April 14, 2022
Next Monday and Tuesday will mark two years since the April 2020 mass casualty in Nova Scotia took the lives of many people, caused serious physical and emotional injuries for others, and left people in Canada and beyond feeling fear, anger and grief.
Public proceedings will be paused next week (April 18-22) in honour of those people whose lives were taken or were harmed, their families, and all those affected by this mass casualty.
To the families of those whose lives were taken—as always, we offer our deepest and heartfelt sympathies. To everyone affected by the mass casualty, including the families, witnesses, first responders and service providers, affected community members and the wider public in Nova Scotia, Canada and beyond—please know the entire Commission team is working hard to fulfil our mandate as an independent public inquiry.
We acknowledge the collective grief many may be feeling at varying levels of intensity and at different points in time. There are resources available on the website to help guide and support communities through this difficult experience including information for parents and caregivers about talking with children and youth about the mass casualty.
We believe the best tribute we can make is to continue doing our work to the best of our ability. This is our unwavering resolve and our ongoing commitment.
We are here to address the questions around what happened, to explore why and how it happened, and to develop findings and recommendations that can be taken up and championed by policy makers, public institutions, community organizations and the public at large—all working together to help make our communities safer.
If you would like to review what we have shared so far or see what is coming up, please visit our Documents section and Calendar.
As always, if you or someone you know is in need of help next week or anytime, please reach out to the many available support services.
Thank you for your continuing interest and engagement in this important work.
Sincerely,
The Mass Casualty Commission
Hon. J. Michael MacDonald, Chair
Leanne J. Fitch (Ret. Police Chief, M.O.M.)
Dr. Kim Stanton