The Rodgers Brief

There were four presentations today, the final day of proceedings in the Mass Casualty Commission, followed by closing remarks from the three Commissioners.  Ben Perryman from the BC Civil Liberties Association gave a clear and insightful closing, identifying the failures of policing, the hostile stance towards the inquiry taken by the RCMP, and the lack of oversight currently available for c...

The second last day of proceedings from the Mass Casualty Commission featured closing submissions and recommendations from Lisa Banfield's lawyer Jessica Zita, as well as those from LEAF/Avalon Sexual Assault Centre, Feminists Against Femicide, the RCMP Veterans Association of NS, the Truro Police, as well as firearms advocacy and opposition groups. Ms. Zita spoke about how Ms. Banfield (who, it a...

There were four closing submission presentations today, by lawyers representing the brother of Scott MacLeod, the Gina Goulet family, the Oliver/Tuck family, and a lawyer representing Women's Shelter Canada, Transition House of NS, and Be the Peace Institute. The lawyer for Lisa Banfield was scheduled to speak, but had travel delays coming from Toronto, and will instead by speaking at 9am tomorrow...

The final week of the Mass Casualty Commission proceedings will be used to hear closing submissions by the participants. After so many days of proceedings, with such a large volume of evidence, closing submissions are an opportunity for the parties to give their perspective on what has been heard, and to make recommendations.  Notably, there is one participant that will not be making closing...

On the final day of hearings before the parties make closing submissions next week, the Mass Casualty Commission had a half day of proceedings featuring speakers from the BC Civil Liberties Association, the East Coast Prison Justice Society, and the NS Department of Justice. That was followed  by a presentation by the Avalon Sexual Assault Centre on their findings from meetings held with marg...

The Mass Casualty Commission held its final research and policy roundtable today. This one was focused on civilian oversight advice for the Commissioners, and featured 19 speakers, in addition to the moderator.  The biggest news of the day may have been the sudden announcement that Frank Magazine was not going to be publishing any more issues. Frank has been a unique and important source of i...

The Mass Casualty Commission hosted two talking circles today, featuring indigenous persons from across Nova Scotia. The participants discussed their experiences of the morning of April 19, 2020, their views on the institutions serving Nova Scotians, and their views on policing. An interesting comparison was made with the lack of a trusting relationship between the police and indigenous communitie...

The second in command RCMP officer in Canada, Dep. Commissioner Brian Brennan, testified today at the Mass Casualty Commission. He discussed the relationship between the NS RCMP and the national leadership, the difficulties being experienced by the top RCMP officers in NS, and operational issues like emergency alerts and decommissioned vehicle sales. DC Brennan also mentioned the lessons he felt w...

The Mass Casualty Commission hosted a 'roundtable discussion' today on the structure of policing in NS. There were 20 participants, which made it difficult for any real discussion to take place. Rather, there was a series of vignettes from each participant. None of the lawyers for the parties were permitted to ask questions.  The three main points from today's proceedings were that the Provin...

There was an interesting discussion of a potential new model of policing today at the Mass Casualty Commission. Unfortunately, that discussion was mostly hidden among long, academic discussions that purposefully avoided discussing the events of the April 18-19, 2020.  The new kind of policing is meant to take a broader look at community safety and wellness, rather than a narrow focus on such...

The MCC heard from Cst. Greg Wiley, who was the officer who knew Gabriel Wortman as a community contact, and had approximately 15 interactions with him in the years before the mass shooting. Cst. Wiley was granted the most unusual of accommodations by the MCC, so that the video or audio from his testimony cannot be broadcast, under threat of criminal sanction should the order be violated. Cst. Wil...

In another late Friday afternoon news release, the MCC has issued a decision to ban the publication of any audio or video of Cst. Greg Wiley's testimony on Tuesday. Cst. Wiley is a key witness, having visited Gabriel Wortman 16 times over the course of a few years. This decision is unsupported by any publicly available evidence.  The Commissioners have threatened to have anyone who violates t...

The second day of phase three of the Mass Casualty Commission proceedings featured presentations and discussions on how gender based violence can be addressed. I discuss how it may not be through the MCC that such issues are best addressed, as it has not yet been compellingly argued that domestic violence is the best lens through which to assess what happened.  The RCMP 'psychological autopsy...

