THUNDER BAY — “We’re just asking for a voice.”
Wendie Lemieux says she’s living a mother’s nightmare: her son jailed in a foreign country thousands of kilometres away on a charge she and the family say they know he’s not guilty of, having no direct contact with him or assurances he’s safe while in custody, and navigating an unfamiliar and expensive legal system.
“I'm literally, as a mom, I'm begging. I am begging for help.”
Wendie Lemieux’s son Chris has been in Cambodia since August 2024 where he went to teach English. Originally from Thunder Bay, he moved to southern Ontario about 15 years ago before relocating to the southeast Asian country, said his cousin and close friend Zack Doherty.
Aside from his teaching job, which Doherty said was going relatively well, Chris Lemieux also worked in a club owned by a person with whom he had become friends. The man “offered Chris a chance to run the kitchen,” Doherty said. “He went to culinary school — he's always wanted to be a cook.”
“So, this person started offering Chris everything Chris wanted.”
The trouble started on Feb. 17, Doherty said, when the friend asked Lemieux to drop off a package at the post office, saying he was running late for work. Doherty said Lemieux didn’t know its contents and that “he did it for a friend — he thought he was doing a good deed for somebody who's helping him get a job.”
“He helped his friend by delivering a package and now he's in trouble for it,” Wendie Lemieux said.
Ten days later, Doherty said Lemieux was arrested and charged with drug trafficking. The other man, Doherty said, was arrested later the same day.
Lemieux has been in jail awaiting trial since, Doherty said, adding that the family didn’t know he was in custody until March 14.
Doherty said the family has been dealing with Global Affairs Canada about the situation and has retained a lawyer in Cambodia. In an emailed statement to Newswatch, Global Affairs said it is aware of the arrest of a Canadian citizen in Cambodia and that “consular officials are in contact with local authorities and are providing consular assistance to the individual.”
Citing privacy, the federal department said it can’t release any more specific information, but advised “all Canadians travelling abroad never to carry a package for someone else unless you are sure of its contents because they may be unknowingly transporting illegal drugs.”
Chris Lemieux’s family insisted that is the situation, and that Lemieux isn’t involved in the drug trade.
“It wasn’t Christopher,” Wendie Lemieux said. “I'm not going to say this just because he's my son: Chris grew up not involved in drugs, teenage life (he) didn't go down that avenue, 20s and 30s (he) did not go down that road.”
“We know it's easy to go down that way,” she continued. “He never hung around with people from that life, it was not his way of life at all.”
“If Christopher knew what was in that box, he would have picked up the phone and phoned the police immediately, and we know that … his character isn't like that, Christopher looks for the good in everybody and helps anybody.”
The family confirmed they’ve been working with Global Affairs Canada, but there’s only so much they can do and that any type of communication from Cambodia is slow.
“I haven’t slept because I’m worried sick,” Wendie Lemieux said. “He didn't do anything. We need help. I need help.”
The family said they’ve got an English-speaking lawyer in Cambodia with experience in these types of cases, but the retainer alone is in the thousands of dollars. They were scheduled to be in contact with counsel Thursday night or early Friday morning (to allow for the time difference between the two countries), which will be the first time they’ll be able to get messages from family and money through to Chris.
“Chris will know somebody's out there fighting for him,” Wendie Lemieux said, adding that the money is also important, as from what they’ve been told, in Cambodian jail “you have to barter for everything.”
“You have to give a guard money … to get a glass of water — there's no human rights,” she said.
Sentences for drug convictions in Cambodia are severe. Global Affairs Canada says they include “lengthy jail sentences and steep fines.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help with lawyers’ costs and money for Chris. Doherty said the support, both financial and otherwise, has been strong.
“I was very, very surprised on how many people are reaching out, how many people are donating, how many people are telling their stories about Chris,” Doherty said. “It's been a ride, it's going to be a battle — this isn't the beginning and it's not going to be the end.”
