April 15, 2021
As we approach one year since April 18th and 19th 2020, we want to take a moment to reflect upon the mass casualty that took the lives of many innocent people and left others with serious physical and emotional injuries.
The scale of the loss is felt in our communities, province, country, and beyond. At this time, on behalf of the entire Mass Casualty Commission, we express our sincere condolences to those who lost loved ones and all those whose lives are forever altered.
As Commissioners, it is our job to determine what happened on April 18th and 19th 2020, to better understand the causes, context, and circumstances that contributed to these events, and to make meaningful recommendations to help protect Canadians in the future. Please be assured of our dedication to this very important work.
We are making significant progress on our mandate. To date, this has included setting up our offices in Truro and Halifax, hiring our staff, planning and commencing our research work, making progress on obtaining document disclosure, commencing our investigations, issuing a call for Participants, and connecting with some of those most affected.
Over the coming months, we will provide our Rules of Procedure, continue our investigations, schedule our public proceedings, and review the documents and information provided to us by Participants and the Commission team. We will continue to share updates as we move forward with these activities, with the most up-to-date information on our website.
On behalf of the entire Mass Casualty Commission team, we want to reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the independence, transparency, and accountability of the Commission as we work to understand and address what happened one year ago.
Through all of this, we are keenly aware that the loss of life and of public trust one year ago are the reasons we are here to do this work. As we commemorate this solemn anniversary, including by observing a moment of silence on April 18 as a Commission, our heartfelt thoughts are with all those affected, today and every day.
Respectfully,
The Mass Casualty Commission
Hon. J. Michael MacDonald, Chair
Leanne J. Fitch (Ret. Police Chief, M.O.M.)
Dr. Kim Stanton