RCMP held back senior Mountie's controversial notes about commissioner for months, inquiry says
CBC
Four crucial pages of a senior Mountie's notes were missing the first time the federal Department of Justice sent them to the public inquiry looking into the Nova Scotia mass shooting.
The key section included allegations the head of the RCMP promised politicians the force would release information about guns used during the April 2020 rampage.
The Mass Casualty Commission said the federal government sent 132 pages of Supt. Darren Campbell's handwritten notes in mid-February 2022, but that the file had no references to a meeting with Commissioner Brenda Lucki on April 28, 2020.
Three weeks ago, the inquiry received a second file of Campbell's notes for the same time period. The package included the pages Campbell wrote about a conference call he and other senior officers in Nova Scotia had with Lucki.
It happened just over a week after a gunman disguised as a Mountie killed 22 people, including a pregnant woman, injured others and destroyed several homes by fire.
In the previously undisclosed pages, Campbell wrote that Lucki was displeased with the local commanders for not releasing information about the makes and models of guns used in the attacks, details that he felt could risk jeopardizing the investigation into how the shooter obtained his weapons.
CBC News has asked the RCMP about why it disclosed two sets of notes. The story will be updated when a response is received.
On May 4, 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a ban on some 1,500 makes and models of guns, including the two of the guns used in the Nova Scotia mass shooting. At that time, police had not released the specific makes and models used in the attacks.
Campbell's allegation that Lucki had made commitments to Trudeau and then-public safety minister Bill Blair in advance of new gun control legislation ignited a political firestorm in Ottawa this week, with opposition MPs demanding an investigation into the possibility of political interference.
Both Blair and Trudeau have denied doing so and stated the RCMP makes its own decisions about releasing information.
Lucki has also denied she would interfere with a police investigation, but did not address the claim she wanted to release more information in advance of the Liberals' plan to introduce new gun control legislation in May 2020.
Campbell and Lucki are expected to be called as witnesses at the inquiry late next month. They've also been summoned to appear before a parliamentary hearing in Ottawa at the end of July to address allegations of potential political interference.
Barbara McLean, investigations director with the commission, said in a statement to CBC News that the commission is seeking an explanation from the Department of Justice about why four pages were missing from the original disclosure.
She added that it is "demanding an explanation for any further material that has been held back" in cases where the commission was not aware it was happening.
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