Nova Scotia Justice Minister Mark Furey. (Contributed/Nova Scotia Government)
There will not be a full public inquiry into the Nova Scotia mass killing.
Instead, Nova Scotia Justice Minister Mark Furey and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair announced Thursday there will be a joint federal-provincial independent review.
A public inquiry has the power to compel testimony and gather evidence, much like a court, and is independent of government.
A review isn’t legally defined and lacks those powers.
Furey says the review doesn’t need them to fulfill the same purpose and it will be faster.
“To take an early approach, to set up this process in as quick a way possible,” he says. “So that we can ask those questions, secure those answers.”
It’s been just over three months since the incidents in Colchester County on April 18 and 19.
Blair and Furey say they have directed both the RCMP and municipal police forces, respectively, to fully cooperate.
Furey says that will make the review as effective as an inquiry.
Blair says a review will allow them to use a restorative approach, which is more sensitive to families.
“Quite often, in my experience, in public inquiries, the families of victims have very little standings in such a legal instrument.”
Furey says the review panel, which includes former Fredericton police chief Leanne Fitch, will present its final report in August 2021.
