Lee Bergerman, a retired assistant commissioner and commanding officer of the Nova Scotia RCMP, testified Monday in Halifax before the Mass Casualty Commission leading the inquiry into the shootings across April 18-19, 2020, when a gunman killed 22 people across the province.

Bergerman said in her view, there were "failures" and breakdowns in communication during the response, later specifying that included radio communications between officers on the ground and those in command posts.

She also said there were issues communicating with the public, and there could have been better "streamlining" of the messaging coming out from RCMP. Bergerman also saw shortcomings around co-ordinating where officers were placed, and said having community members more involved with the command centre to offer insight into "obscure roads" would have been useful.

"Those are all things that I think we can learn from, and I'm hoping that a lot of this comes out of this commission," said Bergerman, who retired from the RCMP in October 2021.

She was also asked about her thoughts on how RCMP did not fully clear all crime scenes in Portapique, N.S., until 19 hours after the shootings began, meaning some victims on Cobequid Court — a small road at the southern end of the community — were not discovered until the late afternoon of April 19.

Bergerman said she doesn't know why that happened and wasn't involved in those decisions on the ground, but it was an "extraordinary event" where people tried their best.

"Obviously, if it takes 19 hours to find a crime scene, that's a failure to have the appropriate resources in place to do it," Bergerman said.

When asked about whether it would have been helpful to bring in nearby municipal forces to assist in searching Portapique, Bergerman said that could definitely be a "lesson learned."

Twenty-two people died on April 18 and 19, 2020. Top row from left: Gina Goulet, Dawn Gulenchyn, Jolene Oliver, Frank Gulenchyn, Sean McLeod, Alanna Jenkins. Second row: John Zahl, Lisa McCully, Joey Webber, Heidi Stevenson, Heather O'Brien and Jamie Blair. Third row from top: Kristen Beaton, Lillian Campbell, Joanne Thomas, Peter Bond, Tom Bagley and Greg Blair. Bottom row: Emily Tuck, Joy Bond, Corrie Ellison and Aaron Tuck. (CBC)

She also highlighted that certain things were done very well, calling the efforts from the first RCMP officers on the ground in Portapique and the emergency response team"heroic."

A commission lawyer, counsel for the victims' families, police union and federal justice department asked Bergerman about various topics, including what the morale was like in the higher ranks in the year following the tragedy.

"There was a lot of burnout … we had a number of our key, senior people who were off duty sick and a lot of our commissioned officers were doing three jobs," Bergerman said.

Bergerman said officers were coming to her about getting succession plans in place for their roles so they could transfer out of the province, so she turned to national RCMP headquarters in Ottawa for help.

Wellness report came from Ottawa: Bergerman

She said she spoke with Deputy Commissioner Brian Brennan about the senior officers' mental health concerns, and asked for strategies to better support their needs.

Brennan then went to the RCMP's chief human resources officer Gail Johnson and they made a decision to commission an independent wellness assessment from Quintet Consulting, Bergerman said, which would examine factors impacting morale.

The consultants interviewed 24 commissioned officers or civilian equivalents through the summer of 2021, according to a report summary released by the commission, including Bergerman.

The final report was finished in September 2021 but Bergerman said it did not address the issues she originally asked about.

Instead, the report outlined how participants felt about underlying issues with RCMP leadership, policing partners in municipal forces, the shooting response and criticisms of Bergerman's own performance.

Commissioners Leanne Fitch, Michael MacDonald, chair, and Kim Stanton, left to right, look on as Lee Bergerman, right, former assistant commissioner and recently retired commanding officer of the Nova Scotia RCMP, testifies. (The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan)

"I was looking for, 'What strategies can we have in place to help people heal?' Do we do team building, do we go on retreats, do we bring in psychologists, do we bring in extra members to support the officers … that's what I was looking for," Bergerman said.

She added that she asked for specifics on succession planning for top officers that weren't part of the report, but that was "done eventually."

Although Bergerman said relationships between the Nova Scotia RCMP and municipal forces were "good" before the mass shooting, things have worsened since then. It became "popular" for people to distance themselves from the Mounties and certain police chiefs criticized the RCMP publicly, Bergerman said, and the RCMP's push for Nova Scotia-wide policing standards "has caused a rift" between the Mounties, provincial Justice Department, and municipal forces.

