Families impatient with pace of Lionel Desmond fatality inquiry: Nova Scotia premier

HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government is doubling down on its claim that it dismissed a judge leading a high-profile inquiry partly because the families involved had grown impatient with the process.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting today, Premier Tim Houston said his government had given provincial court Judge Warren Zimmer a number of extensions to allow him to finish his final report, and Houston followed up by saying: “How many times can you do that to the families?”

Zimmer was appointed in July 2018 to lead the fatality inquiry that investigated why Afghanistan war veteran Lionel Desmond killed three family members and himself in their rural Nova Scotia home in 2017, but Attorney General Brad Johns dismissed the judge on June 30, saying the final report was taking too long to complete.

Two of Lionel Desmond’s sisters, Chantel and Cassandra, led a year-long campaign to push the provincial and federal governments to hold some kind of inquiry to determine what happened and to propose changes to prevent such a tragedy from recurring.

On Thursday, Johns also mentioned family members, saying his priority was to “get results for the families.”

The Desmond sisters could not be reached for comment.

Lawyer Adam Rodgers, who represents Cassandra Desmond, has said it is inconceivable that another judge could be brought in at this stage, given that the replacement would have to review thousands of documents and 56 days’ worth of transcripts.

“The provincial government never wanted this inquiry to happen … (and) now they are undermining the entire effort,” he said earlier this week.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2023.