Hon. Mary Coyle: Senator Gold, as you know, today is a very sad anniversary for all Canadians. Three years ago today, Canada’s worst mass shooting occurred in my home province of Nova Scotia, senselessly ending the lives of 22 innocent people, including a highly competent and valued member of the RCMP, Heidi Stevenson, from my hometown of Antigonish.

You will recall that not long after the initial shock of that tragedy, several of us representing our province in this chamber called upon the provincial and federal governments to launch a full inquiry. The recommendations of that inquiry, recently published in the final report of the Mass Casualty Commission, call for substantive and systematic reform of the RCMP in order to prevent more of the kind of devastating tragedies that we witnessed in Nova Scotia in April 2020.

Of the commission’s 130 recommendations, over 60 were directed at the RCMP. The message from the commissioner says:

The future of the RCMP and of provincial policing requires focused re-evaluation. We need to rethink the role of the police in a wider ecosystem of public safety. . . .

The message goes on to say:

Most important, the RCMP must finally undergo the fundamental change called for in so many previous reports. . . .

In recognition of that imperative, Senator Harder has introduced his Senate inquiry on the role and mandate of the RCMP.

Senator Gold, could you tell us how and when the government plans to respond to the calls to action of the Mass Casualty Commission for major reforms of the RCMP? Concern has been raised that it’s unrealistic to expect the RCMP themselves to lead that reform.

Senator Coyle: Senator Gold, we know that the tragedy in Nova Scotia began with the murderer violently assaulting and threatening his partner.

Several of the recommendations in the Mass Casualty Commission’s report focused on the flawed RCMP and governmental response to widespread intimate partner violence in Canada. Funding related to preventing and effectively intervening in gender-based violence has been inadequate for many years, and, for that reason, endangers women’s lives.

The report calls for the Government of Canada to declare gender-based violence an epidemic in Canada and provide long-term funding for services that have been long demonstrated to be effective in meeting the needs of women survivors of gender-based violence and that contribute to preventing gender-based violence.

Senator Gold, we know that the government has said that it’s very committed to ending gender-based violence and supporting its victims. Will the government accept the findings of the commission and move to declare gender-based violence an epidemic in Canada, and commit to providing long-term and, most importantly, sustained funding for effective services?