About 40 people protested Monday in Truro outside the Nova Scotia April 2020 Mass Casualty Commission hearing room. Demonstrators denounced the lack of cross-examination during the testimony of several police officers.
These include relatives of the victims and survivors of the killings. They objected to the accommodation granted to two members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to testify before the commission without cross-examination.
The protest coincided with the distant testimony of Staff Sergeant Brian Rehill. He oversees the first actions of RCMP during the massacre that claimed the lives of 22 people.
The Commission authorized Mr. Rehill who testified remotely and did not undergo cross-examination by attorneys representing the victims ’relatives. The decision prompted most families to boycott the Commission’s work and stage another protest outside the courtroom in Truro last week.
Charlene Bagley, the daughter of Tom Bagley, who was shot by a gunman in Wentworth in 2020, was among the protesters present Monday. He said the protesters were speaking out against this type of accommodation. He explained that he understands that people called to testify are given more time and support services, but he cannot accept that they do not have to answer questions from the community.
Ms. added. Bagley said he would never believe that two years after the events, the community would still have to struggle to find out the whole truth in order to move on.
Another protester, Scott McLeod, the brother of Sean McLeod, who was also shot in Wentworth, said police were serving the public and therefore must testify publicly before the commission.
People could not immediately listen to the testimony of Mr. Redhill, which should be recorded and made public at a later date.
Stakeholders fear public trust
Attorney Robert Pineo, who represents 14 families of the shooting victims, said he learned the commission allowed Brian Rehill not to undergo cross-examination because it would be traumatic for him.
In an earlier interview with commission lawyers, Brian Rehill confirmed he was out of work for 16 months after the tragedy, and found it difficult to answer questions about the decisions he made.
Greg Muise, chief of the Onslow Belmont fire brigade, was also present at the demonstration. Recall that RCMP officers fired at this fire station inadvertently during a search in 2020. Greg Muise was inside at the time of the incident.
If the members of RCMP to testify does not have to answer the questions of attorneys representing the public, the commission will a joke, believes Greg Muise. He said he himself was traumatized by the events and he testified despite everything before the commission.
Robert Pineo added that cross-examination is one of the basics of the legal system that usually allows you to get to the bottom of things. He recalls that victims of crime underwent cross-examination in any criminal trial, even if they were children.
Some believe that the effect of this accommodation granted to the police officer has not yet been made for a public inquiry into this scope. Ed Ratushny, professor emeritus at the University of Ottawa, fears the Commission will lose the trust of families affected by the tragedy and possibly even the general public.
Source: Radio-Canada
