RCMP were cleared in a fatal Moncton shooting but the public wasn't told. Will that change?
CBC
Nova Scotia's police watchdog agency concluded an RCMP officer was justified in fatally shooting a 24-year-old man in Moncton two years ago. Until last week, that conclusion was a secret.
Neither RCMP or the Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) released the information when the probe finished in 2020.
The case raises questions about whether results of similar investigations will be readily made public when SIRT formally expands to New Brunswick next year.
A statement last week from New Brunswick's Department of Justice and Public Safety didn't answer the question. SIRT's director declined an interview.
"All of these reports should be made public because policing is a public service," Michael Boudreau, a St. Thomas University criminology professor, said in an interview.
"It's troubling that the RCMP didn't want to release this because it makes it look as if they had something to hide, when it turns out they didn't. The officer was cleared of any wrongdoing in this shooting."
New Brunswick doesn't have an independent agency to investigate serious incidents involving police like SIRT or Ontario's Special Investigations Unit.
In recent fatal or non-fatal shootings by police, New Brunswick police forces have turned to agencies in other provinces to investigate an officer's actions.
After years of calls to implement an agency, including from Boudreau, the New Brunswick government announced last month it will partner with Nova Scotia to formally expand SIRT to respond in this province next year.
Geoffrey Downey, a spokesperson for New Brunswick's Department of Justice and Public Safety, said in an emailed statement last week the province is reviewing legislative requirements for the new model. Downey didn't say if SIRT's reports will be routinely made public.
In Nova Scotia, SIRT is required to publicly release a summary of its findings. The report and a news release are posted online. If criminal charges are laid, a less detailed report is issued to avoid releasing information that could affect the trial.
But in New Brunswick, two SIRT investigations requested by RCMP of shootings in the Moncton-area in 2019 resulted in the Mounties and SIRT saying they couldn't release the results. SIRT previously said since it lacked a formal mandate in New Brunswick, it didn't have authority to release the reports.
The Mounties directed CBC to file access to information requests. In both, the force responded months later claiming it couldn't find the reports.
In both cases, CBC filed complaints with the federal information commissioner, resulting in RCMP releasing the reports.
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.
Thoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility.
A memorial to remember lives lost to gender-based violence was held in Charlottetown Friday, ahead of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, which is marked annually on Dec. 6.
A Calgary dentist who defrauded five insurance companies over a decade should spend up to three years in prison, the prosecution argued Friday.