MONTREAL -- Coroner Gehane Kamel has changed her mind: she will view surveillance footage captured by cameras at CHSLD Herron to verify if employees left residents to fend for themselves on March 27, 28 and 29, 2020.
The coroner, who is presiding over the inquest into the fate of vulnerable seniors during the first wave of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020, made the announcement Thursday.
She says she had "slept very badly" thinking about the questions still lingering in her mind.
Kamel explains she had initially refused to view the surveillance camera footage as it was not relevant to her investigation.
However, when she thought about the families involved, she states, she changed her mind.
She says she wants to find out if any of the staff at CHSLD Herron decided to leave the private residence without ensuring someone was there to take care of the seniors.
Kamel will then decide if the footage is relevant to her investigation.
The coroner also announced she would be adding three days to her hearings, scheduled to take place on Oct. 25, 26 and 27 to hear from four witnesses.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 23, 2021.
