July 21, 2022
This update shares a recap of this week, including our final Foundational Document that was shared during public proceedings, details for next week’s proceedings and an invitation to submit your recommendations.
What Happened at Proceedings this Week
This week, our proceedings continued to examine the connection between mass casualties and violence, including gender-based and intimate partner violence. We hosted four roundtables that explored the connections between gender-based violence and mass casualty incidents, police and institutional responses to intimate partner and family violence, police and institutional responses to sexual violence and other forms of gender-based violence, and personal and community responses. Over the course of this week, we heard from 23 experts on these questions. These experts contributed research-based insights, front line expertise and decades of experience working on questions associated with gender-based violence and intimate partner violence to the Commission’s consideration of these issues pursuant to our mandate. All roundtables are recorded and can be viewed on our website.
We also heard from retired Cst. Troy Maxwell who addressed his response to a complaint from Ms. Brenda Forbes about the perpetrator to the RCMP in July 2013.
On Friday (tomorrow), we will hear from two expert witnesses, Kristy Martire and Tess Neal, authors of the Commissioned Report Rigorous Forensic Psychological Assessment Practices (Part I and II). We will also hear from Participant counsel regarding any submissions.
Combining these activities helps us explore what happened during and leading up to the mass casualty, while also hearing from experts locally and internationally on what we can learn and apply to our recommendations moving forward.
This past Tuesday, Commission counsel presented the final Foundational Document focused on the perpetrator’s financial misdealings including banking activity, corporate dealings, real estate acquisitions and improper billing practices. This information allows us to explore financial red flags that may have been missed by police, government and financial institutions. Understanding this information will inform our final recommendations to help make our communities safer.
There are now 31 comprehensive Foundational Documents available on our website. Foundational Documents help organize the large amount information gathered by the Commission through our investigation into the mass casualty. In addition to the 31 Foundational Documents, there are more than 2,300 source materials on our website and a growing number of investigative supplementary reports. Source materials are photographs, videos and documents gathered by the Commission, including surveillance videos, 911 call transcripts, police notes and interviews. Supplementary reports focus on particular questions or events that were identified as requiring further investigation. They support the overall understanding of what happened, how and why.
A reminder that, while thorough and substantive, the Foundational Documents and supporting materials are not intended to be the final word on what happened. If changes are required to a Foundational Document, we will prepare and post an addendum for that specific document, rather than revising the entire Foundational Document. Our findings and recommendations will be in the Commission’s final report.
Phase 1 Participant submissions were submitted to the Commission by Participants' legal counsel this month regarding the evidence entered into the record between February 22 to July 8. These are available on the website's document page.
Next Week
Monday, July 25 and Tuesday, July 26
- Witness: RCMP Superintendent Darren Campbell, to cover topics such as, his experience and roles, information management during a critical incident, public communications during and after April 18 and 19, 2020, post-event learning, and further context regarding his involvement during the mass casualty.
Wednesday, July 27 and Thursday, July 28
- Witness: RCMP Chief Superintendent Chris Leather to cover topics such as, his experience and role, his activities on April 18 and 19, 2020, information management during a critical incident, post-event communications, internal and inter-agency communication after the mass casualty, the establishment and activity of the Issues Management Team and lessons learned.
After next week, we will have a break in proceedings until the week of August 22nd when we will hear from RCMP Assistant Commissioner Lee Bergerman and Commissioner Brenda Lucki.
Public Submissions: We Want to Hear from You
As you follow along with proceedings, you may hear about topics with which you have personal or professional experience, including community safety, policing or violence. Maybe in the past you have thought about ways things could be better, from existing support systems, to laws or policies. If you have changes you would like to see in your community, recommendations you would like us to consider or information you think we should review, you can share it with us as a public submission.
Mental Health Supports 24/7
We would like to express our gratitude to everyone engaging with the Commission’s work. Our work will continue throughout the summer, and we will once again be discussing difficult topics next week. We want to remind the public that should you or your loved ones need them, supports are available both on-site at the proceedings and through the Commission’s website. This was a difficult week for many, but it was necessary to gather information, hear from witnesses and experts, in order to inform our recommendations to help make Canadian communities safer.
Sincerely,
The Mass Casualty Commission
Hon. J. Michael MacDonald, Chair
Leanne J. Fitch (Ret. Police Chief, M.O.M.)
Dr. Kim Stanton