Nova Scotia to replace judge presiding over Lionel Desmond fatality inquiry
Global News
The attorney general has asked the chief judge of the provincial court to assign a new judge to finish the work started by the man who was presiding over the fatality inquiry.
An inquiry that investigated why Afghanistan war veteran Lionel Desmond killed his family and himself in 2017 hit yet another snag Tuesday, five years after the Nova Scotia government called for the independent probe.
Brad Johns, Nova Scotia’s attorney general, confirmed he has asked the chief judge of the provincial court to assign a new judge to finish the work started by the man who was presiding over the fatality inquiry, provincial court Judge Warren Zimmer.
Zimmer was set to retire as a judge in March 2022 when he turned 75, a month before the inquiry’s hearings concluded — but his term was extended four times over the past 18 months to allow him to complete his final report.
After the most recent extension expired on Friday, Johns decided to call in a replacement, saying the Desmond family and the larger community have been waiting long enough for answers.
Desmond fatally shot his mother, wife, daughter and himself in Upper Big Tracadie, N.S., on Jan. 3, 2017, and the province called for an inquiry in February 2018.
It took nearly two years before the first evidence was heard, and the COVID-19 pandemic caused additional delays.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 4, 2023.
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