Desmond inquiry: Nova Scotia inquest into shooting tragedy facing complex challenges
Global News
The Lionel Desmond inquiry is expected to draw to a close next month in Nova Scotia, with questions still lingering about what it can accomplish.
Almost five years after Afghanistan war veteran Lionel Desmond killed three family members and himself, an inquiry is expected to draw to a close next month in Nova Scotia with questions still lingering about what it can accomplish.
Before the provincial fatality inquiry was approved by the province on Dec. 28, 2017, Nova Scotia’s chief medical examiner, Matt Bowes, told then-justice minister Mark Furey it wasn’t a good idea.
“Many of the issues surrounding these fatalities are within the sole jurisdiction of the federal government or are interconnected with areas of provincial jurisdiction,” Bowes told Furey in a Dec. 1, 2017, letter submitted as evidence at the inquiry.
“A (provincial) inquiry cannot make recommendations about matters under federal jurisdiction.”
At the time, Bowes recommended a joint federal-provincial inquiry, saying Ottawa’s stated willingness to co-operate with a provincial inquiry could prove to be an empty promise. A Nova Scotia government spokeswoman later confirmed Furey had requested a joint inquiry but was turned down by Ottawa.
That left Bowes with little choice but to call for a provincial inquiry and hope for the best.
Among other things, the provincial inquiry has investigated the circumstances leading to killings in Upper Big Tracadie, N.S., on Jan. 3, 2017. On that day, Desmond entered his family’s home dressed in camouflaged clothing and shot his wife, Shanna, 31, their 10-year-daughter, Aaliyah, and his 52-year-old mother, Brenda, before turning the gun on himself.
The 33-year-old retired infantryman had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2011 after completing a particularly violent tour in Afghanistan in 2007. He had also been diagnosed with major depression, and later tests indicated he may have had a traumatic brain injury.