Parliamentary Committee Notes: Mass Casualty Commission
Background and Establishment of the Commission
In October 2020, an independent public inquiry was created to examine the April 18-19, 2020 mass casualty event in Nova Scotia in order to provide meaningful recommendations to keep communities safe in the future. The Mass Casualty Commission (Commission) was created through two Orders in Council/OIC, one federal (2020-0822) and one provincial, from Nova Scotia.
The Commission developed a 3-phased approach to their work including establishing the foundation (what happened), learning and understanding (how and why it happened), and lastly, shaping and sharing (significance and future responses). As part of the Commission’s Phase I information gathering, Public Safety Canada and portfolio partners, were subpoenaed several times for a variety of topics, resulting in approximately 75,000 records government wide being disclosed to the Commission to date.
On April 28, 2022, the Commission submitted its interim report to the Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia; however, there were no findings, recommendations and lessons learned at that time. Instead, the report outlines the Commission’s approach, phases of work, a summary of the current and upcoming foundational and commissioned reports, and explains some of its background workings.
Currently, the Commission is working in Phase II focussing on learning and understanding – how and why did it happen? Roundtables are being held, usually including academia but sometimes also including speakers from the federal government (from RCMP, for example, for the Rural and Policing roundtable on 30 June), in addition to continuing to question witnesses.
Mandate
The Mandate for the independent Commission is set under the authority of the Government of Canada and the Government of Nova Scotia through the OICs noted above. The Commission’s objective is to inquire into what happened, make findings on the causes, context and circumstances giving rise to the events in April 2020. This also includes the analysis of responses from police and related organizations, and the steps to inform, support and engage those most affected.
Establishment/Milestones of the Commission
The Mass Casualty Commission is an independent public inquiry created to examine the April 18-19, 2020 mass casualty in Nova Scotia and to provide meaningful recommendations to help keep communities safer. On October 21, 2020 the Government of Canada and Province of Nova Scotia each issued an Order in Council (OIC) officially establishing the Commission and announcing the appointment of the three Commissioners and the beginning of this important work.
Milestones
Phase 1: establishing the foundation (what happened?)
- Meeting with Families – March 2021
- Participant, First Responder & Service Provider Meetings – Summer 2021
- Public Hearings – Winter 2022
- Foundational Document Development – Fall 2021 thru Spring 2022
Interim Report
On April 28, 2022, the Commission submitted its interim report to the Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia. There were no findings, lessons learned or recommendations at this time. The Commission stated that it was not yet prepared to do so. Instead, the report outlines the Commission’s approach, phases of work (establishing the foundation, learning and understanding, shaping and sharing), a summary of the current and upcoming foundational and commissioned reports and explains some of its background workings such as an academic Advisory Board and cross-disciplinary ‘pods’ (or working groups) bringing together staff to examine activities/events horizontally.
Phase 2: learning and understanding (how and why did it happen?)
- Roundtables
- Witness depositions
Phase 3: shaping and sharing (the significance of what happened and
- how we must respond)
Final report (with findings and recommendations) – due NLT 1 November 2022
General Grievances Against the Commission
Trauma-Informed Lens
With the Commission taking a ‘trauma-informed’ lens, some of the witnesses were only directly questioned by Commission lawyers. While family questions were solicited and asked, in some instances, there was no opportunity for lawyers representing the families to have direct witness access.
The Focus on RCMP Internal Communications Post Event
With the release of several Commission reports, media and Commission focus has been on the RCMP’s internal communications occurring immediately after the event and the potential of political influence.
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