N.S. shooting inquiry hit with legal delays

Challenge stems from desire to include restorative justice path

Technicalities are causing delays as the provincial and federal governments work out what form an inquiry into the April mass shooting that claimed 22 lives will take, Nova Scotia’s justice minister said Thursday.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Mark Furey said he made a mistake last month when he suggested the terms of reference for the inquiry would be announced within days.

“I want to commit to the families that we understand their frustrations,” he said. “We’re working day and night to bring this together.”

The minister said he expects an announcement some time this month.

“There’s legalities and technicalities that our legal teams are reviewing and finalizing in the drafting of relevant documents,” he said, declining to offer details. “That’s what’s taking the time.”

Furey has said the investigation could take the form of a traditional federal-provincial public inquiry led by an independent commissioner, but the minister made it clear Thursday that some sort of hybrid is in the works.

The challenges facing legal teams in Ottawa and Halifax appear to stem from the fact that Nova Scotia wants the probe to include a restorative justice approach.

This month, Furey said the exercise must also have certain features common to public inquiries, including judicial leadership, the power to compel witnesses to testify and the ability to make recommendations to hold public agencies accountable for their actions.

On Thursday, Furey hinted that grafting the restorative justice model onto a traditional public inquiry was taking time to sort out.

“We want to take a different approach to sourcing the questions that individuals would have, particularly the family members,” he said. “We’re taking a human-centred and trauma-informed approach consistent with some of the principles of restorative methodologies.”

Nova Scotia created a “restorative inquiry” in 2015 when it appointed a committee to look into allegations of long-term abuse at a former orphanage in the Halifax area, known as the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children.

Its collaborative approach featured “sharing circles” with former residents, black youth and community organizations.

Furey said this approach is key to getting people to come forward to tell what they know about the circumstances of Gabriel Wortman’s murderous April 18-19 rampage through Nova Scotia.