N.B. minister says Chantel Moore inquest recommendations being sent to police forces for review

New Brunswick’s minister of public safety said Friday morning that the recommendations on policing that have come out of the Chantel Moore coroner’s inquest will be reviewed by municipal police forces across the province over the next six months.

Chantel Moore, a 26-year-old Indigenous woman, was fatally shot by police in Edmundston, N.B., in June 2020 during a wellness check after advancing toward an officer with a knife.

During a four-day inquest looking at the circumstances surrounding her death, five jurors came up with almost 20 recommendations - most dealing with police training and their access to less-lethal tools.

The jury called for strengthening best practices, like having two officers present during wellness checks, and ensuring access to Tasers and other less-lethal tools.

In addition, the jury recommends that police begin relationship-building with First Nations communities, potentially hiring a community liaison between a force and community.

Minister Bill Hogan said in the New Brunswick legislature Friday the recommendations will be forwarded to the appropriate agencies, like municipal police forces across the province.

"From the reading of the recommendations, I would agree that they look to be very good," he said. "However, I’m not in a position to say whether they'll all be implemented at this time, or whether or not they can do it in six months."

He said municipalities with their own police forces decide how resources are spent – like equipment.

"You can look at Woodstock for example. When I was on town council, we decided that we would buy some Tasers for our police officers so that they would have another option in situations where that was required," he said. "We couldn't afford to buy one for every officer all the time, so they had to be shared and we had to ensure they were charged up and ready to use."

One of the recommendations was to establish an independent agency to investigate serious incidents involving police officers, who would have a good understanding of the policing system in New Brunswick.

In October 2021, the province reached an agreement "in principle" with Nova Scotia that would allow New Brunswick to use its Serious Incident Response Team when incidents occur.

That legislation is still being worked on, and while Hogan said the agency likely won’t have a permanent office in New Brunswick, "they will have access to all the resources our police officers would have and they’ll have the same authority."

The City of Edmundston declined to comment on the outcome or recommendations from the inquest.