The Mass Casualty Commission started Phase 3 of their work, which is to be focused on parsing through potential recommendations from participants, and determining which might form part of the final report. That report, which was expected to be delivered November 1st, is going to be five months late, after the MCC received permission from the Provincial and Federal governments to do so. I discuss t...

The Mass Casualty Commission heard today from Halifax Regional Police Chief Dan Kinsella today. Chief Kinsella was brought in to discuss the HRP role in the events of April 18-19, 2020, as well as the structure of policing in Nova Scotia. HRP and the RCMP each cover different areas of Halifax Regional Municipality, and so confront issues of interoperability on a regular basis.  There are two...

In my piece yesterday, I noted how Comm. Lucki was able to answer questions at length, and with reference to specific details, in contrast to the answers of the RCMP’s NS Commanding Officer Lee Bergerman. Today we saw a different version of that kind of answer from Comm. Lucki. She was still answering at length, but was more often unable to provide details on elements of the RCMP operations, which...

The MCC proceedings continued to focus today on the leadership of the RCMP, featuring continuing testimony from the now-retired former Commanding Officer for the RCMP in Nova Scotia, Lee Bergerman, and the current national Commissioner of the RCMP, Brenda Lucki. The contrast in leadership style and competence between the two was on stark display, and it was not a contrast that favoured Ms. Bergerm...

After a three-week summer break, the Mass Casualty Commission resumed proceedings today, with testimony from retired Assistant Commissioner Lee Bergerman. Asst. Comm. Bergerman was the head of the RCMP in Nova Scotia at the time of the events of the mass casualty. She retired from the RCMP just before the MCC proceedings were set to start last October.  The timing of Asst. Comm. Bergerman’s r...

After a 3-week hiatus, the Mass Casualty Commission will be holding proceedings again starting Monday August 22nd. There are proceedings scheduled for the following four weeks as well, and then a break for the month of October, before the Commissioners release their report on November 1st.  This week, we will be hearing from Assistant Commissioner Lee Bergerman, the head of the RCMP in Nova S...

The final day of Mass Casualty Commission proceedings before a three week break featured some revelations, expressions of regret, and careful answers from Chief Superintendent Chris Leather, who was the second ranking RCMP officer in Nova Scotia at the time of the events of the April 18-19, 2020 mass shooting. These all emerged from cross examination by lawyers for the family participants, though...

The Mass Casualty Commission continued to hear from senior NS-based RCMP commanders today, with testimony from Chief Superintendent Chris Leather. C/Sup Leather was the second ranking officer in Nova Scotia at the time of the events of the mass casualty. He was in Halifax after having testified Monday in Ottawa before the Federal Public Safety and National Security Subcommittee.  Among the ob...

After providing his direct testimony yesterday, Superintendent Darren Campbell was cross examined by lawyers for the participants today. Sup. Campbell was the third ranking RCMP officer in Nova Scotia at the time of the April 18-19, 2020 mass shooting, and is the first of the senior ranking RCMP officers to testify at the Mass Casualty Commission. Before Sup. Campbell’s testimony began, we learned...

It was a busy day for those following the analysis of actions of senior RCMP officers during the events of the mass shooting of April 18-19, 2020 and the press conferences which were held in the aftermath. Superintendent Darren Campbell, who was the third ranking officer in NS at the time of the mass shooting, was testifying in Halifax in the Mass Casualty Commission proceedings. At the same time,...

Two experts in forensic psychology have conducted an assessment of the RCMP's Psychological Autopsy of Gabriel Wortman, and were called upon to explain their conclusions. They were highly critical of the report, which does not adhere to the standards they would expect from a forensic psychological assessment.  The RCMP's assessment is not available to view. Instead, the MCC has posted a summa...

The MCC today featured a panel discussion on “IPV, GBV and Family Violence: Personal and Community Responses”, and featured Pamela Cross, Legal Director, Luke's Place Support and Resource Centre, Dr. Deborah Doherty, former Executive Director of the Public Legal Education and Information Service of New Brunswick, Emma Halpern, Executive Director, Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland NS, Professor Jan...