Mother of N.B. man found dead has message for premier: 'Your province is in crisis'
The mother of a man found dead last week in Moncton, N.B., is calling for change after what she calls a series of systemic failures led to his body being found in a public washroom.
Luke Anthony Landry, 35, was a father, a musician and a devout Christian, his mother, Mary MacDonald, said Monday. And he needed more help than he got, she said.
"Something has to change, and it has to change quickly because we're going into winter," MacDonald said in an interview from her home in Prince George, B.C. "And my son, his name should mean something. He's not a statistic, he's not a homeless person only."
She had a pointed message for New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs: "Your province is in crisis, and if it isn't acted upon right away, more people are going to die."
The premier did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Landry was released from incarceration on the morning of Nov. 21, with no money, no winter clothes and nowhere to go, MacDonald said, adding that her son had grappled with an addiction for years. That afternoon, he survived an overdose at a supervised consumption site, where staff were unable to find him a warm place to spend the night.
He died that night, and his body was found in a washroom outside Moncton City Hall that is heated just enough to keep pipes from freezing. RCMP misidentified his body and told another family they had lost their son.
"My son needed a spot on the floor, and somebody to watch him to see that he was OK," MacDonald said. "That did not happen. And it should have happened somewhere."
MacDonald said she understands that staff at the consumption site did everything they could to find him a spot. "But if there's somebody that vulnerable, there should be someplace that he could have been able to be," she said.
"He went the right way; he went out and asked for help," she added.
As for the RCMP, MacDonald said she cannot understand how so many things went wrong. "Why didn't they just check fingerprints?" she asked, noting that her son's prints were likely on file as he had just been released from custody.
Donna Price, who was mistakenly told by the RCMP that it was her son and not Landry who had died, says she thinks the error stemmed from a disregard for unhoused people. She is calling for better supports and more compassion for Moncton's vulnerable population.
As of Monday afternoon, MacDonald said the RCMP had not apologized to her for their mistake. She found out her son had died from a friend of his, and then gleaned details through media reports. She said she had to phone the police herself for confirmation that it was her son; they did not phone her.
Erick Laming, an assistant professor in criminology at Trent University who studies police oversight, said the RCMP mistake raises several concerns.
"I understand people make mistakes and errors," Laming said in an email Tuesday. "But this is a massive error made by the police. It calls into question systemic issues relating to how certain people -- living and deceased -- are dealt with by authorities."
He said the case also highlights gaps in police oversight. Nova Scotia's police watchdog agency said in an email Tuesday that it won't investigate the error because the incident falls outside its mandate, which largely involves investigating police-involved death, injury, sexual assault and domestic violence.
Laming said oversight teams need more resources so they can be less rigid about their mandates. "This might be a good opportunity for provincial governments to invest more in these police oversight agencies," he said. "A case like this should not happen to begin with."
Cpl. Hans Ouellette with the New Brunswick RCMP says the force may investigate their error, but he said he could not comment further as the case may wind up in court; Price has said she intends to file a lawsuit.
MacDonald said Landry had two young daughters who loved him. He also had two brothers. All are now grief-stricken, she said. He tried many times to overcome his addiction, "but it was stronger than he was," she said.
"But that's not a reason for this to be swept under the rug," she added. "This was done wrong from the get-go."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 29, 2022.
Correction
This is a corrected story. A previous version misspelled the first name of Blaine Higgs.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
U.S. vetoes a widely supported UN resolution backing full membership for Palestine
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
N.L. gardening store revives 19th century seed-packing machine
Technology from the 19th century has been brought out of retirement at a Newfoundland gardening store, as staff look for all the help they can get to fill orders during a busy season.