RCMP Commissioner and former member of the NS RCMP. prepares to testify at the public inquiry

The two RCMP officers who held the most senior positions in Nova Scotia, and the entire force, during the 2020 mass shooting are due to testify this week at the public inquiry into the massacre.

On Monday and part of Tuesday, the Mass Casualty Commission, which is leading the investigation, is expected to hear from Lee Bergerman.

Bergerman, the former assistant commissioner, had recently retired from her role as commanding officer of the Nova Scotia RCMP, which she held from April 18-19, 2020, when a gunman killed 22 people throughout Province.

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki is then expected to testify from Tuesday to Wednesday.

The commission already interviewed Lucki and Bergerman in early August.

Lucki has been embroiled in political controversy for weeks following allegations that she was pressured to release specific information about the shooter’s firearms ahead of the Liberal government’s gun control legislation.

The questions began when Chief Superintendent. Darren Campbell’s notes of an April 28, 2020 call with Lucki and members of the Nova Scotia RCMP were released as part of the investigation in June.

Campbell wrote that the commissioner was « sad and disappointed » and « promised the Minister of Public Safety and the Prime Minister’s Office that the RCMP, [we] would publish this information. »

Bill Blair, who was public safety minister at the time, denied ever asking Lucki to pressure the RCMP to release gun information. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government did not put « undue » pressure on the RCMP.

Other participants in the April 28 call, including former Nova Scotia RCMP communications director Lisa Scanlan, confirmed Campbell’s recollection that Lucki referred to political promises to release the information on the fire arms.

But Lucki told the House of Commons National and Public Safety Committee that things only went sideways due to miscommunication between herself and the Nova Scotia RCMP.

Ahead of Campbell’s April 28 press conference, Lucki said Blair’s chief of staff asked her if the details of the weapon would be made public, so she checked with her national RCMP communications team who told him it would.

Lucki relayed this information to Blair’s office and the Deputy Minister of Public Safety. But when details of the guns were not released, Lucki was upset because « I felt I had misinformed the Minister and, by extension, the Prime Minister ».

Various subjects for Lucki, Bergerman

Although Lucki said she may have used the word « promise » during the April 28 call, she did not make a formal promise to government officials about what kind of information the RCMP would reveal. .

The commission said it expects Bergerman to speak on topics including RCMP culture, leadership and oversight within the Nova Scotia RCMP, and the shooter’s psychological autopsy. The commission also expects to hear from him on after-action reviews, communications with municipalities and community policing.

Lucki will also be interviewed about RCMP culture, leadership and oversight in Nova Scotia, as well as the role of communications within the RCMP.

Thursday has been set aside as an extra day for testimony, if needed.