HALIFAX: Eighteen months into the independent public inquiry into April 2020’s mass shooting rampage in rural Nova Scotia, some participants say their confidence in the process is building.
Early on, survivors of the attack and family members of the 22 victims told media that they felt the investigation by the government-appointed Mass Casualty Commission was leaving them in the dark. They also expressed concern about delays to the public hearings and worried about the potential lack of in-person testimony and the ability to call witnesses.
Lawyer Josh Bryson’s frustration is ebbing, however, as a series of witnesses, many of them RCMP officers, have appeared at the public hearings over the past couple of weeks to shed light on how a gunman disguised as a Mountie managed to perpetrate a 13-hour killing spree that began in the small community of Portapique and ended with officers shooting and killing him at a gas station in Enfield.
“I’m not casting a grade on the entire (inquiry) but my outlook is much more positive,” said Bryson, a South Shore lawyer representing the family of Joy and Peter Bond, a retired couple in their 70s who were fatally shot in their home in Portapique on the night of April 18, 2020. “I’m impressed with the past two weeks.”
Sandra McCulloch, a Truro lawyer representing the families of most of the victims, said she is more encouraged by the proceedings.
“We are certainly seeing some gains being made in terms of more live witnesses and our opportunity to question them.”
Bryson said in an interview with Advocate Media that information flow is key.
“We have been pursuing that from the beginning,” he said. “We are starting to hear from commanding officers … They’re offering valuable insight to get a better understanding of what occurred.”
The aim is to address systemic issues within the force to avoid a similar tragedy down the road, he said. “I’m pleased with some of the progress being made. We are seeing areas that can be addressed by the commission. The evidence is there. Actions, with the benefit of hindsight, are being critiqued.”
Bryson said he’s finding the live testimony “a lot more fulfilling” than the series of foundational documents the commission has created based on 40,000 pages of evidence, 230 video and audio files and information collected through its own investigations, witness interviews and site visits.
“There are things not captured in the foundational documents that we’re hearing from actual witnesses,” he said.
The commission has said the foundational documents, written before the hearings began on Feb. 22, were created as a starting point to make an unwieldly amount of information manageable and prevent the inquiry from dragging on for years beyond its mandate to file a final report with recommendations to the provincial and federal governments by Nov. 1.
Bryson said he’s less concerned about that looming deadline with the pace of witnesses picking up over the past couple of weeks, noting that a workday can stretch 17 hours when hearings are scheduled.
Most of the public proceedings, which are webcast, are being held at the Halifax Convention Centre. The hearings are shifting to the Best Western Glengarry in Truro on Wednesday and Thursday and will focus on command decisions and the critical incident response.