N.S. premier commits to inquiry's call for review of policing services
'We have to do a fulsome review [and] have that discussion with Nova Scotians,' says Tim Houston
Premier Tim Houston says his government is committed to a call from the Mass Casualty Commission for provincewide discussions on the future of police services in Nova Scotia.
"The goal is safer communities," the premier told reporters at Province House in Halifax on Friday.
"We have to listen to Nova Scotians, but what it will certainly entail is the training and preparation of law enforcement officers. It will certainly entail a look at response times and allocation of resources to make sure that there are those there to protect us when we need them."
The premier, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other government officials were on hand in Truro for the release of the commission's final report Thursday. The commission examined the events during and leading up to April 18-19, 2020, when 22 people in rural Nova Scotia were shot dead by a gunman later who was killed by police.
The call to discuss the future of policing in Nova Scotia is one of 130 recommendations in the report, more than half of which focus on the RCMP and policing services.
Houston said the government will take the time to figure out how to do the review, something that would include hearing from the public, "particularly in the rural areas."
'Every option is on the table'
An increasing number of rural municipalities in the province have expressed concerns about the availability of RCMP officers and the high cost of the service. Mark Furey, a former RCMP officer and justice minister with the former Liberal government, asked his department in 2020 to review policing service models in the province, which could include the establishment of a provincial police force.
Justice Minister Brad Johns put that work on hold pending the outcome of the Mass Casualty Commission.
"I think every option is on the table," Houston said Friday when asked if the review would look at the future of the RCMP in Nova Scotia.
"That's why we have to do a fulsome review [and] have that discussion with Nova Scotians, have those discussions at the government level."
Houston said the commissioners clearly said it's up to elected officials to act on the recommendations and he discussed that with Trudeau and federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino who was also in Truro this week.
"I know they're committed, we're committed, we all want safer communities."
Opposition leaders focused on accountability
When it comes to implementing recommendations of the commission, Houston said the place to start would be appointing a committee to oversee changes and provide updates to the public. The commission has said that body should include representatives of the provincial and federal governments, the RCMP, municipal police forces and "those most affected and key communities."
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said her caucus would work to make sure governments follow the commission's advice.
Chender said the commissioners called for a change in how community safety is viewed and funded, including addressing gender-based violence.
"The commissioner [on Thursday] went out of his way to say every so often we have a mass casualty, but every day we deal with the awful impacts of gender-based violence and that it's long since time we take that seriously," she told reporters at Province House.
Calls for increased community safety often result only in increased budgets for law enforcement, said Chender, adding that the report makes clear that that must change.
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said his party is also focused on recommendations related to violence prevention and intimate partner violence.
"How do we identify those problems earlier on and how do we stop them from escalating?"
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