RCMP Awards Itself After Nova Scotia Mass Shooting, Despite Inquiry Finding Widespread Failures
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In a move that feels like satire, the RCMP have quietly handed out 32 awards to officers and staff for their roles in the response to Nova Scotia’s 2020 mass shooting and the public inquiry that followed.
Four years after 22 people were killed, including RCMP officer Heidi Stevenson, and after a commission found widespread failures in policing, organization, and public warnings, the force decided now was the time for commendations.
The honours were approved by Commissioner Mike Duheme and handed out behind a wall of redactions. We do not know who received them, and we are told everyone involved “went above and beyond,” despite an inquiry that concluded police missed warning signs, failed to alert the public in time, and were unprepared for the largest mass casualty event in Canadian history.
Perhaps most striking is that one of the awards went to the RCMP’s litigation team for compiling documents for the inquiry. This comes as an independent monitoring committee reports that only two of 14 categories of recommended reforms have actually been completed, nearly two years after the final report called for sweeping changes and even questioned the RCMP’s central role in Canadian policing.
It is as disturbing as it is on brand.
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