‘Where’s the accountability?’ Deadline looms for mass shooting inquiry recommendation

The Mass Casualty Commission has called on government to deal with the 'unmet need for mental health, grief and bereavement supports' in northern and central Nova Scotia.

In the coming days, the federal and Nova Scotia governments will face the first deadline for action recommended by the inquiry that investigated the worst mass shooting in Canadian history.

The Mass Casualty Commission, which tabled its final report last month, has called on the two levels of government to deal with the “unmet need for mental health, grief and bereavement supports” in northern and central Nova Scotia, where 22 people were shot dead on April 18-19, 2020.

It remains unclear what, if anything, will happen when the deadline arrives on Monday, but one thing is certain: Serena Lewis will be watching.

The registered social worker was the province’s grief and bereavement coordinator in northern Nova Scotia three years ago when a gunman disguised as a Mountie went on a 13-hour rampage through the largely rural area.

“I’ve dedicated my career to (dealing with) grief, but it’s very difficult with something of this magnitude,” Lewis said in a recent interview, recalling the countless hours she spent trying to help people devastated by the tragedy, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was taking hold.

“I was committing to people that they were going to get the help that was needed.”

But that never happened. Even though she drafted a provincial grief strategy and submitted it to the Nova Scotia government in December 2020, the plan was shelved.

“As my term was coming to an end, I asked if we were going to mobilize the strategy, and I got no word on anything,” said Lewis, who left the role in 2021. “I can’t answer why things are not moving.”