Siblings file $1M lawsuit over brother’s jail death

A 62-year-old man with a substance abuse disorder was locked in a jail rife with drug trafficking, no help for addiction, and little supervision, a just-filed lawsuit claims.

The jail’s culture and methods of operation prohibited potentially life-saving measures, the lawsuit adds.

Those were among the factors that led to the death of Clayton Bissonnette, 62, in March 2021 at Elgin-Middlesex Detention Center (EMDC), a statement of claim filed in court May 25 alleges.

His estate and three of his siblings are seeking a combined $1.1 million in damages, claiming the province failed in its legal obligations to protect and keep Bissonnette safe.

The statement of claim includes allegations not yet proven or disproven in court. The province has not yet filed a statement of defence.

The Ministry of the Solicitor General has received the statement of claim and is reviewing it, spokesperson Greg Flood said Friday.

The life and death of Bissonnette, and the struggles of his Indigenous family to re-unite and reconcile after the Sixties Scoop, were the subject of a recent London Free Press project, The Boy with Two Names.

Bissonnette’s divided life was marked by his use of the name Danny Armstrong, given by his father after his mother left the family. For much of his life, he was known by both names.

Four of his younger siblings were adopted to white families in the Sixties Scoop, the name given to the removal of Indigenous children from their families from the mid-1960s to the 1980s.

An estimated 20,000 children were placed into foster homes, institutions and adoption to non-Indigenous families.

Many children suffered abuse and discrimination, and even those in supportive families struggled with losing their identity and connection to their heritage and biological family.

Under family law, siblings can be entitled to damages for the loss of guidance and companionship through the death of a loved one.

“Guidance is when you have decisions to make in life, you bounce it off the people that are close to you,” London lawyer Kevin Egan said. He is representing the Bissonnette siblings and estate, as he has dozens of other relatives of deceased inmates.

“His siblings have lost the opportunity to confer with him. Companionship is the natural love and affection that you share with one another. That’s gone.”

Two of Bissonnette’s siblings spoke in The Free Press story about the difficulties in connecting with their older brother, how they had reached a good place in their relationships, and how important he was to them and their continued search for answers.

The Sixties Scoop and its impact add another layer to the losses suffered, Egan said.

“They had already lost a lot. The reuniting was very important to all of them because they had missed it all in their childhood. An opportunity for them to expand on that sibling relationship evaporated with his death.”

Bissonnette was arrested in February 2020 for driving while impaired by drugs. He was taking several prescription medications for pain, anxiety and depression.

On March 28, 2021, he was sentenced to 120 days in jail. A search at admission showed he had no drugs on him, the lawsuit alleges.

His history of trauma and his substance abuse disorder was known to EMDC administration and supervisors, the lawsuit claims.

But he received no treatment or other help with his addiction, the statement of claim says.

In March 2021, the province imposed COVID protocols throughout its jails and detention centres, isolating newly admitted inmates and separating inmates as much as possible.

But Bissonnette was locked in a cell along with one or more other prisoners, the lawsuit alleviated.

“There was little to no supervision on the range. Drugs were easily trafficked within the range. Because of the lack of security and supervision, Clayton found drugs while on the range,” the statement of claim says.

During the evening of March 23, 2021, Bissonnette could be heard making gurgling noises and showing other signs of drug toxicity, the lawsuit claims.

But there was no system in place for prisoners to report, without punishment, suspected drug overuse or medical distress resulting from drug use, the statement says.

Nor were naloxone or other lifesaving devices available to prisoners to help in case of an overdose, the statement of claim says.

The province’s actions subjected Bissonnette to “cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment,” contrary to Section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and deprived him of the right to “security of the person” guaranteed in Section 7, the lawsuit contend.

Since 2009, 22 EMDC inmates have died. Bissonnette was the 18th.

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