Desmond Fatality Inquiry final report to be released Jan. 31

Judge Paul Scovil’s final report and recommendations stemming from the Desmond Fatality Inquiry will be released Jan. 31 at the Port Hawkesbury courthouse.

On Jan. 3, 2017, the bodies of Lionel Desmond, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, his wife Shanna, their 10-year-old daughter Aaliyah and Desmond’s mother Brenda were found in a home in Upper Big Tracadie, Guysborough County. It was believed at the time that Desmond killed his family members before he took his own life.

Nova Scotia’s chief medical examiner recommended to the minister of justice that an inquiry be held under the province’s Fatality Investigations Act. Over the course of the inquiry, 70 witnesses testified over 58 days of hearings and 58,699 documents were reviewed. 

As per the act, the final report and recommendations from the inquiry must be filed with the provincial court. A copy will also be provided to the justice minister and released to the public on the inquiry website.

Scovil was appointed to take over the inquiry last summer after Justice Minister Brad Johns refused the request of Judge Warren Zimmer, who had hosted the inquiry, for more time to prepare the final report. In a letter sent to lawyers involved in the inquiry expressing his own frustration with the Department of Justice after his term was ended, Zimmer attributed delays to the pandemic, the immense amount of documents and that, unlike the Mass Casualty Commission, he did not have a large staff to assist him.

Zimmer said in the letter it was his intention to have a copy of the report available by last August.

“We recognize that the families involved in this process are anxious for an outcome,” wrote Nova Scotia Judiciary spokeswoman Jennifer Stairs in a statement to The Chronicle Herald in early January.

Inquiry hearings revealed significant gaps in the care of veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after their discharge, sharing of medical records between the military and provincial health authorities, the ongoing monitoring of the mental health of those possessing firearms licences and large amounts of marijuana being prescribed.

The proceedings next week in Port Hawkesbury will begin at 11 a.m. and will be livestreamed.