Greater financial assistance is requested so that families can participate – lawyers in support – in coroner’s inquests in very specific cases: those relating to people who have lost their lives during police interventions.
Families of young men who died in such circumstances are among those making this request to the Quebec government.
Among them are the parents of Koray Kevin Celik, who died on March 6, 2017 when SPVM police officers tried to subdue her at the family home.
The 28-year-old died in front of his parents. They therefore want to participate in the coroner’s inquest, which will take place this fall, to help bring out the truth, said Mr. Celik at a press conference on Thursday morning in front of the Montreal courthouse.
But it is a heavy additional financial burden for families who retain the services of a lawyer, he explained.
The new regulation proposed by the provincial government provides assistance, which is limited to $20,000 for a single member of the family of the deceased relative, with some exceptions. It only applies to coroner’s inquests following an independent investigation conducted by the Independent Investigations Bureau (BEI), which intervenes in particular when deaths occur in the context of a police operation.
However, for the police, the State is very generous, remarks Mr. Celik who wonders: why such a bias?
“Why does the state believe the scales of justice should tip in favor of the police? »
The League for Rights and Freedoms and the Coalition Against Police Repression and Abuse (CRAP) — along with some 60 other civil society organizations — had been campaigning for such assistance for some time and now want the settlement to be revised upwards.
Because a maximum of $20,000 will not relieve the families of the financial burden that weighs on their shoulders, will not guarantee them adequate representation during the coroner’s inquest and, above all, will not respect the equity between the various participants.
When the police are an “interested party” in such an inquest — a status granted by the coroner which then allows them to file evidence, present witnesses and ask questions — “all of its legal fees are paid by the state “, underlined Alexandre Popovic, spokesperson for the CRAP.
Why isn’t there the same treatment for families? he asked. “Why give less to those who have lost the most? »
In Ontario and Manitoba, families can receive up to $90,000, he added.
He points out that $20,000 is “little” when a coroner’s inquest can last for weeks. The groups also denounce that the scale applied is that of legal aid: they are also asking for another funding model. Their criticisms were forwarded to the Ministry of Public Security, hoping to change its mind before the final version of the project was adopted.
The purpose of a coroner’s inquest is to find out what happened so it won’t happen again and to let the public know. But for that, you have to be prepared, in order to ask the right questions, insists Mr. Popovic.
This request for a rule change is in the interest of the public, in the interest of all, believes Lynda Khelil of the League of Rights.