Public anger mounts at decision not to hold a full public inquiry into the April mass murders
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In an interview, NDP justice spokesperson Claudia Chender said the process announced yesterday has led to a deluge of emails from constituents asking her to advocate for a public inquiry. She said criticism over the decision appears to be “almost universal.”
“I think it’s rare that you see such a unified response to a government action, and so in the past 24 hours or so since the review was announced we’ve heard almost universal condemnation,” Chender said.
“Even Minister Mark Furey in the press conference yesterday when asked admitted that in fact no one asked for a review, but hundreds if not thousands of people have asked for an inquiry.”
Chender said a decision of this magnitude is far too important for the government to make without “being held to account” publicly. She said it must be done in the legislative context so they can introduce their bill mandating a public inquiry, have it debated, and ask questions of the justice minister.
“We could make our arguments that we’ve heard on behalf of our constituents and they could respond to them, and we could have a fulsome debate which we think this deserves,” she said.
“I think we’ve heard an almost universal sentiment that Nova Scotians asked for a public inquiry and they deserve one.”
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