About 100 people, including relatives of those killed in a mass shooting in Nova Scotia in April, marched through the streets of Halifax on Wednesday to thank their supporters.
The event was held one day after the federal and Nova Scotia governments decided to establish a full public inquiry to investigate the tragedy, which took 22 lives over 13 hours on April 18 and 19.
It comes after a long three months of pressuring politicians to do so and was hailed by families as a celebratory “victory march.”
“This was because of the families, our determinations, our drive, and the Nova Scotians — the bluenosers,” said Nick Beaton, who’s pregnant wife, Kristen Beaton was among those killed.
READ MORE: After backlash, governments agree to hold public inquiry into Nova Scotia shooting
The victims’ families had originally planned a march to protest last week’s decision by Ottawa and the province to hold a joint review of the circumstances surrounding massacre, which began in the rural community of Portapique.
Scores of experts, academics, politicians, women’s groups, senators and family members had come forward to criticize the review, saying it would lack openness, accountability and legal clout.
“Now we can hopefully can get the answers the families need,” said Charlene Bagley, holding a sign with a picture of her late father, Tom Bagley.
“That’s what I wanted, that’s what we all wanted, that’s what our family members we lost would want.”
Professor emeritus of law Wayne Mackay says the switch to a public inquiry is a mark of democracy in action, but says it should have been a public inquiry from the get go.
“It gives the commissioners extensive powers to subpoena people, to compel witnesses to compel witnesses,” he said.
“It’s really important for the Canadian public, not just Nova Scotians to understand what happened in this tragic and very large scale shooting.”
On Tuesday, several Liberal MPs in the province broke ranks with the government to call for a full inquiry, and federal Public Safety Minister Bill Blair announced a joint federal-provincial public inquiry with the power to compel witnesses to testify and produce documents.
Beaton, who has been advocating for a public inquiry for months, said the announcement has nothing to do with political initiative.
“As soon as you guys stick your cameras in the face of politicians, they’re pretty quick to pat themselves on the back. Where have they been for the last three months?” he told reporters before the march to Province House began.
READ MORE: Protests in two Nova Scotia locations over failure to call inquiry into mass shooting
The long line of marchers gathered at the Halifax waterfront before they walked north to the legislature, where they circled the building once and headed back to the harbour. There were no representatives of Premier Stephen McNeil’s Liberal government there to meet them.
Nova Scotia Justice Minister Mark Furey apologized to the families on Wednesday for the pain they endured while waiting for the inquiry announcement.
“I am sorry this process has created more anguish for families,” he said in an email to Global News. “We need them to have confidence in this process, and a full and open inquiry will provide that.”
Furey claimed his department has supported a public inquiry “from day one,” but lacked the necessary support from the federal government.
It will now be up to the three commissioners to determine the timing and terms of reference for the public inquiry, but so far there is no time frame for when those details will be released.
With files from The Canadian Press
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