Witness Testimony

Lynette Tremblay testified regarding the death of her father in a Montreal CHSLD in May 2020 during the first wave of COVID-19. She stated that in March 2020, a province-wide visitation ban prevented her from seeing her father for approximately two months, despite the facility reportedly having no confirmed cases at the outset. She described being informed that Public Health had taken control of the centre and that her father had tested positive for COVID-19 while asymptomatic. She alleged that repeated testing was conducted and that she was never provided documentary proof of the positive result.
Tremblay testified that once her father was classified as COVID-positive, treatments were halted, including use of a prescribed air mattress for a previously treated bed sore. She stated that she attempted to provide vitamin supplements, which were not administered. She described daily changes in attending physicians during the COVID period, in contrast to prior consistent care, and stated that military personnel were present in the facility to assist staff. Upon finally being allowed a visit, she discovered her father had been moved from his personal room to another sparsely furnished room without explanation.
She further testified that she observed her father appearing heavily medicated and that management initially told her he was not in mortal danger. The following day, after a brief restricted visit, she was asked to leave, and later that day he died on May 5, 2020. She stated that his death was recorded as a COVID-19 death and that autopsies were not permitted in such cases at that time. Tremblay expressed the belief that her father did not have COVID-19 and characterized his final care as neglectful and opaque.