for the Premier. In late 2009, Reilly Anzovino was seriously injured in a car accident and subsequently died. Following this tragedy, the Premier agreed that a coroner’s inquest should examine the factors contributing to Reilly’s death. The inquest is moving ahead, but the Anzovino family has learned that they have no access to legal funding, leaving them to shoulder the burden of expenses in addition to the emotional toll of reliving Reilly’s death.

Will the Premier ensure that the Anzovino family is provided with the assistance that they need through this process?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: To the Attorney General.

Hon. Christopher Bentley: I know my colleague, the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, will want the opportunity to pursue this matter. Coroner’s investigations are conducted independently. The coroner has jurisdiction and the coroner makes various decisions about participation. The issues that the member raises are important ones. I will make sure they’re brought to the attention of my colleague, who will bring them to the attention of the coroner in due course and will attempt to find—will make sure that they’re brought to the attention of the coroner so that they can be dealt with in a responsible and respectful way.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: The Anzovino inquest is a matter of public interest. Reilly Anzovino’s death was tragic and many questions remain about the contributing circumstances and what should be changed for the future. Reilly’s family has, luckily, a pro bono legal representative, and they’re only asking for a modest amount to cover some of the additional fees that they’re going to have to pay out. Funds are available, and they would ensure that the family can actively participate in the inquest process.
Will the Premier, the minister, the other minister that he indicated, all ensure that the financial assistance is approved, that this government makes sure that the right thing is done for the Anzovino family?

Hon. Christopher Bentley:  Our sympathy goes out to the family participating in an enormously difficult, emotionally wrenching and trying situation. The leader of the third party raises an important point. All members of this House would want every appropriate measure to be taken. I appreciate the leader of the third party raising this with me. I’ll make sure this is brought to the attention, immediately, of those it needs to be. Again, our sympathy and our hearts, in this very difficult time, go out to the family that is looking to participate in what must be an enormously emotionally wrenching and trying situation.

(Click on Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to our greater binational Niagara region.)