Chair of N.S. shooting inquiry worries budget constraints could impede RCMP watchdog
CBC
The chairman of Nova Scotia's mass shooting inquiry has raised concerns that budget constraints could tether investigations by the watchdog agency that oversees complaints against the RCMP.
Michael MacDonald asked participants in an online roundtable discussion in Dartmouth, N.S., Wednesday whether funding concerns are a "blatant affront" to the independence of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP.
While the oversight agency has the power to start its own inquiries, agency chairperson and panel member Michelaine Lahaie confirmed she must send a letter assuring the minister of Public Safety there are sufficient resources before opening a probe.
MacDonald asked if this raised the possibility "police misconduct can go unaccounted for, because there's not enough money left in your budget," and then he added this "sounds a little concerning to me."
Lahaie says ensuring enough funding "is an issue of concern," and it's something she's also spoken about at the parliamentary committee that oversees public safety and national security.
The online panel discussion on police accountability is part of the inquiry's look into how to improve policing after a mass shooting that saw 22 people killed by a gunman driving a replica patrol vehicle on April 18-19, 2020.
Lahaie said her agency mainly handles civilian-initiated complaints, but it also has the power to start its own investigations and carry out reviews of systemic problems.
The agency can agree with the police findings about complaints, or produce an interim report with findings and recommendations, which is sent to the RCMP commissioner for a response.
Lahaie confirmed to the commission there's currently no requirement that the RCMP tell her agency if its recommendations are carried out, adding "that is a failing in the system that we identified."
However, she noted that legislative changes being contemplated by the government would require the RCMP to provide an annual report to the minister of Public Safety that would indicate the status of her agency's recommendations.
Worries over this issue have also come up earlier in the inquiry, when RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki was asked on Aug. 25 why the police force hadn't implemented recommendations from a Jan. 13, 2020, review by the complaints commission following the homicide of Colten Boushie, a Cree man who was shot and killed on a farm in Saskatchewan in 2016.
The 2020 review noted there was a delay before major crime investigators arrived at the scene. It specifically recommended that RCMP investigators attend crime scenes in a "timely fashion" in the future.
Lucki was asked by a lawyer representing a victim's family why this recommendation hadn't filtered down to the Nova Scotia RCMP by the time of the mass shooting, when it took more than 18 hours for major crime investigators to visit the scene where Peter and Joy Bond were murdered in Portapique, N.S.
"Maybe we have a responsibility to be better at communicating these policies," Lucki conceded in August.
One of Prince Edward Island’s last surviving Second World War veterans has died.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada has too much regulation and not enough investments in clean energy and technology — and he's making his most direct repudiation yet of his predecessor's environmental policies.
WARNING: This story contains distressing content, including racist, violent and antisemitic language.
A national Jewish advocacy organization is taking legal action against Manitoba's medical regulator over a complaint it made last year alleging a prominent doctor made antisemitic comments on social media.
A cat that went missing in a remote area of northeastern B.C. is finally back home with its family in Oklahoma, five months later.
It wasn’t clear trolleys would be a hit in Medicine Hat, but the Sunshine Trolley has wound its way into Hatters’ hearts.
More than 200 volunteers and politicians gathered in Etobicoke Saturday for the Daily Bread Food Bank’s holiday sort.
The rising cost-of-living has already made supporting a family difficult this year. But, the holidays can make staying on budget that much harder.
Strong winds across the Maritimes left thousands of N.B. Power customers without electricity on Saturday afternoon — and it could be days before all customers have their power restored.
Toronto police say they located a body inside a downtown Toronto home Saturday.
Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge is responding to public outcry against his government’s policy changes for non-permanent residents by making a plea to the federal government.
A man in Saskatoon is in hospital after being shot by police as officers executed a warrant late Friday night.
RCMP say a man who was reported missing near Key First Nation has been found deceased.