A coroner’s inquest has been called into the ER waiting room death of Darrell Mesheau, elder brother of former Sackville mayor Shawn Mesheau and former Conservative cabinet minister Peter Mesheau.
The 78-year-old Mesheau died while awaiting care in a Fredericton ER waiting room last July. Although his identity was not officially released until an inquest announcement on Tuesday, the circumstances of his death were widely reported and led to major health care leadership changes.
Three days following Mesheau’s death, Premier Blaine Higgs held a press conference to announce the re-assignment of then health minister Dorothy Shephard, the dissolution of partially-elected boards of Horizon and Vitalité health networks, and the firing of then-Horizon CEO John Dornan, who was only 4 months into his 5 year contract.
A Fredericton area support worker said he waited alongside Mesheau in the ER waiting room at the Dr. Everett Chalmers hospital in the early hours of July 12. John Staples described the scene in the full emergency room in a post on Facebook. Mesheau was waiting in discomfort, says Staples, and then appeared to fall asleep. When a hospital staffer came to check on waiting patients, they noticed Mesheau’s condition and called a code blue.
Darrell Mesheau served as a diplomat in the Canadian Foreign Service. He was also a film and theatre actor, a tour guide and avid historian, among other pursuits. His obituary reads in part, “Darrell was a gentleman; warm, caring, funny, and intelligent, with an infectious spirit. He was a bright light wherever he went.“
A devoted father and grandfather, his family also includes two Sackville-based politicians: former Sackville mayor Shawn Mesheau and former Tantramar MLA and Conservative Finance Minister Peter Mesheau.
The inquest is scheduled for May 29 to June 2 at the University of New Brunswick Law School.
The presiding coroner and a jury will publicly hear evidence from witnesses to determine the facts surrounding Mesheau’s death. The jury will have an opportunity to make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances, without assigning legal responsibility for Mesheau’s death.
