Nova Scotia medical examiner says too early to decide on probe into July flood deaths

A truck is seen abandoned in floodwater following a major rain event in Halifax on Saturday, July 22, 2023. A long procession of intense thunderstorms have dumped record amounts of rain across a wide swath of Nova Scotia, causing flash flooding, road washouts and power outages. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia's chief medical examiner says he could consider asking the justice minister to conduct an inquiry into the deaths of four people in flash flooding that hit the province in July.

However, Dr. Matthew Bowes says he'll wait until other investigations and reviews are complete before deciding whether to make such a request under the province's Fatality Investigations Act.

Bowes declined an interview request but said in an email sent Thursday that the public agencies involved are still conducting internal reviews, and therefore it would be "premature to consider an inquiry in this matter."

"Asking the minister for an inquiry under the Fatality Investigations Act is an avenue that could be considered after other investigations and reviews are complete," he wrote.

"As the lead authorities are still conducting a review into the floods and the emergency response, it would be premature to consider an inquiry on this matter."

Two six-year-old children, a 52-year-old man and a 14-year-old girl died during flash flooding after being swept away as waters poured onto a rural highway northwest of Halifax, near Brooklyn, N.S., on the morning of July 22.

Numerous potential areas of improvement in emergency response have been raised by the parents of six-year-old Colton Sisco, one of the victims, and they have called for an independent inquiry.

Tera Sisco, Colton's mother, says an inquiry under the provincial legislation could look at issues that include the slow pace of sending emergency alerts, the lack of adequate cellular service in rural Nova Scotia and the need for accurate flood plain mapping.

In an interview on Friday, she said she is increasingly concerned about the slow pace of the various internal government reviews of the flooding response.

"I am struggling with how dismissive most are when it comes to the events of July. Either it's being dismissed or deflected," she said.

She said the problems that arose in the emergency response involve the municipal, provincial and federal governments, and what's needed is an independent probe that looks at how the various levels of government could improve their performance and help avoid a similar tragedy in the future.

"I think (the review) needs to look at flaws in our emergency preparedness and how to better protect ourselves in the future, and to learn from this," she said.

Heather Fairbairn, a spokeswoman for the Department of Municipal Affairs, said in an email that the "initial debrief into the response on July floods is underway," and added that the provincial emergency management office is meeting with municipalities, police, fire services and search and rescue officials to "enhance the use" of the emergency alert system.

She said initial meetings occurred on Aug. 25 and more discussions are underway, while work on the report into the response will start "later this fall and will take several months to complete."

Unlike a number of other provincial jurisdictions, Nova Scotia doesn't have a coroner's inquest system where certain kinds of fatalities are examined and public reports produced. Fatality reviews are rare in Nova Scotia and often require months of public pressure from families and communities before they're approved.

According to the Nova Scotia courts website, a fatality inquiry may be recommended by the chief medical examiner to the Justice Minister, "in which case an inquiry becomes mandatory."

In addition, the minister can call an inquiry "if it is determined one is needed in the public interest or the interest of public safety." To date, Justice Minister Brad Johns has not committed to any form of probe beyond the internal reviews that are underway.

The last major fatality inquiry in the province examined the Jan. 3, 2017 deaths of Afghanistan war veteran Lionel Desmond, his wife, his 10-year-old daughter and his mother. Desmond shot his family members before he took his own life. The fatality inquiry into their deaths began in May 2019 and is nearing completion after a series of delays.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2023.

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.