RCMP to release progress report on response to inquiry into 2020 mass shooting

The RCMP are expected to provide an update today on progress they have made in responding to the inquiry into the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting that killed 22 people.

The RCMP are expected to provide an update today on progress they have made in responding to the inquiry into the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting that killed 22 people.

The report from RCMP commissioner Mike Duheme comes three months after the police force’s self-imposed deadline passed, and almost a year after the public inquiry released its final report.

The federal-provincial Mass Casualty Commission investigated the worst mass shooting in modern Canadian history and issued 130 non-binding recommendations to improve public safety, a majority of which apply in some form to the Mounties.

Earlier this month, the RCMP’s website was quietly updated to show it has responded to two key recommendations — one dealing with critical incident response training and the other with management culture.

In terms of critical incident response, the inquiry’s three commissioners found that when the shooting started in Portapique, N.S., on the night of April 18, 2020, the Mounties were quick to discount witness statements and were so poorly managed that officers were always one step behind the killer.

As for the RCMP’s selection of senior officers and staff, the inquiry’s final report — released March 30, 2023 — cited a 2015 task force that concluded RCMP management culture discourages leaders from relaying bad news up the chain of command and from making decisions that may be criticized.

“We identified evidence in our proceedings that suggest the continuing operation of this tendency today,” the inquiry report said, adding that the 2020 Bastarache Report on sexual harassment in the RCMP found that women managers were not always given the same respect as their male colleagues.

The inquiry found that RCMP management culture thwarts institutional learning and accountability. It cited a long list of “unhealthy patterns,” including: a resistance to acknowledging errors; a lack of resources for responding to criticism and a resistance to acknowledging the existence of sexism and systemic racism within the ranks.