Nearly two years after the mass shooting that left 22 dead in Nova Scotia, the families of the victims hope to finally be heard during an independent investigation which will begin on Tuesday.
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It was during the night of April 18 to 19, 2020 that a man disguised as a police officer caused the largest mass shooting in Canadian history.
For the daughter of one of the victims, the Nova Scotia division of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) must explain why it waited hours before warning the public that a crazed gunman was moving through the province.
“We just want an explanation,” Darcy Dobson told the Globe and Mail. Ms. Dobson’s mother, Heather O’Brien, is one of the victims of this tragedy.
“How can you send out an alert asking people to stay home on Easter weekend, but eight days later my mother was killed by a crazed gunman, and the public is not told? If she had known, she would never have left the house,” she added.
Families of victims disappointed by the investigation
So far, the families of the victims say they are generally disappointed with the investigation which is due to begin on Tuesday. Only one day before the start of the hearing, some of them say they have not received the list of witnesses who will be called to the bar and therefore do not know if they will have the chance to be heard.
“It appears that the families and first-degree victims will have very little opportunity to ask questions during the investigation, or even to give their own testimony,” explained the lawyer who represents the families of the victims, Robert Pineo, who feels that many of his clients are still traumatized by the drama.
On the side of the commission responsible for the investigation, it is claimed to have worked in concert with the relatives of the victims. “A public inquiry is not a trial, nor is it about assigning blame […]. The work of the commission is to determine what happened, why and how it happened, in order to make recommendations that will help ensure that it does not happen again, ”explained the principal lawyer of the commission, Emily Hill.
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Reference-www.journaldequebec.com