Assistant Commissioner Dennis Daley, commanding officer of the Nova Scotia RCMP, prepares to speak to reporters in Truro, N.S., on Thursday, March 30, 2023. The RCMP is expected to provide an update today on progress the national police force has made in responding to the inquiry into the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese
HALIFAX – The RCMP released today a strategy that they say will ensure “meaningful change” results from their response to the public inquiry into the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia that claimed 22 lives.
Commissioner Mike Duheme issued a statement admitting the national police force is aware that its previous responses to other reviews and reports have “not always been fulsome.”
As well, Duheme says the RCMP haven’t been transparent about the work they have done to change.
That’s why the RCMP have created a so-called “sector focused on reform,” which the Mounties say represents a “concrete demonstration of our commitment to change.”
The report comes three months after the police force’s self-imposed deadline passed, and almost a year after the federal-provincial public inquiry released its final report.
The 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.
“The commission, as well as the tragedy itself, highlighted an urgent need to improve our approach to preparing for and responding to crises, as well as learning from these events, in order to keep communities safe,” today’s RCMP report says.
“Our goal is to ensure that our response to the commission’s final report will have a lasting impact on our organization, as well as the communities we serve across Canada.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2024.
