Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair is casting doubt on the Nova Scotia Mountie who suggested Commissioner Brenda Lucki interfered in the investigation into the largest mass shooting in Canadian history.
The former public safety minister’s comments come as the political firestorm around the head of the national police force spills into a second day.
That explosive allegation was contained in handwritten notes from Nova Scotia RCMP Supt. Darren Campbell which were released Tuesday as part of the Mass Casualty Commission probe.
The commission is investigating the April 18-19, 2020, rampage that claimed the lives of 22 people — including a pregnant woman — and left several people injured and several homes destroyed. The commission released a report Tuesday on the way the RCMP and government communicated with the public about the incident.
WATCH | Bill Blair denies government intervened in N.S. shooting investigation:
Minister addresses claims of federal interference in N.S. mass shooting investigation
5 hours ago
Duration 1:02
Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair says the federal government was never involved in conversations between RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki and her subordinates around the investigation into the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting.
In those notes, Campbell wrote that RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki was upset that the RCMP in Nova Scotia were not revealing more information about the weapons used because she had promised the federal government — which was considering gun control legislation at the time — that they would raise it.
“The superintendent obviously came to his own conclusions and his notes reflect that,” Blair told reporters Wednesday.
“But I’m telling you, and I would tell the superintendent if I spoke to him, I made no effort to pressure the RCMP to interfere in any way with their investigation. I gave no direction as to what information they should communicate. Those are operational decisions of the RCMP and I respect that and I have respected that throughout.”
Lucki has also denied interfering in the investigation.
“As a police officer, and the RCMP commissioner, I would never take actions or decisions that could jeopardize an investigation,” Lucki wrote in a statement released Tuesday evening.
Lucki, seen speaking at a 2019 news conference in Ottawa, says she did not interfere in the N.S. shooting investigation. (Chris Wattie/The Canadian Press)
While the statement did not directly address the claim that she was pushing for the release of more information to help the Liberals’ plans for gun control, Lucki wrote that briefings with the public safety minister are necessary, particularly during a mass shooting.
“I take the principle of police independence extremely seriously, and it has been and will continue to be fully respected in all interactions,” she wrote.
Blair, who was the minister of public safety at the time of the shooting spree, said he has faith in the commissioner, who was appointed by the Liberal government in 2018.
The new public safety minister, Marco Mendicino, said he believes the “principle of operational independence” was upheld. That sets out that the RCMP commission is accountable to the minister, but operationally independent and should be free from direction or influence of elected officials when fulfilling its core law enforcement functions.
WATCH | Public safety minister on N.S. mass shooting investigation:
Public safety minister on N.S. mass shooting investigation
2 hours ago
Duration 1:52
Marco Mendicino reacts to the Conservatives claiming that the federal Liberal government interfered with the Nova Scotia shooting investigation. Liberals deny the claims.
“Naturally, in the aftermath of this, there was a great anxiety, a great fear, a great sense of despair and anguish and loss, and Canadians had and continue to have a right to know as to what went on. So, in those moments, there will be an exchange of information,” said Mendicino Wednesday.
“There will be conversations had about what went on, and I think there is a responsibility on the part of both law enforcement and government to be upfront with Canadians which is why there needs to be exchanges of information contemporaneous to those events.”
Conservatives believe Campbell: Bergen
Conservatives are demanding an emergency debate immediately and a House of Commons committee investigation to get to the bottom of the allegations.
“This is disgusting to know that the prime minister and his office would use the death of Canadians for his own political gain,” said Interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen.
“Conservatives believe Supt. Darren Campell when he says that Brenda Lucki, the commissioner, pressured him, pressured the RCMP, and the reason she did it was because she had made a commitment or she had been pressured by the Prime Minister’s Office and/or the public safety minister.”
WATCH | Victims’ families lash out at N.S. shooting inquiry:
Angry victims’ families heard at N.S. shooting inquiry
18 hours ago
Duration 4:57
Family members of the N.S. shooting victims expressed their frustration about how the RCMP handled telling them about what happened to their loved ones. Meanwhile, a report questioned whether the RCMP’s top cop interfered with the release of some information because of promises to the Prime Minister’s Office.
