Nova Scotia updates policing standards for the first time since 2003

HALIFAX — The commander of the RCMP in Nova Scotia says the province’s implementation of a set of new standards will help improve policing across the province.

Assistant commissioner Dennis Daley told reporters Tuesday that the first updating of the provincial standards since 2003 will provide more clarity around what’s expected of the RCMP and Nova Scotia’s 10 municipal police forces.

“On the ground, I think there will be more consistency,” said Daley, who then provided an example. “Police departments will understand what a response to a critical incident looks like, what it doesn’t look like and the skills they need within a team that responds to a critical incident.”

Provincial Justice Minister Barbara Adams said the updated 39 standards are in response to recommendations made by the commission of inquiry that investigated the mass shooting in Nova Scotia that claimed the lives of 22 people four years ago.

“The standards will ensure that there is a base requirement that all police agencies in Nova Scotia must meet or exceed to operate,” she said.

The public inquiry’s final report, released in March 2023, offered a harsh critique of the RCMP’s actions in April 2020, when a man disguised as a Mountie and driving a replica RCMP cruiser fatally shot friends, neighbours and strangers during a 13-hour rampage through northern and central Nova Scotia.

The inquiry’s 3,000-page report found the RCMP missed warning signs about the killer, including reports of domestic violence, possession of illegal firearms and repeated run-ins with the law.

Among other things, the Mass Casualty Commission found the Mounties were poorly organized and failed to promptly send alerts to the public until it was too late for some victims. It also said the RCMP failed to co-operate with other agencies and it criticized their poor communication within the force and with the public.

As for the 94-page document released Tuesday, it covers five areas of policing, including critical incident response, use of force, police investigations, service response and records management.

The highly technical document says that any policy regarding police emergency response teams must ensure that the team meets minimum training and physical fitness standards. The policy must also cover deployments that deal with public threats to safety, including those that are mobile.

Meanwhile, details were provided about the use of the province’s Alert Ready emergency alert system, including when it should be used to warn of active threats of serious harm or death, as well as dangerous weather events or wildfires.

Adams also issued a ministerial directive Tuesday that requires all police forces to comply with the standards.

As well, she said an audit unit will be created to ensure police forces comply with the standards. Police forces will be given a year to prepare before the first audits begin. The minister did not commit to making the audits public.

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said the audits should be shared with the public.

“We are talking about public safety here,” he said. “If we actually are going to improve our police agencies and ensure that the public has confidence in them, we should make that information available to the public.”

For the RCMP’s part, Daley said the police force is already subject to federal audits that are made public.

“I would certainly be comfortable (with additional public audits) … but that’s a decision for the province to make,” he said.

Later in the day, the RCMP announced the organization had launched an online site to track its progress in implementing recommendations from the Mass Casualty Commission. The site will be updated quarterly, the RCMP says.

“We will continue our efforts, alongside our partners, to advance reform across the organization,” RCMP commissioner Mike Duheme said in a statement.

The Nova Scotia Chiefs of Police Association was not immediately available to comment, but in a news release issued by the province, the head of the organization welcomed the updated standards.

“Standards continuously evolve and we remain committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure police are meeting the public safety needs of all Nova Scotians,” said Robert Walsh, chief of Cape Breton Regional Police.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press