What the list of Participants can tell us about the Mass Casualty Commission Proceedings

Knowing who is going to be taking part in the Mass Casualty Commission proceedings can give us important insight into what might unfold as those hearings begin later this month. The Commission has released a 22-page decision detailing who may participate, and to what degree each will be involved.

The decision also includes funding recommendations for many of the individuals and non-profit groups who have been granted the right to participate (also known as “standing”, in the more common legal phrasing). Those recommendations are not Orders per se, but do tend to carry great weight with government funding sources, as to reject such a recommendation would be tantamount to denying someone the right to participate when the Commission has said that they indeed have such a right. To deny that would undermine the Commission’s independence.

Those participating include families of the victims of the gunman (though, perhaps notably, not the family of Cst. Heidi Stevenson), three Canada-wide victim advocacy groups, health-related groups like the Nova Scotia Nurses Union, two firearms organizations, three justice advocacy groups (including Nova Scotia Legal Aid), numerous gender-based violence organizations, and several police-related organizations.