Decision to dismiss judge in Desmond inquiry was the wrong move, relative says

The Nova Scotia government should not have dismissed the judge leading the Lionel Desmond inquiry, a close relative of the former soldier at the centre of the high-profile probe said Thursday.

Desmond's sister Chantel said she and other family members wanted provincial court Judge Warren Zimmer to finish his work, which started more than five years ago.

"I honestly don't know what I feel about it besides disappointment," Chantel Desmond said in a Facebook message, responding to comments made earlier in the day by Premier Tim Houston and Attorney General Brad Johns. "I don't understand why they couldn't let Zimmer just finish, as he was there the entire time."

Zimmer was appointed in July 2018 to lead a fatality inquiry that investigated why Lionel Desmond, an Afghanistan war veteran, killed three family members and himself in their rural Nova Scotia home in 2017. On June 30 of this year, Johns dismissed the judge, saying his final report was taking too long to complete.

Last week, Houston cited the families touched by the tragedy when he explained the government's decision, saying, "Look, we're aligned with the families, we're aligned with Nova Scotians and Canadians and all human beings on this."

On Thursday, Houston said Zimmer was let go partly because the families involved had been forced to wait too long. He said that despite the several extensions given to the judge, it was unclear when the final report would be completed.

"How many times can you do that to the families?" he said after a cabinet meeting in Halifax.

Johns also mentioned family members Thursday, saying his priority was to "get results for the families."

'I'm sorry they feel that way,' says premier

Chantel and her twin sister Cassandra Desmond led a yearlong campaign to push the provincial and federal governments to hold some kind of inquiry to determine what happened to their brother and his family, and to propose changes to prevent such a tragedy from recurring.

Chantel Desmond stressed Thursday that the government's decision to replace the now-retired judge did not reflect the family's wishes.

"Houston didn't respond to us," she said. "If he did, he would know we want Zimmer to finish what he started.… And this newly appointed judge would not be as familiar with the situation, let alone experience the emotions from everyone in the courtroom that had to speak to make a well-informed report."

When asked about Chantel Desmond's criticism, Houston said, "I'm sorry they feel that way, for sure. It was not the intention to add any additional stress or emotional pain. Our interest is in getting them the report and getting the recommendations so that we can move forward."

Johns said much the same thing: "I'm sorry if they feel that they should have been consulted more," he said. "Those families and all Nova Scotians deserve some conclusion here. I didn't see a conclusion coming quickly."

Zimmer has yet to respond to requests for an interview.

Judge planned to submit report in August

The government has said it could not impose a deadline on Zimmer because of the independence of the judiciary and, by extension, the fatality inquiry. The province's Fatalities Inquiries Act, however, permits the appointment of a new judge when an inquiry judge retires. That's what happened on June 30 when the government decided against extending Zimmer's term on the bench.

On July 6, Zimmer wrote to inquiry lawyers saying he had told the government he planned to hand in his report in August. He said the decision to dismiss him was based on misinformation and ignorance.

In the letter, Zimmer said he had already written 200 pages of the final report. He also pointed to the large volume of material he had to review on his own. The inquiry heard from 70 witnesses during 56 days of hearings, which generated 10,447 pages of transcripts.

The inquiry, which wrapped up hearing in April 2022, was delayed several times by events beyond Zimmer's control, including the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to an 11-month hiatus.

During the hearings, the inquiry learned that Lionel Desmond served in Afghanistan as a rifleman in 2007 and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and major depression in 2011.

Despite four years of treatment while he was in the military, he required more help when he was medically discharged in 2015. He took part in a residential treatment program in Montreal in 2016, but a discharge summary concluded he was still a desperately ill man.

During the last four months of his life, Desmond received no therapeutic treatment, mainly because provincial heath-care professionals could not gain access to his federal medical files.

On Jan. 3, 2017, Desmond legally purchased a semi-automatic rifle and used it later that day to kill his 31-year-old wife, Shanna; their 10-year-old daughter, Aaliyah; and his 52-year-old mother, Brenda. Their bodies were found the next day in the family's home, in Upper Big Tracadie, N.S.