Nova Scotia’s Mass Casualty Commission examining the circumstances surrounding the horrifying mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020 has made a long list of wide-ranging recommendations to improve public safety, overhaul the RCMP, and gain a better understanding of what happened, why, and how it could have been prevented.

The commission examining the response to the 13-hour shooting rampage that resulted in the deaths of 22 people, including an expectant mother, issued its report today.

Commissioner Michael McDonald outlined the focus of their key recommendations.

They include major changes to RCMP oversight, processes and culture, a process to rethink the structure of policing in Nova Scotia, a national review of public alerting, and greater focus on addressing and preventing the root causes of violence.

Commissioner Leanne Fitch, a retired police chief, says there were warning signs that the shooter’s pattern of violence was escalating.

She says their investigation made clear that there were many warning signs of the perpetrator’s violence and missed opportunities to intervene before he went on his rampage.