The provincial government has sent a letter of apology to the family of a former drug researcher who committed suicide shortly after he was fired by the Ministry of Health in August 2012.

“Minister of Health Terry Lake has asked his Deputy Minister Stephen Brown to send a letter conveying the government's apology to the family of Roderick MacIsaac for terminating his employment,” a media release states. “In the letter, the government also expresses sympathy and condolences for the stress and sadness that they have endured as a result of Mr. MacIsaac's death.”

At the time MacIsaac was relieved of his position, he was a co-op student, only three days away from completing research required for his PhD. He committed suicide in December 2012.

The drug researcher was one of eight ministry employees or contractors who lost their jobs in relation to alleged privacy breaches involving pharmaceutical data.

All of those individuals filed claims of wrongful dismissal. Some remain outstanding while three have been rehired by the ministry.

The October 3 announcement comes days after MacIsaac’s sister, Linda Kayfish, made a public plea for an apology.

In a September 30 interview with the Straight, Kayfish said after two years, still has "no answers" about her brother's death.

“Why were these people so publicly humiliated?" she asked. "I’ve been waiting for the government to have its day in court…but it seems there is no day in court. Just closed-door settlements.”

According to the government’s release, deputy minister Stephen Brown reviewed the circumstances of MacIsaac’s termination. It claims he found that a “serious breach of policy occurred, but some of the employment terminations were unwarranted or were considered excessive”.

The release does not clarify whether or not MacIsaac was found to have committed any wrongdoing, nor does it provide any details regarding why the Health Ministry conducted its investigation into the matter with such a heavy hand (questions to which Kayfish has requested answers).

“The Health Minister remains limited in his ability to comment,” it states.

Today it was also announced that the head of the B.C. Public Service Agency, Lynda Tarras, has been asked to conduct a review of the ministry’s investigation and the eight subsequent firings. That will be conducted by Marcia McNeil, who the release describes as an independent third party.

“The information gathered from this review will be used to make recommendations to improve how the public service responds to allegations of employee misconduct in the future,” the release states.

The government expects to receive McNeil’s report by October 31, 2014.