Parliamentary Committee Notes: The First Anniversary of the Final Report of the Mass Casualty Commission
Issue:
March 30th, 2024, marks the one-year anniversary of the release of the Final Report of the Mass Casualty Commission, which contains 130 recommendations directed to multiple levels of government and various other stakeholders to keep Canadians safe.
Proposed Response:
- The mass casualty event that took place in Nova Scotia April 2020, shocked us all. It is important that we learn from this tragedy, and do everything we can to prevent such events from happening again.
- Last year, on March 30th, 2023, the Mass Casualty Commission released its Final Report. The Final Report calls for a nation-wide approach to addressing its 130 recommendations, which contain important information for all levels of governments to help prevent, respond to, and recover from mass casualty events.
- The findings from the Final Report touch upon numerous areas of focus in the federal government, including gender-based violence, community safety and policing, and a whole of governments approach will be taken as we respond to the recommendations.
- The final report calls on the governments of Canada and Nova Scotia to form an independent body, with a mandate to monitor and publicly report on the progress and initiatives of both governments with regards to the Commission’s recommendations.
- The work of the Progress Monitoring Committee is underway, and is playing a critical role in ensuring Canadians get answers to questions they have surrounding this tragedy.
- The work of this Committee is a key step to ensuring that the Mass Casualty Commission’s recommendations are being addressed by both governments, and I look forward to receiving Justice Oland and the Committee’s 6-month report this Spring.
- I would also take this opportunity to offer the Government of Canada’s continued condolences to the families and communities who have lost loved ones.
- This government remains committed to ensuring that the tragedy that occurred in Nova Scotia nearly four years ago does not happen again, and that we keep our communities safe.
Background:
Following the devastating mass casualty in Nova Scotia in April 2020, in October 2020 the Government of Canada (GC) and the Province of Nova Scotia (NS) established the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC), an independent public inquiry created to examine the mass casualty and to provide meaningful recommendations to help keep communities safe. The MCC’s Final Report, Turning the Tide Together, was released on March 30, 2023. It is several thousand pages, divided into seven volumes plus several annexes. The first two volumes provide information on the Commission and what transpired during the mass casualty event. Volumes 3-7 supply further facts and analysis of the causes, context, and circumstances of the mass casualty, and take thematic approaches to examine the event and provide recommendations aligned with those themes. The report provides 130 recommendations, divided among Volumes 3-7. The report examines issues related to the role of gender-based and intimate partner violence; access to firearms; prior interactions and relationship of the perpetrator with the police and social services; police actions; communications with the public during and after the event; communications between and within law enforcement agencies and other services; and, police policies, procedures and training.
The substantive recommendations include both short and long-term propositions. Some include early deadlines (i.e. with deliverables in mid-2023) while others suggest longer implementation timelines closer to a decade (i.e. by 2032). Many of the findings and implementation suggestions cut across sectoral and jurisdictional lines, in that different sectors and multiple jurisdictions are called on to take action.
The MCC Report identifies a shared responsibility of the Canadian and Nova Scotian governments to respond to the report, and calls upon other levels of government, civil society, community groups, and members of the public to join together to affect positive change. In response, Canada and Nova Scotia established the Progress Monitoring Committee (PMC) to provide a mechanism to monitor, report on, create mutual accountability and exchange knowledge and information as Canada and Nova Scotia, and others, respond to the MCC Report. The PMC is playing this critical role and supporting engagement and transparency as Canada, Nova Scotia and other partners work collectively to advance this vital work.
Public Safety Canada (PS) is leading federal coordination, bringing together contributions from key federal partners. PS has established a robust governance framework to foster the interdepartmental collaboration necessary to take concrete action towards the cross-cutting recommendations.
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