Self-styled 'childbirth activist' charged in newborn's death seeking $30K in damages from midwifery regulator

A day after her client was accused in the death of a newborn, a lawyer for self-styled "childbirth activist" Gloria Lemay was in B.C. Supreme Court Wednesday claiming $30,000 in damages from B.C.'s College of Nurses and Midwives for an alleged breach of her rights.

The civil court hearing — which stems from a decades-old order prohibiting Lemay from practising as a midwife — took place even as the 77-year-old sat in police custody, awaiting a bail hearing on a criminal charge of manslaughter.

Both sets of proceedings relate to the death of an infant who perished a year ago this week, 10 days after she was born unable to breathe in a home birth in Ladysmith allegedly presided over by Lemay.

In the civil proceedings, Lemay claims her rights were violated during a search of her home by the college in the weeks following the death.

In addition to money, she also wants a judge to stay civil proceedings against her — which the regulator has indicated are likely to include a fresh bid to hold Lemay in contempt for allegedly repeatedly flouting the court order over the past six years.

The remarkable timing of criminal and civil actions was not lost on Laurie Brant, a longtime friend of Lemay's who watched from the B.C. Supreme Court public gallery.

"It's not a coincidence that she was arrested yesterday — is it? With this today? They're going to get her somehow, someway. And in doing so, they'll put fear in all the other women who are supporting birth," Brant said as she stood outside the courtroom.

"I think they're out to get her."

Acquitted in the Supreme Court of Canada

Brant watched the proceedings alongside Mary Sullivan — Lemay's co-accused in a criminal negligence case dating back to 1985 when the pair were charged in relation to the death of a fetus in the birth canal.

The two women were acquitted of the charge in a case that travelled all the way up to Canada's Supreme Court, which found that a fetus had to be completely removed from its mother's body and born alive to be considered a person.

Sullivan would not comment on the current charge her friend is facing — nearly four decades later.

Lemay was arrested Tuesday, one day after the CBC revealed the existence of an RCMP investigation conducted alongside a probe by the College of Nurses and Midwives that began while the infant was still on life support in Victoria General Hospital's neonatal intensive care unit.

According to court documents, the child's father told medical staff that the baby was gasping for air at birth and that Lemay told them she was fine. After emergency services were called, he also allegedly claimed Lemay told the parents to tell them her name was "Catherine."

The child was placed on a ventilator on arrival at the hospital in Nanaimo. She was later transferred to Victoria, where she died 14 hours after being extubated.

The allegations have not been proven in court, and Lemay's lawyer declined to comment.

Lemay is scheduled to appear before a provincial court judge in Port Alberni on Thursday morning. 

'A hard time proving it'

Wednesday's civil court proceedings revolved around allegations investigators seized a box of privileged legal documents from Lemay's home during the search.

Lemay claims they were improperly viewed by JT Michaelis Beck, counsel for the college's disciplinary and monitoring department — in violation of solicitor-client privilege.

The brown box, sealed with red tape marked "Exhibit T," sat on a desk in the middle of the courtroom.

A lawyer for the college told a judge Beck did not look at the documents, sealing and returning the box to Lemay the moment it was established that it contained legal documents. He also questioned the relevance of any of the documents to the current proceedings.

The judge suggested to Lemay's lawyer that a separate claim would be necessary to ask for damages from an alleged breach of Lemay's rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In court documents, the college claims that it is "undeniable" that Lemay's liberty could be at stake if she is found in contempt of court in the future.

"Her engagement in the practice of midwifery is not only unlawful, it is a societal menace," the college claims.

"This is underscored by the fact that she is presently the subject of a serious criminal investigation."

Outside the courtroom, Brant characterized the joint civil and criminal proceedings as a "witch hunt." She said the case spoke to a woman's right to choose where she gives birth and who she wants beside her.

 "I think they're going to have a hard time proving it. Babies die," Brant said. "It's really sad that a baby will die. Nobody wants that."