Grieving Nunavut mother seeks answers at inquest

Helen Tologanak smiles with her son, Julian Tologanak-Labrie, when they met at the Kugluktuk airport in early April 2009. (PHOTO COURTESY OF HELEN TOLOGANAK)

In a land of immense distances, Helen Tologanak of Cambridge Bay doesn’t have to go far to attend a coroner’s inquest into the death of her son Julian Tologanak-Labrie, who jumped out of a small aircraft. The inquest which starts Monday, April 12, will be heard in the Arctic Lodge, across the street from her small white house.(PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

CAMBRIDGE BAY— On Monday morning, Navalik Helen Tologanak will hop onto her all-terrain vehicle and drive across an icy road to learn why, on April 15, 2009, her 20-year-old son, Julian Tologanak-Labrie, opened the door of a small aircraft flying from Yellowknife to Cambridge Bay and jumped 7,000 metres to his death.

A coroner’s inquest into the circumstances surrounding Tologanak-Labrie’s death is to be held this week at Cambridge Bay’s Arctic Lodge, across the street from the small white house on Nanook Street that Tologanak once shared with her son.

For nearly a year, Tologanak has wrestled with questions about why and how her son, a fun-loving hockey player and new father, opened the door of the King Air 200 and jumped.

Earlier that day, the RCMP in Yellowknife had been called to the young man’s hotel at about 1 a.m.. Police decided to take him to Stanton General Hospital for observation.

Released from hospital that morning, Tologanak-Labrie caught a flight to Cambridge Bay, a flight offered by Adlair Aviation Ltd., a charter air company run by Paul Laserich, a long-time friend of his mother.

Tologanak-Labrie’s mother went to the Cambridge Bay airport to greet her son. There, police told her her son had jumped: she had trouble understanding what they said because it sounded so impossible.

Tologanak-Labrie’s leap occurred over rugged, rocky terrain, 180 southwest of Cambridge Bay, near the tiny settlement of Bay Chimo, which at this time of year is still shrouded with snow.

His body has not yet been found.

The inquest is certain to bring drama to this Nunavut community of 1,500.

Two coroners will present at the inquest, the presiding coroner, Garth Eggenberger, the chief coroner of the Northwest Territories, and Wayne Solomon, deputy coroner for Nunavut and a Cambridge Bay resident, who said he plans to see how the inquest, his first, unrolls.

After a jury of six is selected Monday morning, about 10 witnesses, including doctors, a social worker, pilots, police, Tologanak’s mother, and others, are expected to testify, said Michael Chandler of Iqaluit, who is legal counsel for the office of the coroner.

Five other lawyers representing the various parties will also be on hand, primed to ask questions of the witnesses.

“As with any inquiry of this sort, we are looking to understand what happened and why. The family needs to unravel the mysteries surrounding this tragedy,” said Steven Cooper, the Tologanak family’s lawyer. “They have many questions as yet unanswered. They are anxious to get the inquiry started and terrified of the process in equal measure.”

An inquest into a death generally requires that a body be found.

But in this case, Tologanak-Labrie’s remains have not been located, despite two search efforts undertaken last spring around the area where Tologanak jumped.

“The absence of Julian’s body continues to haunt them. This process will not only be a painful reminder of what they have lost but also what remains to be found,” Cooper said.

Whatever the inquest reveals, coroners will not lay blame, but the testimony of witnesses should point to why and how Tologanak-Labrie lept to his death.

After reflecting on the evidence, the jury and coroners are expected to recommendations will be likely designed to avoid a similar event from occurring in the future. A report on the inquest will follow.

Tologanak-Labrie’s relatives have gathered in Cambridge Bay to support his still-grieving mother through the inquest.

She has passed an anguished year, racked by questions and concerns about the fate of the body of her son.

His cheerful face smiles back at her from the many photos hung in her living room, along with a hand-drawn, heart-decorated certificate from him to her for being “the best mother” ever.

This past July 13, her son’s 21st birthday, Tologanak held a party with his family and friends.

They lit a cake with 21 candles, which his son Felix, who turned two in last October, blew out. Then they released 21 balloons into the air.

Tologanak, who writes for the Nunavut News North, a weekly newspaper produced in Yellowknife and distributed in Nunavut, often mentions her son and grandson in her column.

Some residents of Cambridge Bay, population 1,500, plan to attend this week’s inquest, which is open to the public.

Most people in town know both the Tologonak family and the pilots involved.

Some say they have mixed feelings about the coroner’s inquest. One woman said the inquiry wouldn’t bring Tologanak-Labrie back to life, while the pilots have suffered enough already.

Comments posted in response to a recent CBC North website story on the inquest provoked a range of reactions.

Some said the coroner’s inquest was a waste of time and money, while others said the inquest is an important exercise in prevention and airline safety.

“I know that every time I step on to an airplane since that incident I carefully look at the other passengers and pay attention to what they do during the flight. I wonder if the crew is prepared to handle a similar incident, which could potentially take down a plane filled with innocent people,” said one comment, written by a person called “Oviluk.”

“We know it was his choice to jump. The real focus of the inquiry for everyone’s benefit is how he came to be on that plane in the first place considering the condition he was in psychologically, and how he was able to gain control of the situation, overpowering crew members and complete the act which was carried out.”