The Rodgers Brief

The Mass Casualty Commission is sitting for two days this week, during which there will be a series of “Small Group” sessions, which we are assured is different than a “Roundtable” or “Witness Panel”, despite their similar appearance.  We had been expecting to hear about the resolution of an application to the Commissioners by Frank Magazine (and supported by many others) first thing Monday m...

There were foundational documents presented today dealing with the (ultimately futile) helicopter efforts, assistance from the Halifax Police, and the 911 and radio systems in NS.  The one RCMP helicopter that serves NS and NB was out of service for nearly two and a half months around the time of the mass shooting, and there was no backup plan in place. There were military helicopters in Gree...

There were two witnesses today appearing before the Mass Casualty Commission, one civilian member, and one staff sergeant, each of whom had a role in public communications during the events of the mass casualty. In the morning Director of Strategic Communications, Lia Scanlan testified. In the afternoon, Staff Sergeant Addie MacCallum gave his account of the events of April 18-19, 2020. Both witne...

One of the main complaints in the immediate aftermath of the April 18-19, 2020 mass casualty events was the use by the RCMP of social media posts to warn the public, rather than issuing an emergency alert to citizens’ cell phones, and then the low degree of accuracy of the content of those posts. Today, after a brief presentation by Commission lawyer Anna Mancini, three witnesses attempted to expl...

Just before being appointed as one of the three Commissioners of the NS Mass Casualty Commission, Toronto-based lawyer, Kim Stanton finished writing a book on Inquiries, called Reconciling Truths. There are several themes and lessons the MCC may draw from this work, which might help it fulfill its mandate, and increase the level of public trust in the Commission.

The focus of the MCC was on the Town of Truro today, with a Foundational Document and witness discussing the interaction between the RCMP and Truro Police as Gabriel Wortman made his way towards, and ultimately through, the Town of Truro.  We have heard from Chief Dave MacNeil before today, as he has been interviewed about the Truro Police role in and knowledge of the killer’s movements throu...

This was the second day in a row where the Mass Casualty Commission had hosted experts from a wide range of locations to discuss approaches to critical incidents. Unfortunately, as was the case yesterday, there was no discussion whatsoever of the events of the April 18-19, 2020 mass casualty in Nova Scotia. There were two panel discussions. The first one in the morning dealt with issues around mak...

There were two discussion panels held today by the Mass Casualty Commission, dealing with responses to critical incidents. The first one dealt with how best to prepare the police and other first responding stakeholders for a critical incident. The second session dealt with how to corporate civilians, 911 operators and others into the response package.

In video posted yesterday evening, retired Sergeant Andy O’Brien testified about his role in the response to the mass casualty events. Sgt. O’Brien oversaw operations for the Colchester County RCMP, but was off duty on April 18, 2020 when he was contacted about the initial reports out of Portapique. He has stated that he had 4-5 drinks of rum that night, and though he was initially reluctant to ta...

Staff Sergeant Brian Rehill testified yesterday, by Zoom, and the video was released this morning. S/Sgt. Rehill had asked for accomodations to allow the testimony to not be broadcast live, and for him to not be cross examined.  The MCC Commissioners granted his request, but should be having second thoughts after watching him testify without trouble for over five hours.   S/Sgt. Reh...

The Mass Casualty Proceedings continued today from Truro, with testimony from Staff Sgt. Al Carroll, who was the District Commander for Colchester County at the time of the shootings. Outside of the facility where the proceedings were taking place, family members and supporters were protesting the Commission’s decision-making on witness accommodation requests for RCMP supervisors. This was day two...

After operating out of three separate location (most prominently the Nova Centre) in Halifax, the Mass Casualty Commission has shifted their proceeding location to Truro. The decision appears to have been made primarily for scheduling purposes and in consideration of the availability of venues. There was also a decision released by the Commissioners, which has led to a dramatic boycott by lawyers...

