A news conference with Nadine Machiskinic’s family in Regina on April 3 was held at the same location of today’s announcement. Photo by Manfred Joehnck.
A coalition of groups will join the aunt of Nadine Machiskinic today to call for a civilian oversight committee to investigate complaints against police.
Last week, Regina’s police chief announced the RCMP will review how Regina police handled the laundry chute death of Nadine Machiskinic. It was welcome news for her aunt Delores Stevenson but she says it still involves police investigating police. She said she hopes the work will be thorough and unbiased.
“All I can do is hope for the best outcome and hope this team will have integrity to do the right thing when they review the facts,” she said.
Ideally Stevenson would like a re-investigation, not just a review. Ever since her niece fell 10 storeys to her death down the laundry chute of the Regina Delta Hotel in 2015 she has been pushing for answers. Her persistence resulted in an inquest into the death, which was held in March. The inquest concluded the manner of death was “Undetermined” contradicting the intimal coroner’s report which listed it as accidental. The inquest also found missteps in the police investigation, a 60-hour delay in notifying police of the death and a host of other problems.
Stevenson has also filed a lawsuit against the hotel.
“They have big part in all of this as well and it is sad and unfortunate that they want to look the other way,” she said.
The Saskatchewan Coalition Against Racism and Colonialism No More will join Stevenson this afternoon to call for a civilian oversight committee. Richelle Dubois will also be there. Her 15-year-old son Haven drowned in a small creek in east Regina in May of 2015. She has never been satisfied with the police investigation.