By Canadian Press

Manhunt fallout: Premier calls on the RCMP to improve emergency alert protocols

Jan 7, 2021 | 12:59 PM

HALIFAX — The premier of Nova Scotia says the RCMP must change how they alert the public to dangerous incidents following the high-profile arrest of a gunman who remained at large for 19 hours.

Stephen McNeil made the comment Thursday as questions arose about why it took more than three hours on Wednesday for the Mounties to request a provincewide Alert Ready message to warn residents about a manhunt that spanned two provinces.

“The RCMP has an issue when it comes to whether or not they want to use emergency alerts,” the premier said after a cabinet meeting. “They need to fix their protocol.”

A spokesman for the RCMP said the police force is considering releasing a statement on the issue on Friday.

Provincial Justice Minister Mark Furey — a former Mountie — also weighed in, saying the RCMP must shorten the time it takes for them to prepare Alert Ready messages for distribution by the province’s Emergency Management Office.

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“We would like to see the times compressed as much as possible to ensure the earliest communication with the Emergency Management Office,” he said Thursday, adding that the latest delay may have been caused by factors of which he is unaware.

“(The RCMP) may be better able to explain, and I hope they would explain these circumstances to the public,” Furey said. “I’ve told them that timely and efficient communication is critical in providing public safety to Nova Scotians.”

McNeil repeatedly stressed that once the EMO had received the text of the message from the RCMP at 11:35 a.m., it took only seven minutes for the agency to transmit it to TV, radio and wireless devices across the province.

Furey confirmed that municipal police officers in Amherst, N.S., found the suspect’s abandoned vehicle at 8:10 a.m., which means the Mounties did not submit the text for the emergency alert until almost three-and-a-half hours later. 

Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin, the provincial politician who represents the Amherst area for the Opposition Progressive Conservatives, issued a statement Thursday saying the delay was unacceptable.

“Sadly, we know all too well in this province what the consequences can be for delays in notifying the public of immediate danger,” she said, referring to the widespread criticism the RCMP faced for failing to use the Alert Ready system when a gunman disguised as a Mountie killed 22 people in April.

“What we learned today is that no progress has been made since the events of April 18-19th.” 

Smith-McCrossin also alleged that the government was responsible for the delay. The premier, however, said that was inaccurate.

“The fact is that EMO . . . can’t write a script about what is taking place on the ground in Amherst,” McNeil said. “It needs (the RCMP) to do that.”

The shooting suspect, who had fled from New Brunswick some time between 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday and early the next day, remained at large for almost 19 hours before he was arrested without incident by Amherst police just after noon on Wednesday.

The manhunt started near a high school in Riverview, N.B., where a man was wounded by gunfire. Police say the 35-year-old victim was approached by a man who demanded that he give him a bag he was carrying. 

The victim was taken to hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. 

The New Brunswick RCMP said 24-year-old Janson Bryan Baker of Moncton was being held in custody Thursday on an unrelated matter.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7. 2021.

Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press