The Second Anniversary of Val’s Death

Valerie Kovacs Wolski
1969 – 2011

As we mark the second anniversary of her death, Valerie has been in the news again the past week.

First came the report from Occupational Health and Safety’s investigation into Val’s death and its finding that no government agency would be held accountable for her death. This was obviously a great disappointment. There will still be an inquiry, but an inquiry cannot assign blame.

A few days later, Val’s husband Craig and her mother Elizabeth initiated two lawsuits against the Alberta government and the Department of Persons with Developmental Disabilities. (To learn more about the lawsuits and to see the full text of Craig’s statement of claim, click on the NEWS tab above).

A silver lining in the midst of this gloomy news was learning that the 2013 Valerie Wolski Memorial Award will be given to Julie Sawchuk of Camrose, who is a fourth-year Augustana student.  We’ll post an update about this in a couple of weeks, after Augustana’s annual scholarship banquet. (To learn more about this award, click the  SCHOLARSHIP tab above.)

PDD Appeal Hearing Update, 2

The PDD appeal began today in Edmonton, in an undisclosed location.

We are pleased to see coverage of this hearing (or, more accurately, lack of information about the hearing) in the Edmonton Journal and by CBC Edmonton today. Both news agencies attempted to attend the hearing. (Click the NEWS tab above to read this week’s articles and editorials).

Please consider writing a letter to the editor of the Journal to let the paper know people are following this case and looking for answers.

PDD Appeal Hearing Update

From what we understand, the requests of Val’s family and friends to attend the upcoming PDD appeal hearing are being denied. We are hopeful that OH&S is making the best decision in the context of its long-term investigation into Val’s death. In the meantime, those who wish to take action can continue to write to their MLAs and local newspapers. (See the post “A Time for Advocacy” for more on this.

A Time for Advocacy

This past year has been a time to mourn Val’s death. And while the grieving is not over, the time has now come to advocate for changes to be made as a result of her death.

Last summer, we learned that staff in the government department responsible for people with developmental disabilities (PDD) knew that Terrence Saddleback was violent and posed a risk to women. They didn’t pass that information on to Val or her boss.

As a result of its investigation into Val’s death, Occupational Health and Safety ordered PDD to change its safety practices in the region in which the paperwork regarding Terrence Saddleback was held (only one of six PPD regions in the province).

This week we learned that PDD is appealing that order from OH&S. According to PDD, the grounds for the appeal are “confidential”; however, it appears that the appeal is an attempt by PDD to avoid blame in Val’s death and–most frighteningly–to avoid implementing changes that would prevent something similar from happening to other healthcare workers.

In today’s editorial about this week’s news, Paula Simons rightly asks why PDD would be unwilling to implement practices that would keep workers safe.

The appeal hearing will take place from February 29 – March 1 in Edmonton. We ask you–whether you knew Val personally or whether you simply want to ensure that what happened to her doesn’t happen to others–to contact government officials, urging them to

a) press for responsibility to be assigned in the bureaucratic communication failure that led to Val’s death

b) require PDD to make necessary changes in policies and procedures to ensure that what happened to Val doesn’t happen again.

We can’t let this happen again to someone else’s wife, sister, or daughter.

The minister in charge of Occupational Health and Safety is the Honourable Dave Hancock. The minster in charge of the Persons with Developmental Disabilities program is the Honourable George VanderBurg. Click here for their addresses or to view a sample letter that you can use or adapt. You might also want to contact your local MLA.