Inquiry into N.S. mass shootings has cost $13M before public hearings have even started

The inquiry examining the circumstances surrounding the April 2020 killings of 22 people in rural Nova Scotia has cost about $13 million so far and public hearings have yet to start. 

The provincial and federal governments are sharing the cost of the Mass Casualty Commission that has a mandate to examine what happened when a gunman disguised as a Mountie attacked neighbours, acquaintances and strangers, as well as causes and context leading up to the shootings and arson. 

There was significant public outcry in the months following the attacks with calls for an independent, transparent examination of the 13-hour rampage. People questioned what police knew and the steps they took to stop the gunman. Many were outraged that it took more than 12 hours after the first 911 call for the RCMP to announce their suspect was driving a mock cruiser. When the force did so it used Twitter, not an emergency alert that could've gone to people's phones. 

But save for a few open houses in affected communities that focused on explaining the inquiry process, the commission's work has been happening behind closed doors. Public proceedings, originally set to begin last October, have been pushed back twice and already the bill for the inquiry is far larger than other inquiries held in Nova Scotia. 

Last week, the law firm that represents 23 people participating in the commission's probe, including family members and people who were directly impacted, said they were opposed to any further delays. 

With the hearings now slated to start in a month — 22 months after the killings — many hope to finally get answers and to start understanding what needs to change to prevent something similar in the future.

Ed Ratushny, an emeritus professor of law at the University of Ottawa who has worked with inquiries as counsel and wrote the book The Conduct of Public Inquiries: Law, Policy, and Practice, said it's challenging to evaluate the cost of an inquiry without knowing exactly where the millions are going.

But he said the commission's expenses seem high given that hearings haven't started. Getting to the public stage as soon as possible, Ratushny said, is important given that "people, the public, are really interested and deserve to know." 

"Sometimes seeking perfection in every detail, you know, could result in the preparation being really a massive dress rehearsal and delay getting on with the show," he told CBC News. 

The Mass Casualty's mandate is broad and includes looking at how government and police agencies responded, communicated and treated people directly affected by the tragedy in hopes of making recommendations for improvements to public safety.

It also extends to the perpetrator's access to firearms, any interactions he previously had with police and the role intimate partner violence played in the attacks. 

More than 60 people work for the joint federal and provincial inquiry and there are three commissioners. 

The commission said the reason for delaying public proceedings until Feb. 22 was that it has been sharing the findings of its year-long investigation with counsel for participants in order to ensure documents that will be presented during hearings are accurate. 

But Ratushny said discussing the case with participants confidentially, even with family members and victims, is "sort of the antithesis of a public inquiry."