The Rodgers Brief

One of the issues that is going to dominate at least the early portions of the Mass Casualty Commission is the performance and decisions of the police officers and supervisors that were involved. Among the issues that have been identified is the myriad jurisdictional questions involved when criminal incidents reach a level where backup is required, which seem to exacerbate operational communicatio...

The Mass Casualty Commission has announced a further delay in the start of public proceedings, pushing back the start date by a further month, to February 22, 2022, now four months beyond the original start date. That there would be a delay was not, in itself, a surprising development, but the reasoning was unexpected.  Many Court matters in Nova Scotia, including in-person appearances and ju...

The person who might be expected to provide the most in-depth, insightful look at the life and motivations of the Nova Scotia mass shooter, and therefore the most anticipated witness for the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) hearings, is his common-law partner of nearly 20 years, Lisa Banfield. Despite that status, there is considerable doubt as to whether she will actually testify, doubt which has b...

The Mass Casualty Commission is being lead by three Commissioners, who have very important duties to fulfill. They have been directing the preparation work for the proceedings, will preside over the proceedings once they begin, and will write a report (including recommendations) once the hearings are complete. It is unusual for there to be three Commissioners appointed for an Inquiry. As I covered...

SIRT has reviewed the final moments of NS Mass Shooter Gabriel Wortman’s killing spree, when he was shot dead by two RCMP officers at the Irving Big Stop in Enfield at 11:25am on April 19, 2020.  To almost nobody’s surprise, SIRT has cleared the officers of any wrongdoing in the incident, which brought to an end a terrifying ordeal for the people of central Nova Scotia and beyond. Reviewing t...

Just after 10am on April 19, 2020, with the Nova Scotia mass shooting killer still on the loose, having left Portapique 12 hours earlier and having committed further killings in the Wentworth area, two RCMP officers erroneously fired multiple shots at a fellow officer and a civilian emergency responder at the Fire Hall in Onslow.  Such incidents draw investigations by the Serious Incident Res...

Last week, Northern Pulp filed a lawsuit against the Province of Nova Scotia, claiming for damages of $450 million on the allegation that the Province conspired to shut down “The Mill”, and in so doing cost Northern Pulp lost profits adding up to that amount. This was a predictable development, and there is a strategy behind what at first read may seem like an outrageous claim. Many are now wonder...

Reports from Paul Palango and Jordan Bonaparte this week suggest that victims’ families are being told to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDA’s) regarding sensitive or damaging information, and are being offered substantial settlements from the RCMP. In this video, I discuss what that might mean for the upcoming Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) hearings.  The NDA’s (or confidentiality agreement...

Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are in the midst of a very concentrated societal experiment of sorts regarding law making and the legitimacy of the rule of law. An issue that arose this week in Nova Scotia regarding the vaccination status of Judges is illustrative of some of the developing tensions.

The Mass Casualty Commission will be the seventh Inquiry held in Nova Scotia, including the ongoing Desmond Fatality Inquiry . There are some interesting commonalities and distinctions among these seven, with the flexible legal structure of inquiries also being on display. The list includes a wrongful conviction inquiry, three fatality inquiries, an investigative inquiry, and a restorative inquiry...

The Mass Casualty Commission issued an update this week, in which they invite citizens to participate in the process (and include a survey to allow people to answer how they would like to do so), remind us of the recently revised schedule , and indicate that progress is being made on the Foundational Documents . The process of creating these documents is a unique feature of this Commission compare...

Much of the information that the public may be hoping to see examined during the Mass Casualty Commission hearings is already compiled and available, but is sealed by Court Order. The ongoing battle over the disclosure of this information can give us insight into potential serious difficulties with the upcoming Commission hearings. When the police want to search any private property, they need to...

The drive along Hwy #2 to the excellent hiking trails of Cape Chignecto is not unlike many secondary NS coastal roads. Portapique is one of a line of communities that takes up a small area along that road. When you drive past the Portapique Beach Road, it seems clear that there were possible escape routes for the gunman through fields behind the houses adjacent to the main road. What did the initi...

A comment from Commission investigator, Barbara MacLean, in the CBC article on the Mass Casualty Commission open houses caught my attention, and may help us all understand some of what is going on with the Commission . Ms. MacLean told a community member that it was important that community members remain engaged and involved after the final report is issued in November, 2022, as the recommendatio...

The Mass Casualty Commission has announced a four-month delay to the start of proceedings, citing the volume of disclosure and witness interviews as factors causing, or justifying, the delay. I believe there is more going on, and that it may indicate there are disputes happening that have not been made public. For months now, the Commission has established October 26, 2021 as the start date for he...

Knowing who is going to be taking part in the Mass Casualty Commission proceedings can give us important insight into what might unfold as those hearings begin later this month. The Commission has released a 22-page decision detailing who may participate, and to what degree each will be involved. The decision also includes funding recommendations for many of the individuals and non-profit groups w...

I want to talk to you about how we know what we already know, and how that may change (and perhaps dramatically change) as we approach the start of the Mass Casualty Commission hearings. We learned some information thanks to media efforts to have our courts order that the RCMP produce documents. I am going to do a separate podcast on the process involved in unsealing these police documents, called...

Discussing the political and legal evolution of the Mass Casualty Commission mandate from the early days when the families and public called for a full public inquiry, through the initial announcement that there would be only a limited review by the Commissioners and the public outcry over that decision, to the current structure where there is a full public inquiry with hearings, witnesses, and th...

With my work representing the Personal Representative to the late Cpl. Lionel Desmond in the Desmond Fatality Inquiry coming to an end, I have an announcement on my next project. The Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission , which will examine the tragic events of April 18-19, 2020 in Portapique and other locations throughout Central Nova Scotia, is set to begin hearings on October 26, 2021, and conc...