Image Credit: The Canadian Press

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: National inquiry must be held in Nova Scotia massacre

Apr 24, 2020 | 11:21 AM

THERE WILL BE NO TRIAL of Gabriel Wortman in the Nova Scotia massacre from last weekend.

Wortman is dead, and while that fact will not elicit tears from anyone, it does mean the discussion of justice will be different.

There will be no talk of punishment or rehabilitation.

The only way our society can get anywhere close to justice is if lessons are learned from this nightmare, and if we can better protect our communities in the future.

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In order to learn those lessons, we must ask questions – and since we can’t ask questions in a trial, there must be a fulsome national inquiry.

Not only do we need to know as much as possible about the individual Gabriel Wortman and his motivations, we also need to know about factors that could exist across Canada.

Are there other so-called police enthusiasts who could be using their hobbies as the perfect cover to prepare for acts of horrific violence?

Even more prescient are questions about what the RCMP did and did not do in their response to this incident.

From the time the killings began to the time Wortman was shot and killed by a Mountie, exactly 13 hours had passed.

Why did it take so long for police to find him and stop him?

We need to know how soon they knew what they knew and what actions they took.

We need to know what protocols they have in place when a person impersonating a peace officer is committing acts of violence.

And furthermore, huge questions have arisen about how RCMP chose to communicate with the public during those 13 hours.

RCMP put messaging out on Twitter — but did not use the province’s public alert system, which would have pushed messages out to television sets and smartphones.

So far, the explanation from the Mounties has been weak – that the situation was “fluid and dynamic” — which all situations are — and that they were in the process of writing up an alert when the gunman was killed.

But the RCMP knew enough about the situation hours earlier that they could have told people to shelter in place.

There are dozens more questions to be answered about this horrific attack and, while it won’t bring anyone’s loved ones back to life, a national inquiry may help us get as close as we can to justice.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.