Mass Casualty Commission Monitoring Committee named

CITYnews halifax \ By Dan Ahlstrand

Sixteen members, including seven victim’s family members, have been named to a committee whose job will be to monitor the progress of implementing the recommendations the Mass Casualty Commission laid out in its final report into the Nova Scotia mass shooting.

“I look forward to working with these new members who will share their knowledge, expertise and commitment to improving public safety and community well-being.” Said Linda Oland, Founding Chair of the Progress Monitoring Committee.

Here is the list of people who will sit on the Progress Monitoring Committee:

• Dan Jenkins, family member; term: Sept. 1, 2023-Aug. 31, 2024
• Crystal Mendiuk, family member; term: Sept. 1, 2023-Aug. 31, 2024
• Charlene Bagley, family member; term: Sept. 1, 2024-Aug. 31, 2025
• Scott McLeod, family member; term: Sept. 1, 2024-Aug. 31, 2025
• Jennifer Zahi Bruland, family member; term: Sept. 1, 2024-Aug. 31, 2025
• David Burkholder, family member; term: Sept. 1, 2025-Aug. 31, 2026
• Tammy Oliver-McCurdie, family member; term: Sept. 1, 2025-Aug. 31, 2026
• Colchester County Mayor Christine Blair (municipal representative from the County of Colchester, Cumberland or Hants)
• Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Reform, Accountability and Culture, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Alison Whelan, (senior representative from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
• Vice-Chairperson and member of the Management Advisory Board for the RCMP Simon Coakeley (member of the RCMP Management Advisory Board)
• Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Crime Prevention Branch, Public Safety Canada Talal Dakalbab (senior representative from Public Safety Canada)
• Chief Mark Kane, Annapolis Royal Police Service (representative from a local, regional, or national policing association)
• Associate Deputy Minister, Executive Council Office, Government of Nova Scotia Jennifer Glennie (a senior representative from the Government of Nova Scotia)
• Provincial Community Co-ordinator & Trauma Therapist, Community Based Sexualized Violence Trauma Therapy Program, Avalon Sexual Assault Centre Kristina Fifield (a representative from the gender-based violence advocacy and support sectors, preferably from Nova Scotia)
• Tuma Young, KC (a representative of Indigenous community organizations)
• Vanessa Fells (a representative of African Canadian community organizations).

“The Progress Monitoring Committee has an important mandate, and I’d like to thank the committee members for taking on this work. The events of April 2020 have forever left a mark on our province and country. This committee will play an important role in ensuring we learn from the past and take meaningful action for the future.” Said  Brad Johns, Nova Scotia Attorney General and Justice Minister.

The formation of this committee comes in response to one of the recommendations included in the report from the MCC, which called on both the provincial and federal governments to establish an independent body to monitor the progress of advancing and responding to the commission’s key findings.

According to a release from the province, the committee will develop a plan to monitor and report on the initiatives the federal and provincial governments are undertaking in response to the MCC report. No date for the committee’s first meeting has been released, but the province says they will meet in Halifax soon to begin their work.