MPs to probe alleged political interference in Nova Scotia shooting investigation

MPs on the House of Commons public safety committee meet Monday to explore whether there was political meddling with the RCMP as it investigated the April 2020 shootings in Nova Scotia.

Just over a week after a gunman murdered 22 people during a 13-hour shooting spree, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki held a meeting with top officers in Nova Scotia that has been described by those in attendance as tense.

Supt. Darren Campbell, who was in charge of the investigation, wrote in his notes that Lucki mentioned promising the federal government to release information about the weapons the gunman used.

Lia Scanlan, an RCMP communication director, also told the public inquiry looking into the shootings that then-public safety minister Bill Blair and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were “weighing in on what we could and couldn’t say,” although she did not elaborate on what that meant.

2:39 RCMP commissioner denies ‘promising’ Bill Blair to release N.S. mass shooting weapons’ types

Trudeau and Blair have adamantly denied there was any political interference and Lucki has repeatedly said she did not feel any pressure from federal officials.

The Commons committee will hear from Lucki along with other senior RCMP members at national headquarters, senior officers from the Nova Scotia Mounties, Blair and deputy public safety minister Rob Stewart.