Time for real answers on the Nova Scotia mass murder

Paul Wells: A full judicial inquiry into the April shooting is now essential. It must be robust, with real power to get to the truth.

Excepted from Paul Wells’ Macleans article June 20,2020

Everyone agrees! From Nova Scotia premier Stephen McNeil to the latest embattled RCMP commissioner to three Trudeau-appointed Nova Scotia senators to anguished families of the murdered to, I mean sort of, the Prime Minister. But so far there is no inquiry.

What we are used to seeing from this Prime Minister is Liberal MPs on the Justice committee enforcing a coverup in the SNC-Lavalin affair. We are used to the ethics commissioner reporting that nine witnesses with material information were forbidden from testifying by the Privy Council Office. We are used to this Prime Minister responding to the Nova Scotia killings by trying to tell reporters what they could and couldn’t report. We are used to a Prime Minister who has replaced Question Period in the House of Commons with daily briefings to reporters whose tone is deferential, who are limited to a single follow-up per question, and who don’t get to speak until Trudeau has announced the latest injection of dozens of millions of dollars into the national mood. Canadians see this Prime Minister, and they are used to watching him be the only person in a crowd who thinks he is answering a question.

That’s not good enough now. It’s time for a real inquiry with real powers to provide real answers to a slaughter whose central figure’s ties to the federal police force that took two days to stop him are in question. Now, please.