Judge who led Desmond inquiry accuses N.S. government of spreading misinformation
CTV
The Nova Scotia government is facing accusations from a judge who says misinformation and ignorance were behind the attorney general's decision last week to dismiss him as the commissioner leading a high-profile inquiry.
The Nova Scotia government is facing accusations from a former judge who says misinformation and ignorance were behind the attorney general's decision last week to dismiss him as the commissioner leading a high-profile inquiry.
Warren Zimmer was a provincial court judge when he was appointed in July 2018 to lead the fatality inquiry that investigated why Afghanistan war veteran Lionel Desmond killed three family members and himself in their rural Nova Scotia home in 2017.
Last Tuesday, Premier Tim Houston said his government decided to replace the judge because his final report was taking too long to complete, and the premier said "it wasn't clear a report was forthcoming."
Zimmer was set to retire as a judge in March 2022, a month before the inquiry's hearings concluded. But his term as a sitting judge was extended four times over the past 18 months to give him time to complete his report. On July 4, Attorney General Brad Johns confirmed he had decided not to extend Zimmer's term as a judge. That meant Zimmer had to step down as commissioner, according to rules in the provincial Fatality Investigations Act.
"The family and loved ones of the Desmond family, their community, as well as all Nova Scotians, have been waiting more than five years for answers," Johns said at the time, neglecting to mention lengthy delays that had nothing to do with Zimmer's work.
In a letter sent to inquiry lawyers on July 6, Zimmer challenged the government decision, saying it was based on "misinformation and incomplete information."
"Suggesting that I have delayed the inquiry process, including the filing of a report, is offensive," Zimmer wrote in the letter, obtained by The Canadian Press. "It displays the minister's ignorance of the complexity of the process. This fatality inquiry report is not a news article to be read on the radio."
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