The RCMP has finally released a recording of a controversial conference call in which the head of the RCMP blackmailed officers in Nova Scotia for communicating in the wake of the province’s mass killings.
The meeting, held days after the mass shootings, was at the center of allegations that the Prime Minister’s Office and then-Public Safety Minister Bill Blair politically interfered with RCMP operations to favor the Liberal government’s pending gun legislation.
Four members of Nova Scotia RCMP staff have testified before the Mass Casualties Commission that Commissioner Brenda Luckey reprimanded staff during the April 28, 2020 meeting for not including information about the makes and models of weapons used in the killings from April 18 and 19 of the same year. All of them have said publicly that they believe political interference is a factor.
Although controversy surrounding the comments had been brewing for months, it wasn’t until September that word emerged of a possible recording during the public proceedings. The recording, made by RCMP media relations director Dan Bryan, is believed to have been deleted from his phone.
But it was recently restored and made public Thursday by the commission.
The request came from the minister’s office
Luckey says on the record, “this was a request I received from the minister’s office” and that she told the minister the information would be released and then it wasn’t.
Luckey previously said Blair never ordered or directed her to reveal the makes and models of the guns.
“Does anyone realize what’s going on in the gun and gun world right now?” Lucky says during the meeting. “The fact that they’re in the middle of trying to push legislation, the fact that this legislation is actually supposed to help the police, and the fact that the very little information that I asked to be entered into notes around 11:30 this morning … didn’t can it be accommodated?
“So is anyone wondering why I feel frustrated, like I’m not being heard, which makes me feel disrespected?… Or just – am I being overly sensitive?”
RCMP Supt. Darren Campbell was a support services officer at the time of the shootings, the third highest ranking Mountie in Nova Scotia. He was among the officials who claimed Lucky had made commitments to Trudeau and Blair. (CBC)
She goes on to say that she feels “bad” about the conversation because she doesn’t want to make other employees feel bad.
“But … it’s daunting for me to be trying to manage our RCMP, which is bigger than Nova Scotia, and trying to get at least some information to the prime minister before he hears it on the news.”
Luckey says she expected the gun line to be included as “part of the narrative” at the press conference, but the issue only came up during reporters’ questions.
“It was accidental. If the question hadn’t been asked, nothing would have been mentioned about the guns.”
Apology to the Prime Minister
Lucky also says that she was promised a timeline of events during the mass killings, as well as a map for the minister and the prime minister, but did not receive them in time.
“I apologized to the minister, I’m waiting for the prime minister to call me to apologize,” she says.
“I already have a request on my phone that the minister wants to talk to me and I know exactly what it will be about.” And…not much I can say except that once again I dropped the ball. So this will be the fourth time I’ve told him.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government did not put “undue” pressure on the RCMP.
In a statement Thursday, the RCMP said senior management was made aware of the recording in June and the commission was informed immediately. The statement said the RCMP is now preparing an explanation to the commission with information about the circumstances surrounding the recording and its recovery.
Senior counsel for the Mass Victims Commission, Emily Hill, said the commission received a message from the Department of Justice on July 8, 2022, that a recording may exist. The commission has requested an affidavit from the RCMP explaining how the audio recording of the meeting was made available at this late date.
The media ‘chew us up… and spit us out’
Luckey was criticized for the meeting during committee testimony.
Leah Scanlan, former director of communications for the Nova Scotia RCMP, wrote in a 2021 email to Lucky that what was said during the meeting was “appalling, unprofessional and extremely demeaning.”
In the recording, Luckey’s tone is firm and sometimes compassionate, but it’s clear she’s upset by the messages from the Nova Scotia division to RCMP headquarters and the public.
“I don’t want to hurt people when they’re hurting. … I know people are working as hard as they can, but we have a responsibility and every time we drop the ball on … providing information, you know who … fills that gap?” The media has filled that gap, retired members who haven’t been in the field for 10, 15, 20 years are filling that gap. Why? Because we—we don’t fill that gap,” she says.
Leah Scanlan was the head of communications for the RCMP in Nova Scotia in April 2020 and testified that the encounter with Lucky was “appalling, unprofessional and extremely demeaning.” (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press)
“Watching the media chew us up and eat us up and spit us out, and watching what, or hearing what the minister and the prime minister have to say about the RCMP’s inability to communicate, I’ll never forget it.”
Sharon Tessier, the RCMP’s director general of national communications at the time, ultimately took responsibility at the meeting for leaving Lucky with the impression that information about the weapons would be included in the press conference speaking notes.
“Of course, it’s like the biggest cluster ever,” she says. “It all went wrong because, I don’t know if it’s because … we had so many people who slipped in, so I take full responsibility to tell you that they were in his notes. That was my understanding.’
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