HALIFAX –
Mount, responsible for the RCMP’s initial response to the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia, began testifying before an investigation Monday, but the public was barred from listening.
For unspecified health reasons, the staff sergeant. Brian Rehill was allowed to testify by calling Zoom, which is being recorded and will be released later.
Rehil was also released from cross-examination by lawyers representing relatives of 22 people killed on April 18-19, 2020. This decision last week led most families to boycott the proceedings, and some staged a protest outside the hearings in Truro, NS
The reaction is considered unprecedented for a public inquiry of this magnitude.
“I have never seen a situation where Commissioners for Public Investigation seem to have lost the trust and confidence of key countries and potentially the general public,” said Ed Ratushni, an honorary professor at the University of Ottawa and author of the 2009 book. Conduct public investigations “.
“In my opinion, this committee must have lost sight of the fundamental, decisive role of public inquiry. Instead of a full public fact-finding process, it has … limited opportunities to challenge its investigation.”
Ratushni also said that the commission of inquiry should adhere to the legal principle of “justice”, which states that administrative tribunals should allow participants to “test the evidence … through vigorous questioning”.
Second Senior Mountie, Sgt. Andy O’Brien received the same accommodations as Rehil. O’Brien is expected to testify behind closed doors on Tuesday.
In a statement Friday, the commission defended its approach. “Given the health information provided, allowing witnesses to provide evidence in this way will reduce the stress and time pressure that comes from giving oral testimony in court proceedings,” it said. “This format will facilitate the testimony and therefore provide clear evidence.”
Participating lawyers, including those representing the victims’ families, were asked to ask questions about Rehil and O’Brien, but the committee will decide what questions to ask. After the first round of interrogations is over, the participating lawyers will be asked if they have any more questions.
The Commission said the reasons for the special arrangements must remain confidential, as its decision is based on personal information, such as physical or psychological health needs.
In an earlier interview with the commission’s lawyers, Rehil confirmed that he had been out of work for 16 months after the tragedy, saying he was struggling with questions about the decisions he had made.
For some of the relatives of the victims, the commission never had to offer the two Mounties exemption from cross-examination.
“If the officers in charge … can’t come up and defend the decisions they’ve made, then there’s something wrong with this whole process,” Charlene Bagley said during a protest in Truro on Thursday. Her father, Tom, was fatally shot by the shooter early on April 19, 2020, while walking in West Wentworth, NS
Bagley said cross-examination was mandatory.
“It’s easy to sit there and tell the story you’ve been told to tell,” she said. “It’s much harder to face difficult questions. The truth hurts, but we need it.”
Nova Scotia lawyer Adam Rodgers, who analyzed the progress of the investigation in his blog, said this kind of anger was justified.
“Participants were marginalized during … the procedures, and the inability to effectively cross-examine witnesses is central to this marginalization,” Rodgers said in an email.
On May 19, the RCMP of Nova Scotia issued a statement stating that the investigation would violate its own rules if traumatized Mounties were called to testify without any form of accommodation. The mandate of the investigation requires it to adopt a trauma-based approach.
Toronto-based attorney John Mater, who has worked on investigations as an adviser to the commission, said the Mass Victims Commission – as it is officially known – is facing a challenge because it cannot reveal why Rachel and O’Brien were given special status. .
“I believe they must have noticed some real concern that … the cross-examination testimony could create a real risk of injury for these two officers,” Mater said in a recent interview.
“At the same time, I sympathize with the families of the victims because they really do not know why this decision was made and this question will probably never be answered.
As for the allegation that the investigation may face a loss of public confidence, Mater said the impact of the special conditions would not be known until the commission presents its final report on November 1st.
“The importance of the testimony of these officials cannot be underestimated,” he said. “Will there be a gap due to the decision and the boycott? It is difficult to say … The (final) report may be excellent, but it may still suffer from a lack of public confidence.”
On the night of April 18, 2020, Rehill was the RCMP’s risk manager at its operational communications center in Truro, NS. When the center received 911 calls confirming that an active shooter was at large in Portapique, NS, Rehill immediately took command.
Although O’Brien was off duty and had four to five drinks of rum at home, he removed his portable radio from the squad – with the help of his wife – and joined in offering instructions to the officers in charge.
The investigation found that there was confusion about who was in charge tonight. Commissioner Leanne Fitch, a former police chief in Fredericton, said the testimony revealed a “significant breakdown in communication”.
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