One of the issues that is going to dominate at least the early portions of the Mass Casualty Commission is the performance and decisions of the police officers and supervisors that were involved. Among the issues that have been identified is the myriad jurisdictional questions involved when criminal incidents reach a level where backup is required, which seem to exacerbate operational communication challenges.
The Constitution of Canada says that policing is a Provincial responsibility. The area around Portapique is policed by the federally established and operated RCMP. Two of the closest backup units to the local RCMP detachment are municipal police forces in Truro and Amherst. The killer had property in Dartmouth, and so the Halifax Regional Policebecame involved. The RCMP called other RCMP units before the municipal forces, even though they had to come from further away.
Who polices Nova Scotia? The Police Act is a provincial statue, which dictates how policing is supposed to be structured. The Provincial Minister of Justice is in charge, with wide ranging powers to direct police conduct and training, to deal with complaints against individual officers, and to review any aspect of policing. In a practical sense, however, it is not clear how much use is made of this authority.
