The Mass Casualty Commission released its final report on the NS mass shooting Thursday and took aim at the RCMP's response to the crisis..The report was released Thursday, almost three years after 22 people were killed across Nova Scotia by a man dressed as a cop driving a mock police cruiser.. Fake police carGabriel Wortman drove this mock police car during his killing spree in NS. His guns were illegal imports from the US, but the whole unique incident was used by the Liberal government to justify gun confiscation legislation that would have done nothing to reduce street crime. .The report found the RCMP failed to warn community members of the danger they were in, depriving them of potentially life-saving information. .Lack of preparation, a lack of communication and a lack of leadership were the main issues identified which has the commissioners of the report rethinking how the entire RCMP force operates.."More than two years after the event, RCMP leadership had done very little to systematically evaluate its critical incident response to the deadliest mass shooting in Canada's history," the commissioners in the report said.."In our process, it was apparent the organizational structure of the RCMP both contributes to these failings and makes it challenging to hold the organization accountable for its work.".On April 18 and 19, 2020, Gabriel Wortman committed multiple shootings and set fires at 16 locations in Nova Scotia, killing 22 people and injuring three others before he was shot and killed by the RCMP..The report found the responding detachment in Bible Hill didn't have an emergency operational plan.. Victims of NS shootingGabriel Wortman committed multiple shootings and set fires at 16 locations in Nova Scotia, killing 22 people. ."Those in command of the critical incident response of April 18 and 19, 2020, were unaware of the existence of this plan, and it was not used during the mass casualty," said Thursday's report.. Guns used in shootingThe shooter had five firearms in his possession, three handguns and two rifles. He obtained three of them in Houlton, Maine. .It also stated information taken by 911 call-takers in the RCMP Operational Communications Centre wasn't passed along to officers correctly..The report also explained and denounced how the RCMP failed to understand the shooter was driving an authentic-looking replica police car, despite witness reports..In February, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki announced she was retiring from the job..The commissioner came under fire last year from many sides, with the Conservatives and Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro calling for her to resign..Lucki was heavily criticized for her handling of the 2020 Nova Scotia massacre. Handwritten notes by RCMP Supt. Darren Campbell emerged, which claimed Lucki tried to get investigators to reveal the type of weapons used in the shooting in preparation for incoming gun control legislation..Killing the gunman.Around 11:20 am April 19, 2020, Wortman arrived at the Enfield Big Stop gas station from Highway 2, after turning off Highway 102 in NS. This would be his last stop on his killing spree..The Enfield Big Stop surveillance videos show the perpetrator initially pulled in next to pump 7 and then drove around to pump 5..He parked a stolen Mazda 3, but remained in the vehicle. Less than 30 seconds later, RCMP Police Dog Service member Const. Craig Hubley, travelling with Emergency Response Team member Const. Ben MacLeod, parked his unmarked RCMP SUV at pump 6..The gas pump and a canopy pillar were between them and the Mazda 3..As he was exiting his vehicle, Const. Hubley noticed a lone man slouching over in the driver’s seat of the grey vehicle on the other side of the pump. He recognized the perpetrator from the photographs he had reviewed that morning and observed his demeanour and head wound..The two were about 15 feet apart. As he drew his pistol and pointed it at the perpetrator, Hubley shouted “It’s him” to MacLeod. Hubley saw the perpetrator react by “jerking back while seated and immediately rais[ing] a silver coloured pistol in my direction with his right hand.”.Both Hubley and MacLeod testified they followed their training, shooting multiple rounds in a short period of time to ensure the threat presented by the perpetrator was addressed. After firing, the two constables moved to the passenger side of their vehicle, using the engine block as a barrier in case the perpetrator was still able to shoot them..The surveillance video shows as Hubley approached the Mazda 3, the perpetrator changed his position in the vehicle. The Mazda 3 made a rocking motion, and the windows of the vehicle remained intact during this motion. That the rocking motion was caused by the perpetrator discharging his firearm, shooting himself in the head just before or at the time when the RCMP members fired on him..The autopsy showed the immediate cause of death was the multiple bullets fired by Hubley and MacLeod, which caused lethal damage to the perpetrator’s internal organs..Hubley broadcast the perpetrator’s death at 11:27 am on the ERT radio channel. At 11:40 am, RCMP issued its last tweet of the mass casualty, stating the perpetrator was “in custody.” That information was posted on Facebook at 11:41 am..The Report."More than a thousand people generously provided their insights into the impact of the mass casualty. This information has created a stronger awareness of the dimensions of the rippling effect," the report stated.."It has expanded our understanding of the range of people who fit into the category of those most affected, and it has enriched our insight into the nature and size of the indirect