The federal lawyer who tearfully apologized for an error that has delayed the Braidwood inquiry into Robert Dziekanski's death has withdrawn from the file.
"It's [my]personal choice," Helen Roberts of Justice Canada said in a terse comment relayed yesterday through a spokesperson.
A department statement said "Ms. Roberts is now working on other significant legal files for the government."
Her departure was effective on June 29.
Another lawyer, Mitchell Taylor, has replaced her as lead counsel for the team representing the Canadian government at the inquiry into the death of the Polish immigrant.
Mr. Dziekanski, 40, died on Oct. 14, 2007, after a confrontation at the international arrivals terminal of Vancouver International Airport with four Mounties, who were called to the scene after the exhausted man began acting in an erratic manner.
Mr. Dziekanski was hit with five taser blasts, a decision that has prompted a continuing debate about the use of such weapons.
Last month, Ms. Roberts apologized after disclosures that federal lawyers overlooked a bombshell e-mail between two senior Mounties among thousands of pages of documents they received from the RCMP on CD-ROMs.
The e-mail was discovered late, throwing awry the time-
table for the process. Closing arguments were supposed to be heard last month.
Now the inquiry has been forced to take an unexpected summer break and reconvene Sept. 22 to figure out how to proceed.
"Canada continues, as it has all along, to fully support the work of this commission, and I do say it was by oversight that this occurred," Ms. Roberts told inquiry head Thomas Braidwood last month. Mr. Braidwood said he was "obviously appalled" by the situation.
The e-mail was sent from RCMP Chief Superintendent Dick Bent to assistant commissioner Al McIntyre. It suggests another officer, Superintendent Wayne Rideout, in charge then of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team investigating Mr. Dziekanski's death, had mentioned that the Mounties involved in a confrontation with Mr. Dziekanski went into the situation prepared to use a taser on him. Such a scenario would be at odds with the testimony from the four officers to the inquiry.
All of the parties to the e-mail have described it as a misunderstanding.
The three officers plus the four Mounties will likely have to be recalled to give further testimony when the inquiry resumes.
Commission lawyer Art Vertlieb said Ms. Roberts's departure will not affect the timetable for the inquiry.
"We'll still be fine," he said.
Don Rosenbloom, a lawyer representing the Polish government during the inquiry, said Ms. Roberts's decision was inevitable.
"It's obviously a very difficult situation for her, and I am not in the slightest surprised that we have received the announcement she has withdrawn," Mr. Rosenbloom said.
David Butcher, who is representing one of the four Mounties, saluted Ms. Roberts for her decision.
"Ms. Roberts is honourable and she has got integrity and she has obviously felt responsible, so obviously decided it's the correct thing to do in the circumstances for her.
"I think it's a question of honour and integrity more than anything else."
Ian Bailey