Carol Dube, husband of Joyce Echaquan, reads a statement next to his daughter Wassihna during a memorial marking the first anniversary of the death of his wife in front of the hospital where she died in Joliette, Que. on Sept. 28, 2021.Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press
The family of an Indigenous woman who was mocked by staff as she lay dying in a Quebec hospital in September 2020 has filed a lawsuit seeking nearly $2.7 million.
Joyce Echaquan, a 37-year-old Atikamekw mother of seven, filmed herself on Facebook Live as a nurse and an orderly were heard making derogatory comments toward her at a hospital in Joliette, Que., northeast of Montreal.
The video of her treatment in September 2020 went viral and drew outrage and condemnation across the province and the country.
Editorial: The wrong argument over what killed Joyce Echaquan
The lawsuit filed today in Joliette names the hospital, a doctor who treated her and the ex-nurse who was caught on film insulting Echaquan and seeks a total of $2.675 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
The family and the community of Manawan marked the second anniversary of her death on Wednesday.
Lawyer Patrick Martin-Menard says the civil suit is about moving forward and getting compensation for the family for the loss of Echaquan.