Two families of the victims of the Nova Scotia mass shooting are launching a proposed class-action lawsuit against the RCMP that questions not just how the force handled the rampage, but its actions in the weeks that followed.
Two families of victims of the Nova Scotia mass shooting are launching a proposed class-action lawsuit against the RCMP that questions not just how the force handled the rampage, but its actions in the weeks that followed.
The lawsuit covers a range of criticisms previously raised about the tragedy, including police communication. But it also questions staffing levels, notification of families and alleges a vehicle seized as evidence was later released to a family with human remains still inside.
The province of Nova Scotia is also named as an intended defendant in the case.
Twenty-two people were killed by a gunman dressed like an RCMP officer during a rampage that started in Portapique, N.S., on April 18 and continued through several other rural communities the next morning.
“We think that there’s a great deal of importance of this proceeding,” Sandra McCulloch, a lawyer with Patterson Law in Truro, N.S., told CBC News in a phone interview Wednesday. “This has grander implications for Nova Scotia and our country as a whole.”
McCulloch is representing Tyler Blair and Andrew O’Brien, who are named as the plaintiffs in the case. Blair’s father, Greg, and stepmother, Jamie, were killed in Portapique. O’Brien’s wife, Heather, was shot near Masstown the next day.
McCulloch said she has heard from the family of every victim except one, but would not comment on how many will take part in the proposed lawsuit, which must be approved by a judge before it can proceed to trial.
“There’s been a lot of questions that have arisen since the events of April 18 and 19th,” she said. “A lot more questions than answers, and some of the answers that have come out have been less than satisfactory.”
None of the allegations has been proven in court.
The statement of claim, filed Tuesday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court, alleges the RCMP had failed to previously investigate the shooter, Gabriel Wortman, despite warnings.
A CBC News invest