Law professors want public inquiry into N.S. shootings

HALIFAX — More than 30 faculty members at Dalhousie University’s law school have signed a letter urging Nova Scotia’s premier to call an independent public inquiry into the shooting rampage that took 22 lives last month.

On Thursday, Premier Stephen McNeil said a review of the tragedy should be led by Ottawa, with the province providing support and assistance.

However, 33 of about 40 faculty members of the Halifax university’s Schulich School of Law signed a letter on Friday urging McNeil to initiate a public inquiry with broad terms of reference.

They say in the letter the inquiry’s terms must allow for a critical review of the procedures and decisions employed by police during the April 18 and 19 shootings, and in the months and years leading up to the tragedy.

They also want the inquiry to consider broader social and legal issues that may have been contributing factors, including domestic violence.

“An internal investigation will not suffice. Independence, impartiality and transparency are essential components of maintaining public confidence in the administration of justice. Only a public inquiry can satisfy these requirements,” the faculty members say in the letter.

The premier again said Friday he believes Ottawa should lead the inquiry into the shooting because the RCMP is a federal police force with national protocols.

“We can only call an inquiry that constitutionally falls under the responsibility of the province of Nova Scotia,” McNeil said. “While we have the responsibility for policing, it’s clear the RCMP fall under the Constitution with the federal government, as well as the firearms fall under the Constitution with the federal government. With all respect to the law professors, we believe the federal government should be the one who would call for whatever they determine for a review.”

However, the professors’ letter says Nova Scotia is responsible for law enforcement and the administration of justice in the province.

“The process that your government sets in motion now must be robust enough to assure Nova Scotians that you are doing all that is in your power to ensure that this will never happen again,” the letter says.

Family members and legal experts have repeatedly called for more information on the police handling of the rampage, which lasted more than 12 hours.

The perpetrator’s prior history of domestic violence has also been raised as a key issue to examine. The Mounties provided a timeline of the rampage indicating that it began in Portapique, N.S., on April 18 after a domestic assault incident in which the gunman detained and abused his common-law wife. The woman escaped into woods where she hid until the morning of April 19.

This week, a former neighbour of the gunman said she reported an account of a 2013 incident of domestic violence by him to the RCMP in Truro. Brenda Forbes said she told police there were guns in the man’s house. The RCMP said Friday they can’t find a record of the complaint.

The legal scholars say the public inquiry could establish what prior abuse occurred and explore the role it played in the gunman’s evolution into a mass killer.