PUBLISHER'S NOTE: "Must Listen alert: CBC 'The Current' interview with Lianne Gagnon Thibeault who, along her family, was thrown into horrific distress because of the insidious roles played by former doctor Charles Smith, the Hospital for Sick Children SCAN Team, top officials of Ontario's Chief Coroner's Office, and the local Children's Aid Society; The interview coincides with release of CBC journalist John Chipman's powerful, revealing book 'Death in the Family' - soon to be reviewed on this Blog - published within the last few days by Penguin/Random House; (As the cover reads: "Charles Smith was a zealous pediatric pathologist. They were families mourning the loss of a child. He was incompetent. They became suspects. He was believed. They were not.") The CBC confirmed for me that Chipman is interviewed for part of the show. (Lianne's story is the story of a family who relentlessly fought back against Smith, the hospital and the blindly, oppressive agents of the state. HL); A transcript of the program will be available later in the day.
Broadcast date: Thursday January 12, 2016. 9.00 AM;
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Death in the Family: (Publication information);
http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/228817/death-in-the-family-by-john-chipman/9780385680844/
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Means of access: 'Listen live' feature: Turn to the current's web page at:
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent
To access a transcript of the segment choose from the following links:
- On the segment page just below the main image in the body of the post.
- On the episode page for the day.
- In the archive, attached to each day on our Past Episodes page.
- On the main page of the day of broadcast after 5pm EST.
- There is a Print option, if you don't want to read the transcript online.
- And you can also Share the transcript.
BACKGROUND: (An overview of Nicholas' case prepared by Goudge Inquiry staff);
Nicholas was born in Sudbury, Ontario. He died on November 30, 1995, at the age of 11 months. That day, Nicholas was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His mother, Lianne Gagnon, reported that Nicholas had crawled under a sewing table and had fallen from a standing to a sitting position before losing consciousness. She assumed that he had hit his head on the under- side of the sewing machine. On December 1, 1995, a pathologist at the local hospital performed the autopsy. The pathologist concluded that the cause of death was undetermined and that the findings were consistent with sudden infant death syndrome, provided all other aspects of the investigation were negative. In November 1996, the regional coroner referred the case to the Paediatric Death Review Committee, which assigned the initial review of the case to Dr. Smith. On January 24, 1997, Dr. Smith produced a consultation report, attributing Nicholas’ death to blunt head injury. On June 25, 1997, Nicholas’ body was exhumed, and Dr. Smith performed a second autopsy. He concluded that the cause of death was cerebral edema. Ultimately, the Crown and the police did not pursue any criminal charges in relation to Nicholas’ death. However, in 1998, the local children’s aid society initiated proceedings in respect of Ms. Gagnon’s second child. The procedings concluded on March 25, 1999, when the children’s aid society withdrew its application after it was provided with an independent expert report by Dr. Mary Case."
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the
Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my
previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put
considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith
and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic
pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses
on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/
