(Truro) The Public Inquiry into the 2020 Nova Scotia shootings released its final report Thursday in which it says the RCMP’s many shortcomings in the operation should lead to federal policing reform.
The Mass Casualty Commission’s seven-volume report concludes, among other things, that an external review of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is needed, and that the federal Minister of Public Safety should then identify responsibilities that could be better handled by other police forces.
The three-member commission concluded that the RCMP ignored years of warning signs about the killer, who fatally shot 22 people – including an RCMP officer – on April 18 and 19, 2020.
The inquest heard the 51-year-old denturist dressed as an RCMP officer and drove a replica patrol car during a 13-hour carnage that ended when he was shot dead by two officers RCMP at a gas station north of Halifax.
The report also draws links between the shootings and the killer’s mistreatment of women, particularly his wife, whom he isolated from his family and assaulted for many years.
The commission stresses that the first step in preventing mass violence is to recognize the danger of escalation inherent in all forms of violence, including gender-based, spousal and family violence.