The independent commission tasked with examining the deadliest mass shooting in modern Canadian history is releasing┬аits final report, almost three years after the April 2020 tragedy.
Today at noon AT, the Mass Casualty Commission┬аis expected to deliver a roughly 3,000-page report in Truro, N.S., with its┬аfindings on the events of April 18 and 19, 2020, when 22 people were killed in 13 hours┬аby a gunman posing as a Mountie.
CBC┬аNews will carry a live webcast of the event in this story.
The recommendations are expected to address the shooter’s access to firearms, his prior interactions with police and social services, emergency communications, intimate-partner violence, police actions and training, and how those most affected by the violence were informed and supported.
Michael Scott of Patterson Law, the firm representing most of the victims’ families, said his clients are hoping for a strong report that includes “insightful, meaningful opportunities for change” they can champion in years to come.┬а
“They put a great deal of time and effort into this inquiry. It was certainly difficult for all of them, and I think they want nothing more than for that effort to mean something тАФ┬аfor it to be for a positive purpose,” Scott said Tuesday.
“They’ll obviously be very concerned if тАж that result doesn’t make the sort of changes that they were hoping to see, because they obviously struggled just to get an inquiry in the first place.”
Throughout the inquiry, the commissioners┬аhinted that the final report will┬аsuggest how to improve community safety across Canada, without laying blame. But Scott said that should not stop them┬аfrom discussing accountability.
“It’s impossible to remedy failures in response to a mass killing unless we’re willing to identify and acknowledge those failings,” he said.┬а
“That’s a prerequisite to making meaningful recommendations for change.”
A look at what unfolded behind the scenes on the day of and days following the 2020 tragedy in Portapique, N.S., where a lone gunman masqueraded as a police officer and killed 22 people, including a pregnant woman, in five rural communities over a period of 13 hours. CBC Halifax’s Angela MacIvor reports.
Given the RCMP’s uneven record when it comes to implementing┬аrecommendations and guidelines following other tragedies, Scott said several years of work will be needed to ensure the recommendations don’t “fall off the table … as we’ve seen in the past.”
The violence began with the shooter, Gabriel Wortman, attacking┬аhis partner, Lisa Banfield, on the night of April 18, 2020. While she was able to escape, he┬аwent on to┬аkill┬а13 people in Portapique, N.S., and burn down┬аseveral houses in the small Colchester County community, including his own.
The commission┬аbelieves the gunman then left via a back road in┬аa┬аreplica RCMP cruiser as the first Mounties responded to the shootings.┬аHe stayed overnight in the Debert area, about 20 kilometres east of Portapique.
The next day, he killed nine more people, including a pregnant woman. The┬аrampage ended when he was fatally shot by two RCMP officers at a gas station in┬аEnfield, more than 90 kilometres south of where the shooting spree began.
The victims include┬аneighbours or former colleagues of the gunman, strangers who crossed his path, and an RCMP officer who wounded him in a gunfight.
The inquiry sat from February to September 2022, and included 76 days of public hearings, during which┬аthe commission released 31 documents and more than 7,000 exhibits and source materials.
It was mandated jointly by the province and by Ottawa, and is┬аexpected to cost┬аaround $47 million in funding┬аfrom the two levels of government.
The commissioners heard from 230 witnesses as part of their┬аinvestigation, including about 80 members of the RCMP. Only 60 of the witnesses testified at the public proceedings, about half of whom were RCMP members.
But the commission’s decision┬аto prioritize closed-door interviews and limit questions for key witnesses, in an attempt┬аto be trauma-informed, caused resentment and frustration for many victims’ families.
The final report was originally supposed to be released on Nov. 1, 2022, but the commission┬аasked for the deadline to be moved to March 2023.
If you are experiencing distress or overwhelming emotions at any time, you can call the Nova Scotia Provincial Crisis Line 24/7 at 1-888-429-8167.┬аThe Nova Scotia Provincial Crisis Service can also provide contacts for other crisis services that are available if you live outside Nova Scotia.┬а
If you or someone you know is struggling in any way, you can call 211 or visit┬а211.ca. 211 offers help 24 hours a day in more than one hundred languages and will be able to connect you directly to the right services for your needs.┬а
The Kids Help Phone is a national helpline that provides confidential support at 1-800-668-6868 or Text CONNECT to 686868.┬а
Additional supports for across Canada are available at┬аwww.wellnesstogether.ca.┬а
