The Mass Casualty Commission hearings begin next week into the murder of 22 people in April 2020, when a gunman terrorized parts of rural Nova Scotia in a deadly killing spree.

The staff visit was aimed at understanding the geography of the Portapique area where the killings occurred.

In the wake of the mass murder that claimed 22 lives in Nova Scotia about two weeks ago, the RCMP is looking into developing a national operational policy for using the emergency alert system.