ME concedes it was a mistake to declare the death of a respected Alberta Métis woman a suicide

by Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 

(ANNews) – When respected Fort McMurray-based Métis entrepreneur and artist Lisa Marie Bourque unexpectedly died in an April vehicle collision, Alberta’s chief medical examiner originally categorized it as a suicide. 

But after Bourque’s family requested a fatality inquiry, the examiner changed the manner of death to accidental—a move the family’s lawyer said is unprecedented in his experience. 

“I have not seen this type of amendment by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner before in my years in legal practice and so this in my opinion is an extraordinary outcome to our request for a fatality inquiry into the circumstances of Lisa’s passing,” lawyer Alex Yiu wrote in an email to Bourque’s common law spouse, Manferd Bishop, who provided it to Alberta Native News. 

Bourque died on April 27 after she crashed into a water truck that was parked on Highway 69, with the immediate cause of death listed in the coroner’s report as “blunt chest injuries.” She was 47. 

As the founder of the Fort McMurray Métis Trading Post and the New Dawn Métis Women’s representative for Region 1 of the Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA), Bourque was a high-profile member of the Métis community in Alberta and a regular fixture at cultural events in the region.

 “You talk to anybody from Fort Chip, McMurray, Anzac, Conklin, Janvier, Lac La Biche, everybody knows her. There isn’t one person who thought she committed suicide,” said Bishop, who owns a towing company in Fort Mac.  

When Bourque died, the MNA issued a statement on Facebook calling Bourque “a beacon of light, tirelessly advocating for Indigenous rights and sharing her beautiful culture with unwavering pride.”

“Her absence leaves a void that will be felt deeply at every gathering, every event, every moment where her infectious smile and boundless energy once filled the room,” the statement added.

In a separate statement, McMurray Métis Local 1935 described Bourque as a “a champion for sharing her culture and advocating for the rights of all Indigenous people.”

“She was at many events, whether it was to celebrate or advocate. Always beaming with pride for her culture, often seen standing and clapping at the back of the room while kids jigged, or models showcased Indigenous fashions,” read the statement.

“Her absence will be felt at every artisan market, as her smile from ear to ear won’t be there to welcome us in.”

Nancy Critchley, a close friend of Bourque’s who met her when they were both vendors at Treaty Days in Fort McKay several years ago, told Alberta Native News that Bourque “would have never taken her own life.”

“There’s no way, not one speck of cell in my body, that believes that she committed suicide,” said Critchley, who is supporting Bourque’s family in their efforts to get answers about her death.  

Bishop noted that the medical officer’s finding of suicide had a practical impact on his family, precluding him from filing an insurance claim to help pay for her funeral, since the accident was deemed to be Bourque’s own fault.

Critchley, who like Bourque is Métis, said she suspects the suicide designation was an effort to conceal how state negligence caused the death of an Indigenous woman. 

The only reason the medical examiner changed the manner of death, she added, was because Bourque’s family asked for a fatality inquiry, which she described as “covering up a cover up.” 

Bishop, who isn’t Indigenous, doesn’t think the suicide designation was an attempt to cover anything up, but the result of the limited information the RCMP provided to the medical examiner.

The original medical examiner’s report, which Bishop provided to Alberta Native News, cited Bourque’s “major depression” and anxiety, the presence of antidepressants in her system, clear road conditions the day of her accident and a lack of brake marks on the road as reasons her “manner of death is best classified as suicide.” 

The autopsy report, citing multiple eyewitnesses, noted that Bourque “veered from her lane into the lane with the parked truck, and made no attempt to swerve away or slow down.” 

Conceding that Bourque struggled with anxiety, Critchley questioned the medical examiner’s conclusion that Bourque was severely depressed to the extent that she would deliberately crash her car. 

“I know a lot of people who are majorly depressed,” said Critchley. “My friend Lisa was not majorly depressed.” 

On Nov. 14, lawyer Yiu sent a letter to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) requesting a fatality inquiry into Bourque’s death, which often takes years to conclude, on Bishop’s behalf. 

In a Dec. 2 response to Yiu, chief medical examiner Dr. Akmal Coetzee-Khan said he conducted a “complete review of our office’s investigation” into Bourque’s death, adding that he’s received “several letters … from friends and community members” echoing Yiu’s request. 

Upon reviewing the investigation into Bourque’s death with Dr. Daniel Smyk, who wrote the original medical examiner’s report, the physicians concluded “that based on the balance of probabilities, the death occurred accidentally,” Coetzee-Khan wrote to Yiu.  

An amended medical examiner’s report now notes that since completing its initial investigation, the OCME “received additional collateral information and background social history regarding Ms. Bourque which prompted a review of the findings and conclusions.”

“There are still some aspects of the collision that are unclear, but given the new information, the manner of death has been amended to accidental,” Smyk wrote. 

While the original autopsy report said that Bourque “made no attempt to swerve away or slow down,” the amended version, citing an RCMP Technical Collision Investigation Report, noted that Bourque did move her foot from the accelerator pedal to the brake pedal, but by the time she did it was too late. 

Bishop noted that there were no traffic cones surrounding the stationary water truck, which would have provided an advance warning to Bourque to slow down. 

He added that police told him that there’s no legal requirement for there to be traffic cones or signage to protect drivers. 

Section 194 of Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Code requires the use of “lane control devices” if workers are put in danger of highway traffic. It doesn’t deal with risks to drivers. 

“I’ve towed for just under 50 years, I’ve been in McMurray just about 52 years now,” said Bishop. “The laws have to change.”