One of the highest-ranking teams during the mass shooting in Nova Scotia two years ago requested an independent review of how the incident was handled, but says Ottawa never took action.
Sup. Darren Campbell testifies Monday before the Mass Casualty Commission, which is leading the public inquiry into the killings of April 18-19, 2020, when a gunman shot and killed 22 people over 13 hours in several communities across the province. The victims include a pregnant woman and an RCMP officer.
Campbell was the support services officer at the time of the shootings, making him the third highest-ranking Mountie in the province. He handled the majority of public meetings after April 19, 2020 and was responsible for bringing in critical incident resources such as incident commanders and the emergency response team.
Twenty-two people died on April 18 and 19, 2020. Top row from left: Gina Goulet, Dawn Gulenchyn, Jolene Oliver, Frank Gulenchyn, Sean McLeod, Alanna Jenkins. Second row: John Zahl, Lisa McCully, Joey Webber, Heidi Stevenson, Heather O’Brien and Jamie Blair. Third row from top: Kristen Beaton, Lillian Campbell, Joanne Thomas, Peter Bond, Tom Bagley and Greg Blair. Bottom row: Emily Tuck, Joy Bond, Corrie Ellison and Aaron Tuck. (CBC)
After Campbell met with officials and key officials who were present during the mass shooting, including retired Sergeants Jeff West and Kevin Surette, who were the incident commanders, he said he wanted an independent assessment of Nova’s response Scotland
On several occasions, Campbell approached the national unit management contract and Indigenous police in Ottawa about such a review, he said, which would ideally be done by critical incident commanders outside the RCMP who had trained through the Canadian Police College.
He wrote a formal letter asking for that review and went to the unit’s deputy commissioner, but Campbell said he never received a formal response. Campbell said he had a feeling Ottawa was wondering whether a review would duplicate the efforts of the Mass Casualty Commission.
“I was disappointed because I saw the utility and value of other Canadian critical incident commanders looking at what we did to identify what we did right and to identify gaps that could be addressed immediately,” Campbell said.
Asked by the commission’s lawyer if he might have launched an internal review of the Nova Scotia RCMP’s response, Campbell said it’s important to go outside the province to make sure those looking at what’s going on pass can be objectives.
Leather testimonial later this week
Campbell said his bosses at the time, Chief Superintendent. Chris Leather and former commander Lee Bergerman were reportedly aware of his request, but he did not know if they supported it or were in talks about it.
The committee’s outline for this week indicates that Campbell’s testimony on Monday and Tuesday will cover topics including public communications during and after the riot and other contexts.
The force has been widely criticized for not providing information to the public about the movements of the gunman in a replica RCMP cruiser in a more timely manner. The Mounties relied on social media to provide updates and did not notify the public that the gunman was driving a replica police car for more than two hours after the information was confirmed.
Chief Supt. Chris Leather was the second-highest ranking Mountie in Nova Scotia at the time of the shootings. (CBC)
Victims’ families have also been critical of the information they have been given about their loved ones during and after the shootings.
Campbell’s handwritten notes taken during a meeting on April 28, 2020 caused a political storm when the commission released them in June. The notes describe a conference call with RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki, who berated the Nova Scotia management team for not disclosing the types of firearms used by the gunman.
Campbell’s notes indicated that Lucki made a comment about promising the prime minister’s office and the public safety minister that the information would be released. At the time, the Liberal federal government was preparing to introduce new gun control legislation.
Federal opposition parties are accusing Lucki of applying political pressure to Nova Scotia investigators to help the federal government build its case.
Lucki and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair will appear before a House of Commons committee investigating allegations of political interference on Monday.
Leather, the second-highest-ranking Mountie in Nova Scotia at the time of the shootings, will also appear before the committee. He then plans to testify before the commission in Nova Scotia on Wednesday and Thursday.
The commission’s schedule indicates Leather will be questioned about “internal and interagency communication” after the shootings.
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