On anniversary of mass shooting, N.S. justice minister apologizes for saying domestic violence not epidemic

Premier Tim Houston said he wanted to "set the record straight" about his and his government's position on domestic violence, hours after Nova Scotia Justice Minister Brad Johns apologized for saying he doesn't think domestic violence is an epidemic.

"The minister has apologized for his comments and we'll chat with him, but I want Nova Scotians to know that we understand how serious the issue is and it's a priority of ours to address it," Houston told CBC News at an event in New Glasgow on Thursday night. 

"So the minister has apologized for his comments, he was wrong in his comments and I'm trying to set the record straight on how I personally feel and how our government feels."

Provincial opposition leaders had called for Johns to resign. Houston did not directly answer a question at the Thursday evening event asking whether he stood by Johns and would keep him in cabinet as justice minister.

He did say survivors of intimate partner violence will be listened to and respected if they choose to come forward.

Thursday marked the fourth anniversary of a deadly shooting rampage that claimed the lives of 22 Nova Scotians. Earlier in the day, Johns had said he agrees with some — but not all — of the recommendations made by the joint federal and provincial inquiry that examined the circumstances that led a gunman to target his neighbours, acquaintances and strangers, including a pregnant woman and an RCMP officer, in several rural communities on April 18 and 19, 2020.

The Mass Casualty Commission's final report, released in March of last year, called for sweeping changes to end gender-based violence, which it called an epidemic. The commission found the violence in Portapique, N.S., began with a brutal assault on the gunman's spouse and that he had a long history of violence. 

"An [epidemic], you're seeing it everywhere all the time, I don't think that's the case," Johns told reporters following a cabinet meeting in downtown Halifax. 

The minister said he can respect that service organizations would disagree with him, but added he thinks there are bigger issues than domestic violence

"We have issues around guns, we have issues around drugs. We have issues. There's a lot of issues. Violence in general," Johns said.

A few hours later, a Justice Department spokesperson released a statement attributed to Johns acknowledging the minister "made comments that were wrong and have caused pain."

"The pervasiveness of domestic violence and the harm it causes in our communities is not something that should ever be minimized and I am truly sorry that my words did so. This government, my department and I agree that domestic violence is an epidemic," Johns said in a statement.

Following Johns's initial comments to reporters, Premier Tim Houston appeared via video conference and clarified his government's stance on domestic violence.

"As the Mass Casualty Commission included in their report, domestic violence is an epidemic in Nova Scotia and in Canada, and the commission was very clear it played a role in the tragedy that occurred 2020, and we will do everything we can to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again."