Costs reach $25.6 million for public inquiry into 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia
The public inquiry into Nova Scotia's mass shooting has already cost $25.6 million to investigate the April 18-19, 2020, rampage -- and there are still about five months remaining in its mandate.
Costs are shared between the federal and provincial governments for the inquiry, which was established in October 2020 and started public proceedings on Feb. 22 of this year.
The inquiry is probing the causes and circumstances that led to the shooting deaths of 22 people over 13 hours by a gunman driving a replica police vehicle, and it is expected to recommend ways to help prevent and respond to similar incidents in the future.
According to the expenditures breakdown presented up to March 31 of this year, the inquiry spent almost $2.9 million in fiscal year 2020-21, and in the latest fiscal year it spent about $22.7 million.
About $9.5 million of the cost has been for the salaries and benefits for 68 employees, with chief commissioner Michael MacDonald receiving up to $2,000 daily and the two commissioners, Leanne Fitch and Kim Stanton, $1,800 daily.
Some of the commission's budget funds the cost of lawyers representing family members of victims, with that portion of the expenses totalling about $2.5 million to date.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada is heading towards a recession, but it will be moderate and short: RBC
Canada is headed towards a moderate recession, but the economic contraction is expected to be short-lived compared to previous recessions, economists with Royal Bank of Canada predict.

One scandal too many: British PM Boris Johnson resigns
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation Thursday amid a mass revolt by top members of his government, marking an end to three tumultuous years in power in which he brazenly bent and sometimes broke the rules of British politics.
Hospital 'nightmare' in B.C. for Quebec patient denied surgery: father
A Quebec man who fell and broke his jaw, cheekbone and a bone around his left eye while visiting British Columbia says his surgery was cancelled after he was told his home province “won't pay” for the procedure.
Canada elections commissioner reviewing information related to Conservative allegations against Brown
The Commissioner of Canada Elections' office says it has received and is reviewing information related to the allegations raised by the Conservative Party of Canada that now-disqualified leadership contender Patrick Brown's campaign violated federal election financing rules.
Here's who could replace Boris Johnson as U.K. prime minister
Boris Johnson was due to resign as Britain's prime minister on Thursday, bringing an end to a turbulent two and half years in office and triggering a search for a new leader.
Man pulled from burning car by five others on Ontario highway in 'heroic effort'
Five men are being hailed as heroes by the Ontario Provincial Police after saving a man from a burning vehicle on a Toronto-area highway earlier this week.
The next stage in the battle against COVID-19: bivalent vaccines
Several vaccine manufacturers are racing to develop formulas that take into account the more infectious Omicron variant now driving cases, while policymakers are laying the groundwork for another large-scale vaccine blitz.
Real estate agent: Many people 'desperate to sell right now'
As concerns grow that Canada's red-hot real estate market may be starting to cool, one real estate agent in Toronto says that some homeowners in the city are becoming increasingly 'desperate to sell right now.'
Some medical schools in Canada face cadaver shortage
With donations of cadavers falling, medical students may lack 'fundamental knowledge' of human anatomy, says a UBC medical professor.