In the April 28, 2020 teleconference, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki reportedly expressed her frustration with the Nova Scotia RCMP’s communications following the rampage that left 22 people dead, including a pregnant woman. According to notes made public by the Mass Accidents Committee by the Chief Minister. Darren Campbell, Luckey criticized him for not releasing details of the firearms used in the killings during a press conference earlier in the day, saying he had promised the Prime Minister’s Office that the information would be released in relation to the “pending gun control legislation’. But during testimony Friday to the Mass Casualty Commission, one of the top RCMP commanders in the country said the recording of the meeting has since been erased. “There is no reason why Mr Brien has deleted it from any phone he was using at the time,” Deputy Commissioner Brian Brennan said. The man he is referring to is Dan Brien, senior civilian media relations officer with RCMP headquarters in Ottawa. Brennan said efforts are underway to recover the recording. While the RCMP acknowledges that part of the meeting was recorded, the force says the recording is “not available to them.” In an emailed statement to CTV News, Robin Percival, a spokesperson for the RCMP, said the force is reviewing the matter “to determine what further action is required.” “As this review is ongoing, we are unable to comment further at this time,” Percival said. Attorneys for the families of those affected by the mass shooting told CTV News they have questions about this incident, including why the existence of this recording was not reported earlier. It comes after the release of Campbell’s memos prompted opposition parties to accuse the federal Liberals of interfering with an open policy-making inquiry. A letter written by RCMP civilian communications officer Lia Scanlan, dated April 14, 2021, claimed Lucki was outraged that staff in Halifax did not release details about the weapons, suggesting they had failed surviving children whose parents killed in Portapique, NS “It was horrible, inappropriate, unprofessional and extremely demeaning,” Scanlan wrote. “For someone to tell the RCMP that we let the boys down. There’s nothing that makes that acceptable, especially coming from the person who is at the very top of our organization.” Scanlan said Lucki “brought us up to speed and the conversation with (Public Safety) Secretary (Bill) Blair, which we clearly understood was related to the impending passage of gun legislation.” “I remember a feeling of disgust as I realized that this was the catalyst for the conversation and perhaps a justification for what you were saying about us.” In July, Campbell told the inquest that, as an experienced investigator, he was strongly opposed to releasing information about the weapons owned by the killer, Gabriel Wortman. “It was a joke,” he said. Lucki has repeatedly denied that she was directly pressured to release the details as part of the Liberal government’s gun control agenda. With files from The Canadian Press
