Nova Scotia Mass Killing Investigation is First of Four Community Open Houses – Halifax | The Canadian News

About 50 people from the Debert, NS community met with investigators from the commission of inquiry investigating the mass murder that claimed 22 lives in central and northern Nova Scotia last year.

Sunday’s meeting at a local community center was the first of four so-called open houses to be held this week by the commission, which began work 11 months ago.

Over the course of the two-hour meeting, people gathered at tables in small groups and in one-on-one conversations with about 20 research researchers.

Barbara McLean, the commission’s director of investigations, said the informal format of the open houses is intended to allow people in the community to speak directly to investigation teams.

“Open houses are not exclusive to this commission, other commissions have used them,” McLean said. “It is a way of bringing the work of public investigation to the community.”

McLean said participants can simply relate their experiences or take the opportunity to provide the commission with information relevant to their research.

He said it also gives the commission an opportunity to explain its work and make connections with community leaders who will be important in helping to implement the recommendations the research presents.

“The goal of tonight and the other participation sessions is to get people involved,” he said.

Victoria Dickie, from the nearby community of Meaghers Grant, NS, said she found the meeting helpful and “a bit reassuring.”

Dickie, whose nephew Joey Webber was one of the gunman’s victims, said he had a list of questions he asked investigators. He said he left them the list.

“One question I had was what criteria they use to decide who they are going to interview and what documents they are going to cite,” said Dickie. “Apparently, they are still in the process, so it is still something in progress.”

However, not all who attended were satisfied with a format that did not have a formal presentation or an open question and answer session.

“It’s just noise here,” said Joy McCabe.

McCabe lives next to the fire station in Onslow, NS, where two mounted gunmen fired at the building while searching for the gunman. She witnessed what happened from her kitchen window.

The officers were eventually cleared by the province’s Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT), which said they had reasonable grounds to believe that a man outside the room was the killer.

McCabe said there has been a lack of information about what happened as far as she is concerned.

“We have to have answers,” he said. “We have PTSD, we have anxiety. It’s very difficult to go to work every day and get over it. “

The RCMP has confirmed that on the night of April 18, 2020, a gunman disguised as Mountie set fire to several houses and killed 13 people in nearby Portapique, NS. For the next 13 hours, he evaded the police while killing more people he knew and others. random.

The uproar ended after police fatally shot the killer at a gas station in Enfield, NS, north of Halifax. In total, he drove through an area covering 100 kilometers while at large.

The investigation is scheduled to begin public hearings next month in Halifax, with an interim report expected in May and a final report to be presented in November 2022.

Commission Chairman Michael MacDonald, a former Chief Justice of Nova Scotia, has said the commission’s role is not to blame or find criminal or civil liability. He said it will be an investigative exercise that will determine how to prevent similar tragedies.

The investigation may also reveal misconduct. It is not yet known who is on the witness list.

As part of their work, the research staff walked through areas of Portapique during a visit in early June. The group included members of the investigative, legal, investigative, and community engagement teams.

The visit was aimed at understanding the geography of the area where the killings occurred and where some survivors hid or fled through wooded areas while the attacker burned the homes of residents.

On Monday, the commission will hold another open house in Truro, NS, before moving on to the communities of Millbrook, NS, on Tuesday, and Wentworth, NS, on Wednesday.

This Canadian Press report was first published on September 26, 2021.