What can the Mass Casualty Commission actually accomplish?

A comment from Commission investigator, Barbara MacLean, in the CBC article on the Mass Casualty Commission open houses caught my attention, and may help us all understand some of what is going on with the Commission.

Ms. MacLean told a community member that it was important that community members remain engaged and involved after the final report is issued in November, 2022, as the recommendations from the Commission are not legally binding.

It was correct of Ms. MacLean to point this out to those attending the open house, and is something we should all keep in mind. In fact, it goes to the very nature of this public inquiry.

The Mass Casualty Commission is like a Supreme Court in many good and important ways. It can subpoena documents and witnesses, and can compel production just like a Justice in a civil trial could do.

The Commission is very unlike a Court in that it cannot make something happen in the final instance. Unlike a Court, it cannot order that its recommendations actually be put into action. A Court can order, for example, that ownership be declared in someone’s favour, or that money needs to be paid from one party to another, and then there are enforcement mechanisms that can be utilized to give teeth to those orders.

In the Inquiry setting, instead of orders there are recommendations, which can be either followed or ignored. Therefore, the real outcome of an Inquiry comes from sustained public pressure after the fact, after the final report is issued.