A retired judge leading the probe into a mass murder in Nova Scotia is speaking directly to skeptics of the public inquiry.
Chief Justice Michael MacDonald started the proceedings Monday morning by laying the groundwork for the probe. He said he won’t tolerate tampering with the independence of the hearings.
“Some people are concerned about the Mass Casualty Commission’s independence…believing that we may be susceptible to covering up for either the RCMP or the government,” MacDonald stated. “Let me assure you, nothing could be further from the truth.”
There has been criticism from family members of the victims and their legal counsel about the inquiry’s structure and its ability to uncover the truth, in addition to permitting cross examination of witnesses testimony.
“The commission will be robust in our response if witnesses try to be misleading,” MacDonald stated. “There will be robust cross examination.”
The public inquiry is being held in Halifax and will sit three to four days a week until the end of May. It will examine events leading up to the shootings on April 18-19, 2020 and the RCMP’s response.
A lone-gunman disguised as an RCMP officer and driving a mock police cruiser murdered 22 people across northern Nova Scotia. The rampage only ended when he was killed by police in Enfield, N.S.
The first week of the inquiry runs Feb. 22 and 23, with a panel on mental health and another on life in rural Nova Scotia, particularly the affected communities, as well as a presentation on the structure of policing in the province.
Proceedings are set to run Monday through Thursday between 9:30 am and 4:30 pm from Feb. 28 to Mar 10, before a two week break.
With files from Steve MacArthur and Jack Morse