The public inquiry into the April 2020 shooting in Nova Scotia found widespread failures in how the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) responded to Canada’s worst mass shooting and recommends that Ottawa rethink the central role of the federal police in certain regions of the country.
In written remarks prepared for delivery later Thursday, Commissioner Leanne Fitch said the RCMP must finally make the fundamental changes that many previous reports have already called for.
In a seven-volume report spanning more than 3,000 pages, the Mass Casualty Commission also says police missed red flags in the years leading up to the killing of 22 people on April 18-19, 2020, by a denturist. dressed as an RCMP officer and driving a replica patrol car.
The murderer, Gabriel Wortman, was killed by two RCMP officers at a gas station in Enfield, 13 hours after his carnage began.
The final report delves deeply into the causes of this killing. The commission cites in particular the violence of the killer towards his spouse and the inability of the police to act accordingly. She also discusses the “implicit biases” that seemed to blind police and citizens to the danger posed — or not — by a white male professional.
In response, the commissioners are recommending RCMP reform, where the current model of 26-week training in Regina would be abandoned – as it is no longer sufficient for the complex demands of policing. This RCMP Training Academy would be replaced by a three-year, diploma-based education model, as exists in Finland.
More generally, the commissioners want Ottawa to adopt a law whose guiding principle would be “a prevention-based approach to public safety”, which considers police forces as “partners” who collaborate with health centers mental health in rural areas, who should be better funded, and front-line workers who fight domestic and family violence.
RCMP Mistakes
The voluminous report begins with an account of the mistakes the police made in the years leading up to the April 18 and 19 murders.
The report’s summary states that shortly after the shooting began in Portapique, RCMP commanders disregarded citizen testimony, and senior RCMP officials incorrectly assumed that residents were deceived when they reported seeing the killer driving an all-RCMP livery.
The report concludes that the RCMP officers were “too quick to adopt an explanation that failed to take into account the clear and consistent information that several eyewitnesses had provided independently of each other.”
In particular, the investigation heard that RCMP commanders and frontline officers failed to use “basic investigative steps” and incorrectly concluded that the shooter’s vehicle was an old, disused police cruiser with no decals — or very little identified.
Additionally, the RCMP did not promptly issue public alerts with a description of the killer, until it was too late for some of his victims.
Federal Police Reform
After drawing up a litany of shortcomings, the commission calls for a new external review of the RCMP. It indicates that the federal Minister of Public Safety should then establish priorities for the RCMP, “keeping the tasks that are appropriate for a federal police force and identifying the responsibilities that are best reassigned to others”.
“This could lead to a reconfiguration of policing in Canada and a new approach to federal financial support for provincial and municipal police departments,” the report said.
Among other things, the commission says that the federal police are very disorganized. A review of the RCMP’s 5,000 pages of policies and procedures told commissioners that the federal police’s own members were unclear about appropriate responses to critical incidents and about communicating with the public.
“The sheer volume of material and the disarray in the RCMP’s guidance to its employees was reflected in the fact that many RCMP witnesses told us they were unsure of the policies that applied to their actions or whether relevant policies had been followed. »
Specifically, the report targets “contract policing,” which the RCMP provides to much of rural Canada, outside of Quebec.
“There is a long history of efforts to reform the RCMP’s contract policing model to better meet the needs […] of the communities it serves, the report says. These efforts have largely failed to resolve long-standing criticism. »
Gender-based violence
The report also draws links between the shootings and the killer’s mistreatment of women, particularly his partner, Lisa Banfield, whom he isolated from his family and assaulted for many years.
“As stewards, we believe this is the most important lesson to be learned from this massive loss. Look no further,” the report said.
The commission recommends that these forms of violence be declared an “epidemic”, while stressing that many events of mass violence begin with an assault on a woman.
The report details the killer Wortman’s history of domestic abuse in his relationships with women, including Ms. Banfield. In particular, the report notes the experience of Brenda Forbes, a Portapique neighbor who informed the RCMP of Wortman’s abuse of her spouse. However, he never suffered any consequences, while she had to face years of harassment, intimidation and threats from Wortman, which prompted her to leave the province.
Firearms
The commissioners note that the five firearms Wortman possessed when he died — two semi-automatic handguns, a police-style rifle, a semi-automatic shotgun and an RCMP-issued pistol stolen from a female police officer whom he killed — had been obtained illegally.
The killer smuggled at least three guns from the United States and obtained one from the estate of an old friend. Authorities believe he also possessed several other firearms that were allegedly destroyed in fires he started.
The three commissioners recommend amending the Criminal Code and the Firearms Act to narrow loopholes and strengthen prohibitions on possessing certain weapons, specifying that possession of weapons is a “conditional privilege.”
The commission recommends a ban on all semi-automatic handguns and all semi-automatic rifles and rifles that discharge centerfire ammunition and are designed to accept detachable magazines, as well as changes to tighten the laws on high capacity magazines.
The commissioners are also recommending standardized definitions of prohibited firearms in the Criminal Code, something the federal Liberal government tried to do last fall, only to back down in the face of outcry from gun owners.
The commissioners would now like the governments of Canada and Nova Scotia to create an “implementation and mutual accountability” body by May 31 to ensure that their recommendations are implemented.
The commission’s terms of reference make it clear that it cannot assign blame or determine criminal or civil liability, and the government is not bound to implement its 130 recommendations.
Michael MacDonald, chair of the commission, said in written remarks provided ahead of the report’s tabling on Thursday that he hopes governments will avoid “simplistic answers” and turn the report’s findings into action.
“As a country, we need a commitment to continue […] fix broken systems and make violence prevention our North Star. »