The NS committee struck out to investigate the deaths of people in provincial custody

A new permanent commission will be set up to investigate the deaths of people in custody.

The Deaths-in-Custody Review Committee investigates the facts and circumstances leading to a death and makes recommendations to the Attorney General to help prevent similar deaths in the future.

“The death of a person in custody is heartbreaking for families and their communities, and it worries me as a minister,” Attorney General Brad Johns said in a release.

The review committee will be chaired by the county’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Matt Bowes. Subject matter experts and community members will also be appointed, including a crown attorney, general practitioner, an RCMP officer, a member of the communities of Mi’kmaw and African Nova Scotian, and a retired senior correctional officer.

The committee’s recommendations will be made public after the minister receives them, but people who are the subject of death assessments cannot be identified, in accordance with the Personal Health Information Act and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

The commission will investigate two recent deaths of persons in custody and more in the future if necessary.

“Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the two individuals who died in custody,” Justice Department spokesman Peter McLaughlin said in an email.

“We can confirm that a male person in custody at Cape Breton Correctional Facility was taken to hospital and subsequently died on January 28. A woman in custody at Central Nova Correctional Facility died in hospital on March 26.

“We cannot publicly disclose the cause of death as this is personal health information.”

Peter Paul, 27 from Eskasoni, died by suicide at Cape Breton Correctional Facility on January 28.

His family told the media that Paul, described in his obituary as outgoing and full of life, struggled with mental health issues and addiction but was desperately trying to turn his life around.

Sarah Rose Denny, a 36-year-old Eskasoni First Nation mother, died March 26 at a Halifax hospital after being transferred from the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Burnside due to complications from pneumonia.

The plight of Paul, Denny and other Indigenous people who have died in custody was raised by dozens of people at a march and rally in downtown Halifax on June 6.

The review committee has the authority to access personal and health information held by other provincial departments and public entities, enabling a more in-depth investigation into any circumstances leading up to a death.

Part of the committee’s job is to study trends in deaths and recommend improvements.

“Death commissions allow for a more timely, in-depth assessment of the deaths that are happening,” Bowes said. “I hope the families find some comfort and confidence in the findings of a death committee and know that their loved one’s death has been independently investigated by experts.”

The committee reports annually to the minister, which is made public.

This is the third committee set up since the amendments to the Fatal Victims Investigations Act came into force in October 2021. The first two were established to investigate the deaths of children in care and deaths from domestic violence.