Roundup: Public ‘must accept’ inconsistencies & errors says RCMP union lawyer, COVID still spreading, Antigonish amalgamation talks continue, local groups fighting plastic waste
During the April 2020 mass shooting, the RCMP knew the attacker was described as a cop for hours before they warned Nova Scotians. Photo: Submitted
Plus: A local music consultant helps acclaimed director Michael Mann bring Tokyo Vice to life
Nova Scotians should give up on learning the full truth about what happened during the 2020 mass shooting, according to Nasha Nijhawan, a lawyer with the union representing RCMP officers.
“The commission, participants, and the public must accept that some inconsistencies, gaps, or apparent errors will never be resolved,” she says. “This is especially true when the body of available evidence includes hundreds of eyewitness perspectives based on memory created in traumatic circumstances and recalled months and years after events.”
Nijhawan made the comments as the Mass Casualty Commission’s public hearings paused for a week to mark the two-year anniversary of the attack, during which a gunman disguised as a Mountie eluded police for 13 hours, while killing 22 people at 16 sites around the province.
Janet Whitman reports for LighthouseNow.
COVID spreading fast
The COVID-19 count continues to climb worldwide, with the World Health Organization tallying 948,865 confirmed new cases globally in the last 24 hours.
The real number of infections is likely much higher though, as many jurisdictions (including Nova Scotia) are now withholding daily data, making it impossible to get an accurate picture of the disease’s spread.
So far, COVID has killed 6,190,348 people worldwide, including 38,207 people in Canada and 277 Nova Scotians.
Hollywood to Halifax and back
Jeffrey Miller was living in his native Los Angeles, working at a record store as he pursued his PhD in musicology, when he struck up a rapport with a customer who was looking for music for a film project.
The customer: director Michael Mann. The project: his acclaimed and influential 1995 crime drama Heat.
“It was an incredible experience,” Miller says. “He was already working with people like Moby, U2. And he had everything at his fingertips that he needed because he’s such a powerful person in that film world. He wanted something off the beaten path, and I think I was able to deliver that.”
Twenty-seven years later, Miller is a music consultant based in Halifax, and his collaborations with Mann continue, with contributions to the new HBO series Tokyo Vice and work on the upcoming Ferrari film.
He tells Ameeta Vohra about it in this Unravel Halifax interview.
Antigonish consolidation talks go on
As politicians continue to consider the possible amalgamation of Antigonish’s town and county governments, the public is now getting to weigh in at community information sessions.
“It feels good to finally be out in the community, with these information sessions, getting first-hand interactions with the public,” says Laurie Boucher, mayor of the town. “We learned a lot; we spoke to over 250 people over the three days.”
Drake Lowthers has the story for the Reporter.
Fighting plastic waste
Ignite Atlantic, Sobeys, Divert Nova Scotia, and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency are teaming up for a pilot project called the Plastic Waste Challenge.
It follows the recent move to stop providing customers with single-use plastic bags. The partners’ mission is to find sustainable ways to package in-store wrapped fish, meat, and produce.
“We definitely acknowledge the role we have to help address plastics as an issue,” says Sobeys executive Eli Browne. “We’re looking forward to see where this takes us.”
Steve Goodwin has more for the Pictou Advocate.
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