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Halifax police chief tells inquiry he was unaware of report of turf war with RCMP

August 26, 2022  By The Canadian Press


Aug. 25, 2022, Halifax, N.S. – Halifax’s police chief says he wasn’t aware about reports of a turf war between his police force and the RCMP.

Dan Kinsella made the comments on the witness stand at the public inquiry into the Nova Scotia mass shooting, which is investigating how a gunman murdered 22 people over two days in April 2020.

Co-ordination between RCMP and municipal police forces during the mass shooting has been a point of contention during the inquiry.

Kinsella was asked about a September 2021 “wellness report” commissioned by the RCMP, which noted that Mounties said there was an ongoing “turf battle” between the Halifax police and the Nova Scotia RCMP regarding funding and control over police operations.

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The report, released at the public inquiry, quoted officers accusing Halifax police leadership of “doing everything” they could to “undermine and break” the relationship with the RCMP.

Kinsella says he only recently learned of the report and wishes he had read it when it was published.

He says he knows that the integrated police unit – in which Halifax officers and RCMP work together – “is not perfect.”

Kinsella says had he known about these complaints, he would have initiated a discussion with the RCMP to work on improving the relationship.

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki testified on Tuesday at the inquiry that she wasn’t aware for several months that the wellness report had been completed, adding that she first saw the report in June of this year.


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