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Quebec doctor under investigation found dead in Montreal hospital

Dec 6, 2016 | 11:45 AM

MONTREAL — A Montreal hospital has confirmed the death of a pediatrician who was under investigation for falsely claiming parents had abused their children.

“It is with great sadness we are confirming the tragic death of Dr. Alain Sirard,” Sainte-Justine Hospital said in a statement Tuesday.

Montreal police said the body of a hospital employee was found early in the morning and that they were considering the death a suicide. They wouldn’t release any other information.

The hospital called Sirard a “great defender of the rights of children who worked with Sainte-Justine for decades.”

Montreal La Presse and Radio-Canada reported in 2013 that several parents had accused him of falsely claiming they had abused their children.

Caroline Langis, a spokeswoman for Quebec’s College of Physicians, said Sirard was being investigated by the medical body in connection with complaints by parents he had accused of abuse.

“Usually we don’t give out this kind of information but considering his case was so heavily in the media since 2013, we can confirm that an investigation was ongoing,” she said.

“It was about patients Dr. Sirard had seen at Sainte-Justine Hospital and the parents he had accused of abusing their children.”

She said the case will be closed now that Sirard is dead.

Police spokesman Raphael Bergeron said officers received a call at around 5 a.m. Tuesday about a body found at Sainte-Justine.

The Canadian Press