NOT GUILTY by reason of ethnicity;
A doctor accused of being at the centre of the COVID-19 outbreak in the Campbellton region in May that claimed two lives, infected dozens and forced that northern part of New Brunswick back into the orange phase of recovery is facing a charge under the provincial Emergency Measures Act.
Dr. Jean Robert Ngola has been issued an appearance notice to attend Campbellton provincial court on Oct. 26 under Section 24(1)(b) of the act for alleged failure to comply with a direction, order or requirement, his lawyer, Joël Etienne, confirmed to CBC on Sunday.
It stems from an RCMP investigation following a complaint filed by the provincial government and the Vitalité Health Network on May 30 “related to an individual who may have violated the mandatory order under the current Emergency Measures Act by travelling outside of N.B., and not following the guidelines of self-isolating upon their return,” RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jullie Rogers-Marsh said in an emailed statement.
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Etienne contends Ngola, who is from Congo, is “absolutely innocent of any wrongdoing. … At all times, he conducted himself correctly in fact and in law, with the utmost diligence.”
His defence team, which now includes constitutional lawyer Christian Michaud, who has successfully argued before the Supreme Court of Canada and established victories in minority linguistic rights in New Brunswick, plans to initiate legal proceedings against the provincial government and Vitalité for what Etienne described as “misconduct.”
“The singling out of a racialized medical worker by a premier and his government, the calling out to criminalize a racialized medical worker by a premier and his government, the scapegoating of a racialized medical worker by a premier and his government is tantamount to conduct unprecedented in North American history,” he said. “No other jurisdiction has ever done what New Brunswick has done in these matters.”
