According to the lawsuit, the actions of the other three parties created a wave of intimidation and racism in the public and on social media against the former Campbellton general practitioner.
“These institutions must protect human rights, ensure respect and social peace, instead of doing that, they have turned everything upside down,” says Me Joël Etienne.
Having tested positive for COVID-19 after a return trip to Quebec, and not having isolated himself as required by New Brunswick’s Emergency Measures Act, the Congolese-born doctor had been singled out by the authorities and called “irresponsible” by the New Brunswick premier.
“The match is the Premier of New Brunswick. The forest fire was social networks, ”explains the doctor’s lawyer.
“There were people who were asking for the death penalty to be brought back. There are people who wanted us to go back to the 50s and 60s with slavery,” said the president of the Multicultural Council of New Brunswick, Moncef Lakouas.
“I think the last two years have been the hardest of my life,” said the doctor, who now works in Louiseville, Quebec.
Due to popular pressure, and fearing for his own safety and that of his loved ones, Dr. Ngola was forced to move to Quebec.
“This kind of situation should not be repeated again. That’s why I support him,” adds Mr. Lakouas.
Shocked by the turn of events, the president of the Multicultural Association of New Brunswick hopes that the battle that the lawyers are preparing to wage will make it possible to put an end to systemic racism. According to the organization, no less than 86% of New Brunswickers are victims or witnesses of racist actions and comments every day.
“Having such nightmares that turn entire lives upside down because of prejudices that aren’t necessarily true, at the end of the day, what does that say about us as a society?” he.
Mr. Ngola’s lawyers hope to obtain an order so that the provincial government can no longer interfere in such investigations.
“What is important for the doctor is that a similar situation does not happen again,” says the lawyer.
The lawsuit does not, however, specify the amount requested in damages, a decision which will be left to the courts due to the nature of this “unprecedented” case, according to the doctor’s lawyer, Me Joël Etienne.
–
