The Mass Casualty Commission will be releasing a 7 volume Final Report on March 30, 2023. The Final Report will be released in person at the Best Western Glengarry in Truro, Nova Scotia at 12 p.m. AST as well as via live webcast on the Commission’s website.
Mercedes Perez and lawyer Joanna Birenbaum represented the Coalition for Gun Control at the Commission’s proceedings in 2022.
The Mass Casualty Commission is an independent public inquiry jointly established by the Government of Canada and the Province of Nova Scotia. The Commission’s mandate is to investigate the “causes, context and circumstances” giving rise to the April 18 and 19, 2020 mass casualty in Portapique, Nova Scotia and surrounding areas. A lone gun man shot and killed 22 people, including a pregnant woman, during this mass casualty event.
The Commission’s mandate also includes investigating the police response before, during and after the mass casualty, including the actions of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada Border Services Agency, and the Criminal Intelligence Service of Nova Scotia. The Commission also inquired into Nova Scotia’s Alert Ready program and the steps taken to inform, support and engage victims and their families.
The Commission’s Foundational Documents, Commissioned Reports and transcripts can be accessed on its website here. The Final Report and all of the Commission’s publicly posted materials will eventually be preserved and made available through Library and Archives Canada for future reference.