We are learning more about the RCMP command structure as the Mass Casualty Commission proceedings continue. Today, two further recently retired staff sergeants testified. Staff Sgts. Jeff West and Kevin Surette testified together as a panel. They were working together in command of the mass casualty response for the bulk of the 13 hours over which it took place. Staff Sgt. West was in charge, with...

After having spent most of the proceeding time thus far hearing about what lower ranking officers saw and did, we finally had an opportunity today to hear from a more senior supervisor, Staff Sergeant Steve Halliday. S.Sgt. Halliday was in command of the efforts early on in the mass casualty and throughout the night, and was on the stand most of the day today describing how he directed resources,...

The level of preparation and response capacity of the RCMP faced significant criticism today from the leader of the RCMP’s Emergency Response Team (ERT). Cpl. Tim Mills, who has since left the Force, testified today, along with fellow ERT member, Cpl. Trent Milton. Their testimony was preceded by a very short (15 minutes) presentation of a 70-page Foundational Document on the ERT response.  T...

Continuing the focus of the week on emergency alert systems, the mass casualty commission proceedings today included two roundtable discussion panels on how best to communicate emergency alerts to the public. We also learned today that the Commission is still refusing to disclose the videos from the scene at the Enfield Big Stop when the killing spree was brought to an end, with the police shootin...

After hearing yesterday about the capabilities of our emergency alert system, and the way it is organized and used in Nova Scotia, today we heard an international perspective on public safety on how such alerts are used in Australia and the UK. Michael Hallowes is an expert on the subject, who lead the development of the emergency alert system in Australia, after a career as a police officer in En...

The focus of today’s proceedings was the structure of the Alert Ready system in Nova Scotia at the time of the mass casualty in April, 2020, and some changes that have been incorporated since then. There were two brief Foundational Document presentations, followed by two witnesses from the NS Emergency Management Office (EMO). Though this was not obvious from the information provided on the MCC we...

Today was an important day at the Mass Casualty Commission. Four RCMP officers whose actions had been the subject of many critical questions testified about their involvement in the effort to stop the active shooter. In the morning, Csts. Terry Brown and Dave Melanson testified together as a witness panel about the shooting at the Onslow Belmont Fire Hall. In the afternoon, Cst. Ian Fahie and Cpl....

The proceedings today featured a single witness, speaking to police uniforms, and also submissions from lawyers for the participants on gaps they identified in the evidence that has been presented so far dealing with firearms.  The focus of the Corps Sergeant Major’s testimony (lead by Commission lawyer Rachel Young) was the deliberations of a working group on RCMP uniforms, how they address...

Last week, the legislative committee studying policing in British Columbia recommended that a new provincial police force be created, and adopt modern approaches to citizen-police relations and community safety. Nova Scotia has a very similar police structure, and faces many of the same policing issues as are being experienced in BC, and could follow their example on widespread consultation and re...

I read through the MCC Interim Report, which was released late today. It contains little by way of information or conclusions, but is rather mostly a further reminder of the plans the Commissioners have for the future, and the design of the MCC proceedings. This report could easily have been entirely written before the proceedings started.  The Commissioners are taking full ownership of the p...

As we delve further into the Mass Casualty Commission proceedings, we are seeing a variety of formats for the conveying of information. Today, the MCC proceedings featured six individuals in what was called a ‘round table’ discussion, answering questions about police paraphernalia and those who impersonate police officers.  (Information was conveyed, and questions were answered, but I am purp...

Since I was in the city yesterday for the launch of Paul Palango’s book on the mass casualty, “22 Murders”, I decided to stay up and take in the MCC proceedings in-person again. This was my second time attending. Today’s proceedings were held at the Prince George Hotel, rather than the Nova Centre. It was a much more compact setting, which in part seemed to demonstrate that the Nova Centre may be...

I attended the launch event for Paul Palango’s book on the NS Mass Shooting, entitled ’22 Murders’. The launch was held at the Old Triangle in downtown Halifax, the pub to which the statue of Joseph Howe points from it’s perch at Province House. Any journalist would be proud to be associated with Mr. Howe, and Palango is just such a fearless journalist that would have fit Howe’s hopes for the futu...