Mike on Crime

HALIFAX (CP) – A Nova Scotia man whose ailing wife was taken out of the country without his knowledge nearly two years ago has cleared a major hurdle to bring her home, but he says there are still significant obstacles standing in the way.

Sandy Munroe’s wife, Heli, 65, who has advanced Alzheimer’s disease, was taken to England by her brother in November 2005. Munroe, who lives in Tennycape, N.S., has been trying to bring her home ever since, arguing his case in the courts and in the media.

Munroe said in an interview Saturday that a British panel, formed under a law designed to protect vulnerable adults, recently determined he is Heli’s official caregiver and decision-maker.

And he said the hospital where Heli has been staying, located in northern England, believes she should be closer to her husband.

But it may not be easy for Munroe to get his wife back to Canada – he said Heli’s doctor is insisting she not be transported on a standard commercial flight.

“He’s a very good man, and he cares deeply about her, but he says Heli has to come home in an air ambulance,” Munroe said from his home.
“She’s very ill and we have to come up with an air ambulance – and how on earth are we supposed to do that?”

Heli was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2003 and was declared mentally incompetent in 2005.

Her brother, Marek Pospieszalski, has suggested his British-born sister wasn’t happy in Canada living with her husband of more than four decades.

Munroe said the British panel rejected those claims.

Heli had signed a document giving her husband power of attorney, but the police investigated and the Crown determined no crime had been committed.

Munroe said transporting Heli from England to a hospital in Halifax presents a number of difficulties, which he said would be further outlined at a news conference on Monday at the Halifax office of New Democrat MP Alexa McDonough.

McDonough has been actively involved in Munroe’s case, appearing with him at a news conference earlier this year and calling for governments to make it easier to protect adults who don’t have the mental capacity to make their own decisions.

Munroe said he hopes his case prompts governments, particularly at the provincial level, to introduce laws that would better protect vulnerable adults like his wife. “I’m quite embarrassed to call myself a Nova Scotian – the Nova Scotia government embarrasses me,” said Munroe. “My wife was kidnapped and the authorities did nothing whatsoever about it.”

Munroe last saw his wife when he went to England in late June. He spent five days visiting her, and when returned to Nova Scotia he told reporters that his wife had recognized him.

He said he speaks to his wife over the telephone every day – even if she doesn’t always respond.

“She’s able to listen and get comfort and pleasure from hearing my voice,” he said.