Saskatchewan families are now able to gain access to parts of police files about their loved ones.
Municipal police forces are now included in the Freedom of Information Act in Saskatchewan, allowing the public to request more information about a police case.
Richelle Dubois is hoping the change, which came into effect on Jan. 1, will help her learn more about the death of her 14-year-old son Haven. He was found dead in about a metre of water in an east Regina creek on May 20, 2015. Now, she’s planning to request more information about the case.
“We were wanting to see how we go about getting the file that was sent from the (Regina Police Service) to the coroner,” Dubois told CTV News. “That’s the file, we’ve been asking for that from the very beginning.”
A coroner’s report said Haven’s death was accidental. But, Dubois still has some questions.
“The (Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations) is involved as well, so I’m waiting to hear back from them and to see which direction we should take,” Dubois said. “I know it’s a big file.”
The people involved in the case must give written consent to allow access to their information. Police then have 30 days to provide a response.
Since the change came into effect at the start of the year, police said they have seen a constant stream of requests.
“We are experiencing quite a few right now,” said Jo Baumgartner, executive director of corporate services with the Regina Police Service. “We’ve had in excess of one a day since January 1 and some of them are very resource-intensive to deal with.”
So far, only one new staff member has been hired to take on the requests.
Police said individuals are only able to access portions of the case files that include their information. To make a request, people need to provide their name, address, phone number or email address, along with a $20 application fee.
Dubois said it’s a small price to pay after years of trying to get to the bottom of her son’s death.
“It’s like trying to get blood from a rock,” she said. “It’s not easy at all. I think if the Freedom of Information Act was in effect years ago, I wouldn’t have had to camp outside the cop shop.”
She plans to have the request filed by Friday.
