Murphy’s Logic: The mass shooting inquiry should put facts over feelings
It took almost five years, but the public inquiry into the Westray Mine disaster ultimately produced a report that was both damning and specific about the many failures that led to the explosion that claimed 26 lives.
It named names and assigned responsibility and recommended changes to prevent it from happening again. Although no one was ever convicted of a crime, Justice Peter Richard left no doubt that the conduct of individuals and institutions -- characterized as incompetent, deceitful, and apathetic -- led to a preventable disaster.
And, he went further, finding it ought to have been prevented.
These many years later, the commission investigating the 2020 Nova Scotia mass murder seems well on track to producing a report unlikely to answer the public's most basic questions: How did it happen and why? Who in the RCMP was making decisions during and after the killing spree and could it have been prevented?
The commission's overarching mandate -- to be trauma-focused -- suggests protecting feelings may pre-empt facts.
From the very beginning, the RCMP have been defensive and secretive about their handling of the events of April 2020. The initial focus of the RCMP’s briefings was on their own lost and injured members and on what were characterized as the heroic efforts of the responding officers.
But, in fairness, this was no triumph of policing, as a killer kept killing, while the public remained largely unaware of the threat.
It is not a sign of disrespect to analyze and question the actions of people who often heroically wear a uniform of service. The uniform is not a shield from accountability. And while it is true that feelings must be respected as words are parsed and actions are critically reviewed, there can be no escaping responsibility for those who are empowered and entrusted to protect the public.
Assigning responsibility is not a vengeful laying of blame.
In the case of the events of April 2020, many serious mistakes were made. One would think or hope that the leadership of the RCMP, and the people to whom they report, would be first among those who would want to know what went wrong -- if they don't actually know already.
Beyond insulting the memories of the dead and further bruising the emotions of their family members, the misguided attempt to have feelings trump facts has provided oxygen to the already burning fire of suspicion of coverup.
The lack of information from the very beginning, the emphasis on the mass murder as a police shooting, rather than wholesale community carnage, was the kindling that stoked the fire of suspicion.
Although the commission’s hearings have produced a slow drip of new information, most of it should have been made public long ago and might have been were it not for the ease with which privacy is now used to perpetuate secrecy.
Without even waiting to read the commission’s report, it seems likely to be dismissed by some, and perhaps many, as a whitewash -- a part of a coverup.
And regrettably, it has already taken quite a very long time to accomplish very little.
It is not too late for the commissioners to look to the example of the Westray inquiry, to assign responsibility and put the facts first.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.