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

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 modern 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, including a pregnant woman. The gunman was later shot and killed by police.

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 co-ordinator 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."

The commission of inquiry concluded that the government's inaction led to a prolonged "public health emergency" in the counties where the killings occurred — Colchester, Cumberland and Hants.

"Many people continue to be affected by this incident," the commission's report says. "While most of them describe its impact as a decline in mental health and/or well-being, others say it has affected the way they live their lives."

Among other things, the commission found the province gave very little support to the most affected residents, and there were delays in providing what was available. For example, people were simply given a list of counsellors rather than help in connecting with one. And some residents had to recount their traumatic experiences repeatedly as they navigated the support system.

Darcy Dobson, the daughter of victim Heather O'Brien, told the inquiry she did not get the help she needed.

"There is definitely a mental-health resource problem in this country, and in this province," she said. "And something needs to be done about it. You never expect a mass casualty to happen, but it does. We're living proof that there was nobody who knew how to handle the mass of mental health issues that came with it."

The commission found that "governmental support has been inadequate, leading to a healing deficit and ... broken trust." The report goes on to say the long-term implications include "the potential to lead to further cycles of violence and trauma."