Committee releases final report on 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting

The committee tracking reforms after Nova Scotia’s deadliest mass shooting has ended its formal mandate with roughly 40 of 130 recommendations still requiring action. Its chair, Myra Freeman, said the remaining work would pass to the Nova Scotia and Canadian governments and the RCMP.

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I’m confident that they will figure out a way.

The Progress Monitoring Committee’s 72-page report marks the third and final annual review of recommendations issued after the 2023 Mass Casualty Commission inquiry. The inquiry followed the 13-hour rampage on April 18 and 19, 2020, when a gunman killed 22 people in the province.

The committee said progress had been made in regulatory oversight, policing reforms and the prevention of gender-based violence. This year, it examined gender-based violence in greater depth, an area Freeman said would require sustained efforts from governments, police, community organizations and the public. She also said more work remained on mental health.

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It requires a societal change, and societal changes don’t happen overnight.

Freeman said the committee had always understood that implementing the recommendations would extend beyond its three-year mandate. “We always knew that this work and addressing the recommendations would extend far beyond our three-year mandate,” she said. “We also knew that it was never an endpoint. That it was meant to be a first step and a foundation to a longer commitment for accountability, for transparency and for building stronger, safer communities.”

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We always knew that this work and addressing the recommendations would extend far beyond our three-year mandate. We also knew that it was never an endpoint. That it was meant to be a first step and a foundation to a longer commitment for accountability, for transparency and for building stronger, safer communities.

Freeman said Nova Scotia is safer than it was in 2020 and expressed confidence that authorities would continue the work. Scott McLeod, whose brother Sean was killed in the attacks, took a more cautious view. “Wait and see,” he said, adding that some changes must continue to evolve with society rather than simply be written down or taught.

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Wait and see.