Witness at suicide probe says his impartiality was questioned by military brass
OTTAWA - A soldier assigned to help relatives of an Afghan vet who committed suicide says his impartiality was questioned by the military as he advocated on the family's behalf.
Maj. Stewart Parkinson is testifying before the Military Police Complaints Commission hearing into how the military handled Cpl. Stuart Langridge's death.
Ten months after Langridge killed himself, Parkinson sent a terse email to his superiors wondering why a board of inquiry hadn't been convened.
The hearing was told the email said the family was being "deceived, misled and intentionally marginalized" by the military and needed the inquiry to be called.
Parkinson testified that the response he received questioned whether he'd become too close to the family.
But he says he was just doing his job and trying to get the military to do its own.
In addition to a board of inquiry helping answer questions around Langridge's death, it would also allow the family to receive his personal effects.
