N.B. doctor accused in COVID-19 outbreak sues province, RCMP, Facebook – CBC.ca

The former New Brunswick doctor who was accused of breaking COVID-19 rules by failing to isolate and of being the source of an outbreak in the northern region in 2020 is suing the province, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Facebook Inc., also known as Meta Platform Inc.

Lawyers for Dr. Jean-Robert Ngola announced Thursday they have filed their claim with the Court of Queen’s Bench in Moncton — six months after they announced their intention to do so.

The document alleges, among other things, “institutional anti-Black systemic racism,” abuse of power, negligence, defamation, malicious prosecution and a breach of the doctor’s charter rights.

“We expect the battle to be a needless and protracted long fight. But we are ready for it,” Toronto-based lawyer Joel Etienne told reporters during an online news conference.

Ngola was labelled by some as “patient zero” after he tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after driving across the border overnight to pick up his four-year-old daughter in Montreal because her mother had to travel to Africa for a funeral.

During a May 27, 2020, news conference, Premier Blaine Higgs announced that a medical professional in their 50s had travelled to Quebec for personal reasons, “was not forthcoming about their reasons for travel upon returning to New Brunswick and they did not self-isolate as a result.”

Higgs never publicly named Ngola, but he blamed what was then a cluster of COVID-19 cases in the Campbellton region and a resurgence of the coronavirus in the province on the “irresponsible individual” who returned to work at the Campbellton Regional Hospital and treated patients for two weeks.

The outbreak claimed two lives, infected dozens and forced that part of New Brunswick back into a more restrictive “orange” phase of recovery.

Ngola, who is from Congo, faced racist threats, was suspended by the Vitalité Health Network, was criminally investigated by the RCMP and charged for breaching the province’s Emergency Measures Act by allegedly failing to quarantine when he returned from Quebec.

Last June, after Crown prosecutors withdrew the charge, Nogola’s lawyers called on Higgs for a third time to apologize and when he again refused, filed notice of their intention to sue.

They did not take any questions from media during the online news conference. But when asked about the reasons behind the delay in filing in a followup email, Etienne said only, “discussions with unnamed parties.”

Higgs did not respond to a request for comment. He is not named as a defendant.

Department of Justice and Public Safety spokesperson Geoffrey Downey said, “We don’t comment on cases or potential cases before the courts.”

New Brunswick RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Hans J. Ouellette directed inquiries to the national headquarters in Ottawa. 

“To date, the RCMP has not been served with this lawsuit, so we cannot comment at this time,” spokesperson Robin Percival said in an email.

Facebook/Meta officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Moncton court staff confirmed they received the notice of action and statement of claim Thursday afternoon.

Ngola, who now practises in Quebec and attended the news conference, is seeking unspecified compensation and punitive damages.

Moncton-based lawyer Christian Michaud and Moncef Lakouas, president of the New Brunswick Multicultural Association, also attended.