In Akonwie v. Canada (Attorney General), 2025 BCSC, the British Columbia Supreme Court struck a claim against Northern Health Authority and First Nations Health Authority, finding that the Notice of Civil Claim had alleged certain causes of action but failed to plead material facts to support these claims.
In Akonwie, the plaintiff made a series of allegations relating to an incident wherein she was transported to the Vanderhoof Hospital (“Hospital”) by RCMP after expressing suicidal ideations to a First Nations Health Authority nurse by telephone. The plaintiff claimed against Northern Health Authority for, inter alia, attempting to administer medication, attempting to take samples, contacting the RCMP, and admitting her overnight following her arrival at the Hospital.
The Honourable Mr. Justice Ball affirmed earlier jurisprudence that describes the importance of pleadings, which are necessary to define facts and law with clarity and precision in order to give the other party fair notice of the case to be met at trial. In the case at bar, the Notice of Civil Claim was “a rambling narrative of irrelevant facts and evidence” that made unspecified references to human rights as well as various government documents and articles.
Mr. Justice Ball also reviewed the potential causes of action as set out in the Notice of Civil Claim, finding that Northern Health Authority had no responsibility for physicians it did not employ, that there is no common law tort of invasion or breach of privacy, that none of the material facts to support of claim in negligence had been made out, and that the facts alleged by the plaintiff did not meet the legal requirement for a claim for intentional infliction of mental distress.