Interim RCMP commissioner hasn’t read mass casualty report but ‘committed to go through’ recommendations | 24CA News
The interim RCMP commissioner and the pinnacle of the Nova Scotia RCMP say they’re dedicated to assessment the suggestions in a scathing remaining report from the Mass Casualty Commission, however each admit they haven’t learn the doc.
“As police officers, we bear tremendous responsibility to keep the people and communities safe. The April 2020 mass casualty event was something we had never seen before in Canada, and I can’t even imagine what you have endured,” stated RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme, throughout a media availability in Truro, N.S. on Thursday afternoon.
“The RCMP is fully committed to rebuilding the trust and confidence of Nova Scotians as part of these efforts. We must ensure that the vital work of the Commission will last a lasting impact on public safety locally, nationally and internationally.”
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‘There were failures’: N.S. taking pictures inquiry report slams RCMP response to 2020 tragedy
Duheme stated there’s a crew on the RCMP going by way of the report, launched at the moment, and that an motion plan might be tabled.
“We will be reporting of the progress on an outward facing website in which the population can see the progress that the RCMP is doing. I think that’s a good form of accountability,” he stated.
When pressed by reporters, who identified that the RCMP acquired a complicated copy of the report on Wednesday morning, Duheme reiterated he had not learn the report, nor was he sure if his crew acquired the complete model or government abstract forward of time.
“I haven’t seen any of the recommendations,” he stated.
“I haven’t gone through the recommendations just yet. Doesn’t minimize the impact of what took place. I just haven’t had time to go through the recommendations.”
Dennis Daley, the commanding officer of the Nova Scotia RCMP and interim RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme converse at a brand new convention following the discharge of the Mass Casualty Commission report on March 30, 2023.
Alex Cooke/Global News
Duheme was lately named interim commissioner, after Brenda Lucki retired from the job two weeks in the past. Lucki had confronted intense criticism for the RCMP’s dealing with of a number of crises, together with the mass taking pictures in Nova Scotia.
Duheme’s feedback Thursday got here after the Mass Casualty Commission publicly launched its findings — totalling greater than 3,000 pages, which resulted from 76 days of public hearings. The wide-ranging report examined the April 2020 rampage, which claimed the lives of twenty-two folks and was dedicated by a gunman who was dressed as an RCMP officer and driving a duplicate cruiser.
It touched on quite a lot of points, together with the police response, the killer’s entry to firearms and the steps taken to tell the general public because the rampage unfolded.
The report detailed the RCMP’s varied failures in stopping, responding to, and reacting within the aftermath of the tragedy, and stated the establishment as a complete must be re-examined.
“There were many warning signs of the perpetrator’s violence and missed opportunities to intervene in the years before the mass casualty. There were also gaps and errors in the critical incident response to the mass casualty as it unfolded,” the report stated.
“Additionally, there were failures in the communications with the public during and in the aftermath of the mass casualty.”
The fee’s remaining report included 130 suggestions, 75 about policing. One of the suggestions referred to as for the federal minister of public security to fee an in-depth, exterior and unbiased assessment of the RCMP. Another advice prompt “modernizing” police schooling by scrapping the depot mannequin of RCMP coaching by 2032.
Assistant Commissioner Dennis Daley, the commanding officer of the Nova Scotia RCMP, stated he hadn’t learn the suggestions both.
During his remarks, he stated he needed the victims, households and survivors to know that he was sorry “for the pain and trauma you have suffered.”
“Individuals who responded in April 2020 did their best while putting the safety and well-being of others ahead of their own,” he stated. “But I know our response wasn’t what you needed it to be, and for that I am deeply sorry.”
He went on to say that whereas RCMP “can’t change what happened in 2020,” they will be taught and enhance.
“We are here today with a promise to act on the MCC’s recommendations in a manner that is transparent to the victims, survivors and their families,” stated Daley.
“With any review, areas for improvement are identified, but I want Nova Scotians and all Canadians to know that we did not wait for the release of today’s MCC report to make important changes.”
He identified that Nova Scotia RCMP has “enhanced resourcing” for the emergency response crew, invested in new tools and opened a state-of-the-art operational communication centre. As effectively, Daley stated the RCMP within the province has added protocols round important incident command and “changed our approach” to utilizing emergency alerts.
“These are a few examples of the many changes we have already implemented and we are fully committed to more change informed by the MCC report and in collaboration with our partners in policing, public safety, community services and other areas,” he stated.
— With information from Global News’ Alex Cooke and The Canadian Press
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
