Doctor accused in New Brunswick COVID-19 outbreak sues province, RCMP, Facebook

The doctor who was accused in 2020 of breaking New Brunswick's COVID-19 rules by failing to isolate, and of being the source of a deadly outbreak, is suing the province, the RCMP and Facebook's parent company.

Lawyers for Dr.Jean-Robert Ngola, 52, said Thursday they havefiled their claim with the Court of Queen's Bench in Moncton seven months after they announced their intention.

The document alleges, among otherthings, "institutional anti-Black systemic racism,"abuse of power, negligence, defamation, malicious prosecution anda breach of the doctor's charter rights.

"This is a battle for rights, human dignity and against racism," Ngola told reporters in French during an online news conference from Louiseville, Que., where he now practises.

Joel Etienne, one of his lawyers, who is based in Toronto, said they expect the legal battle to be "needless and protracted."

"But we are ready for it," he said.

Ngolawas labelledby some as "patient zero" after he tested positive for COVID-19. In early May 2020 he drove across the border to Montreal to pick up his four-year-old daughter, because her mother had to travel to Africa for a funeral.He also made a stop inTrois-Rivires, he later confirmed.

He did not isolate upon his return, later claiming the province's rules were unclear.

Duringa May 27 news conference, Premier Blaine Higgs saida medical professional in their 50s had travelled to Quebec for personal reasons, "was not forthcoming about their reasons for travel upon returning to New Brunswick and they did not self-isolate as a result."

Higgs never referred to Ngolaby name,butblamed what was then acluster of COVID-19 cases in the Campbellton region and a resurgence of the coronavirus in the province on the "irresponsible individual" who returned towork at the Campbellton Regional Hospitaland treated patients for two weeks.

The outbreak claimed two lives, infecteddozens and forced that part of New Brunswickback into a more restrictive "orange" phase ofrecovery.

Ngola'slawyers argue in the 38-page statement of claim that Higgs "knew or ought to have known" that the public could identifyNgola based on those details and "information disseminated on social media."

Ngola,who is from Congo,faced racist threats, was suspended by the Vitalit Health Network, was investigatedby the RCMPand charged withbreaching the province's Emergency Measures Act. The charge was later dropped.

The situation became so "toxic," Ngolahad to leave New Brunswick, Etiennesaid Thursday.

"It created what had never been seen in the province in modern times the banishment of a citizen that was unjustified, illegal, unlawful and based on no legal grounds whatsoever."

They did not take any questions.

Asked, via email, why filing the lawsuit was delayedEtienne said only, "discussions with unnamed parties."

None of the allegations havebeen proven in court.

Higgs did not respond to a requestfor comment. He is not named as a defendant.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice and Public Safety declined to comment.

A spokesperson for the New Brunswick RCMP directed inquiries to the national headquarters in Ottawa, which withheld comment.

Facebook did not respond to a request for comment.

Ngola isseeking unspecified compensation and punitive damages. He is also seeking restorativejustice.

Moncef Lakouas, president of the New Brunswick Multicultural Council, also attended the news conference to voice his support.

Lakouas described Ngola's case as a "success story that turned into a nightmare."

"What he went through for the past two years is something that I don't wishanyone, any human being to go through immigrant ornot," he said.