Relatives of victims of homicide or kidnapping in Mexico are angry at the inadequate assistance provided by Global Affairs Canada for its nationals in a foreign country.
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The murder of young Saguenéan Victor Masson last spring highlighted significant gaps among the services offered by Ottawa in other countries and more particularly in Mexico.
Victor Masson, 27, from Saguenay, was killed while passing through Puerto Escondido, Mexico, on May 15, 2023.
Photo taken from Victor Masson’s Facebook page
“Not only do families have to go through terrible emotions, but they also have to manage all the administrative tasks associated with the death of a loved one abroad with very limited support,” notes the general director of the Association of Families of Murdered or Disappeared Persons (AFPAD), Anie Samson.
Administrative maze
In interview at NewspaperÉdouard Masson, Victor’s brother, confided that he was “ashamed of being Canadian” after having experienced many pitfalls in obtaining concrete help from the government.
This reignited the anger of other people who asked for help from AFPAD like Annie St-Onge.
Christine St-Onge, her sister, was killed in December 2018 by her then-partner during a trip to Los Cabos, Mexico. Pierre Bergeron then took his own life after a hasty return home.
Christine St-Onge was killed by her partner during a trip to Mexico in 2018
Archive photo provided by the Sûreté du Québec
“One morning, several days after the death was confirmed, Global Affairs Canada called me to tell me that my sister was going to be buried in Mexico,” recalls M.me St-Onge. I was stunned. […] It was a very complicated negotiation between Global Affairs, the family and Mexico, which ultimately agreed to make an exception. »
In slow motion
She says she spent several days without getting any news from the government, wondering what was going to happen to her sister. It was ultimately the funeral home with which the family did business that came back with news “24 to 48 hours” before Global Affairs.
“It’s a transmission belt that works in slow motion and which is extremely difficult to keep track of. […] You need to have someone who can serve as an interface between the range of services that are involved. »
Lack of resources
Édouard Masson maintains that it was rather on the spot that the setbacks of his people began. The search for a credible lawyer and discussions with the police are not simple and even less so in another language.
“Once on the ground, we felt that people wanted to help us, but an embassy representative told us ‘we don’t have the necessary resources to do what we would like’,” he says. .
Édouard Masson is worried about the continuation of the legal proceedings linked to the murder of his brother.
Screenshot TVA News
The director of AFPAD would like the federal government to be able to provide the services of an interpreter in its embassies in countries where the two official languages are not spoken “as the employees are, in the majority, locals”.
In a written statement, Global Affairs Canada says its top priority is “to support Canadians and their loved ones in these difficult circumstances,” even if the government must respect many conditions in foreign countries.