effects of the circling waves. It has reinforced the perception that once initiated, a ripple has an immediate effect and that it will not be diminished easily, with its vibrations immeasurably reaching shores in all directions.".One of the recommendations from the Mass Casualty Commission calls for the federal public safety minister to commission an independent review of the RCMP..This review would examine the force's approach to contract policing and work with contract partners, such as the province of Nova Scotia..The report also recommended:.The commission recommends that by May 31, the Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia should establish and fund an Implementation and Mutual Accountability Body with a mandate to provide mutual accountability, exchange of knowledge, and support among all organizations and actors involved in the implementation process.That the RCMP consults with community members on priority areas for action and implementation strategies and establishes a monitoring framework and monitors on an ongoing basis, including through the power to request information from federal, Nova Scotian, and municipal public authorities.That the feds take active steps to encourage members of the public to participate in the whole of social engagement and provide public information about the process of implementing the recommendationsProvide public updates on progress on the implementation plan every three months and publish an annual report on the status of implementation of each recommendation, and liaise with implementation efforts in other provinces and territories.By May 31, the Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia should appoint the Founding Chair and Champion of the Implementation and Mutual Accountability Body following consultation with all commission participants and representatives of the communities most affected by the April 2020 mass casualty, including the Mi’kmaw communities most affected and representatives of African Nova Scotian communities.By July 31, the founding chair, in consultation with representatives of organizations with responsibility mandated by this Report’s recommendations and other interested individuals and organizations, should present the Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia with a proposed list of members and budget for the Implementation and Mutual Accountability Body.By September 1, the Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia should jointly appoint the members of the Implementation and Mutual Accountability Body. As soon as practicable, the Implementation and Mutual Accountability Body should develop a plan for monitoring implementation and establish reporting and accountability mechanisms; it should provide the plan to Parliament and the Nova Scotia Legislature, and take other steps to make it available to members of the public, including through the establishment of a dedicated website that tracks updates and progress.The Implementation and Mutual Accountability Body should provide public updates on the progress of the implementation plan every three months and publish an annual report on the status of implementation of each recommendation.."On April 18 and 19, 2020, the perpetrator took the lives of 22 people (one of whom was expecting a child at the time), physically injured three others, and inflicted lasting harm on the people, families, and communities who were most affected by his actions," the report stated.."In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nova Scotians’ sense of safety was rocked by the mass casualty. The ripples of this incident extended across Canada and well beyond. In the weeks and months after the April 2020 mass casualty, those most affected, Nova Scotians, and the Canadian public were shaken further by revelations about the RCMP’s apparent lack of preparedness for a critical incident response of this scale.".The report revealed the antecedents of the mass casualty ran deep into the perpetrator’s history of violence and misconduct.."This history, in turn, reflects the broader context of our collective social and institutional failures to perceive and respond effectively to gender-based, intimate partner, and family violence. Such failures extend well beyond this perpetrator. We found that there is a close connection between gender-based, intimate partner, and family violence — in which the perpetrator engaged throughout his adult life — and the rarer phenomenon of mass casualty incidents.".The report also looked closely at the aftermath of the April 2020 mass casualty: considering how the most affected families and communities were supported as they navigated their grief and trauma; evaluating the RCMP’s work in the days, weeks, and months after the mass casualty; and looking for lessons that the RCMP could learn from this mass casualty to help keep Canadian communities safer in the future..Gun control.The report also discussed the need for changes around firearm possession..It also mentioned the cross-border smuggling of guns and ammunition into Canada..The commissioners wrote the issue is influenced by the US discourse centred on a right to bear arms "which does not exist in our constitutional and legal structure.".The commission recommended the Criminal Code be changed to prohibit all semi-automatic handguns, semi-automatic rifles, and shotguns that discharge centre-fire ammunition or can accept detachable magazines with capacities of more than five rounds; and ban the use of a magazine with more than five rounds..After Wortman was killed, the RCMP found five firearms in his possession, three handguns and two rifles..He obtained three of them in Houlton, Maine..More to come...