According to Campbell’s notes, Lucki’s alleged comments came during a meeting about a week after the shootings.
During a news conference, Campbell told reporters the gunman had two semi-automatic handguns and two semi-automatic rifles.
“The commissioner was obviously upset. She did not raise her voice but her choice of words was indicative of her overall dissatisfaction with our work,” Campbell wrote after meeting with Lucki on April 28.
“The Commissioner said she had promised the Minister of Public Safety and the Prime Minister’s Office that the RCMP (we) would release this information,” Campbell continued.
Releasing gun info might hurt case, RCMP Supt. wrote
“I tried to explain there was no intent to disrespect anyone, however we could not release this information at this time. The Commissioner then said that we didn’t understand, that this was tied to pending gun control legislation that would make officers and the public safer.”
Campbell wrote that he believed releasing information about the firearms might hamper the investigation.
“I said we couldn’t because to do so would jeopardize ongoing efforts to advance the U.S. side of the case as well as the Canadian components of the investigation,” he wrote.
Soon after that April 28 meeting, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a ban on some 1,500 firearm makes and models, including two of the guns used in the Nova Scotia mass shooting — a Colt Law Enforcement Carbine, a semi-automatic weapon, and a Ruger Mini-14.
WATCH | Did the government try to interfere in N.S. shooting investigation?
Did the government try to interfere in an RCMP investigation of the Nova Scotia mass shooting?
21 hours ago
Duration 11:02
A report released by a public inquiry into the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting suggests RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki had promised the government to release information regarding the firearms used in the tragedy. MPs Taleeb Noormohamed and Raquel Dancho weigh in.
At that time, police had still not released the specific makes and models used in the attacks. That information didn’t become public until the fall of 2020, when the National Post reported details of the weapons after obtaining a briefing note prepared for the prime minister after the shooting.
During an interview on CBC’s Power& Politics onMay 1, 2020 to tout the gun ban,Blair said the RCMP would reveal more information about the weapons used in the shooting when they deemed it appropriate.
“I think most appropriately the RCMP will reveal the information of their investigation when they have concluded and at a time they deem appropriate. The RCMP, in the completion of their investigation, will at their own appropriate time reveal the details of that investigation and I’m not going to preempt them on that,” he said.
When asked if he was suggesting the weapons were legally obtained, Blair said the guns are relevant to the Liberal’s ban.
“Let me be very clear, the weapons used in this offence are very relevant to the work that we have done today,” he said. “And I believe Canadians will have a better understanding of that when that information becomes available.”
“The weapons used in this offense are very relevant to the work that we have done today.” <a href=”https://twitter.com/BillBlair?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@BillBlair</a> says Canadians will have a better understanding of how today’s gun control announcement connects to the Nova Scotia shooting when the RCMP concludes its investigation. <a href=”https://t.co/yGWZCr1aAy”>pic.twitter.com/yGWZCr1aAy</a>
Investigators have said they believe the shooter, Gabriel Wortman, who didn’t have a firearms licence, obtained three of the guns used during the massacre in Maine and smuggled them into Canada.
Mounties ‘reduced to tears’ in meeting: Campbell
Of the meeting with Lucki, Campbell wrote that some in the room “were reduced to tears and emotional over this belittling reprimand.”
In her Tuesday statement, Lucki said she regrets her behaviour in that meeting, which she said was called to discuss several matters, including the flow of information to RCMP national headquarters and the public release of information.
“It was a tense discussion, and I regret the way I approached the meeting and the impact it had on those in attendance,” she said.
“My need for information should have been better weighed against the seriousness of the circumstances they were experiencing. I should have been more sensitive in my approach. Had I led the meeting differently, these employees would have felt more supported during what I know was an extremely difficult time.”
Lucki is expected to be called as a witness next month.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
