Dziekanski lawyer says funding for inquest denied

March 12, 2008
Canadian Press/The Globe and Mail

Kamloops -- The lawyer representing the mother of a Polish man who died after being stunned by a police taser at Vancouver airport says he's been denied funding to participate in a coroner's inquest into the death.

Walter Kostecky says the B.C. Solicitor-General's Ministry has cited an existing policy of not providing financial assistance at coroner's inquests.

But Mr. Kostecky says the death of Robert Dziekanski is an extreme case with a profound public interest and where the other parties, including the RCMP and Canada Border Services, are well funded.

"Every other party that's involved in this is funded in some way through the public purse: the [Vancouver] airport authority, the Canadian Border Services and the RCMP," he said. "Certainly all of their lawyers are going to be paid."

Mr. Dziekanski died last October after Mounties used a taser on him when he became agitated after spending hours in the airport arrivals areas.