While Bergerman said the commission would have to ask a municipal chief why that has created an issue for them, she suggested it could be because standards come with specialized units like emergency response teams — all of which are "cost-prohibitive for a lot of municipalities."

She added that municipal chiefs were also upset by the RCMP's move to start tracking expenses every time police departments like Truro or Bridgewater call in RCMP special units they don't have in their own forces. But Bergerman said the RCMP hasn't been billing municipalities for those services, just keeping track to show the province where their money is going when they run a deficit.

Policing funding model questioned

Bergerman suggested the commission have a "hard look" at the policing funding model in Nova Scotia, and how that plays into the resources across Nova Scotia for both RCMP and municipal forces.

When asked if she agreed with comments from senior officers from the wellness report about how the province had underfunded the RCMP for years, Bergerman said "generally, I would say yes." Although Bergerman said the province often turned down funding requests outside the regular budget, she understood it came down to "dollars and cents" and health care was more of a priority.

Under-staffing was made worse after the mass shooting, Bergerman said, when many Mounties were traumatized and on leave. This past year, she said the district where most of the shootings took place did get six new officer positions, but that isn't enough.

"It's a vicious circle … you don't have enough resources, you're using the resources that you do have on overtime and it's not sustainable," Bergerman said.

Before her testimony, the commission interviewed Bergerman in early August. At the time, Bergerman said she only learned about the gunman's replica car when she saw it on the news the morning of April 19.

• CBC's full coverage of the inquiry into the Nova Scotia mass casualty

She said she was convinced that one of the RCMP cruisers had been stolen, so she called Chief Supt. Chris Leather to ask whether that was the case. "He confirmed that all of our police cars had been accounted for," said Bergerman.

The photo had been sent to RCMP from Halifax Regional Police around 7:30 a.m., but the photo wasn't shared publicly until the Mounties issued a tweet around three hours later.

Bergerman also said when it comes to recommendations from the commission, she'd like to see "robust tracking mechanisms" that can be followed up on after the final report is delivered, perhaps handled by lawyers or others involved in the commission.

One family lawyer, Tara Miller, suggested an ongoing committee made up of officers at the street level, RCMP senior management and the public to ensure the inquiry recommendations don't sit on a shelf.

"I agree with that," Bergerman said.

The commissioners leading the inquiry will question Bergerman Tuesday, before RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki takes the stand.

Lucki has been caught up in a political controversy for weeks following allegations that she was under pressure to release specific information about the gunman's firearms ahead of the Liberal government's gun control legislation.

The commission has set aside Tuesday and Wednesday for Lucki's evidence, while on Thursday, Halifax Regional Police Chief Dan Kinsella will testify.

Across Monday and part of Tuesday, the Mass Casualty Commission leading the inquiry is expected to hear from Lee Bergerman.

Bergerman, the former assistant commissioner, had recently retired from her role as commanding officer of the Nova Scotia RCMP, which she held across April 18-19, 2020, when a gunman killed 22 people across the province.

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki is then expected to testify Tuesday into Wednesday.

The commission already interviewed both Lucki and Bergerman in early August.

Lucki has been caught up in a political controversy for weeks following allegations that she was under pressure to release specific information about the gunman's firearms ahead of the Liberal government's gun control legislation.

The questions began when Chief Supt. Darren Campbell's notes from a call on April 28, 2020 with Lucki and members of the Nova Scotia RCMP were released as part of the inquiry in June.

Campbell wrote the commissioner was "sad and disappointed" and "had promised the minister of Public Safety and the Prime Minister's Office that the RCMP, [we] would release this information." 

Bill Blair, who was public safety minister at the time, has denied ever asking Lucki to pressure the RCMP to make the information about the guns public. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the government did not put any "undue" pressure on the RCMP.

Others on the April 28 call, including former Nova Scotia RCMP communications director Lia Scanlan, have backed up Campbell's recollection of Lucki bringing up political promises to release the gun information.

But Lucki told the House of Commons public safety and national security committee that things only went sideways due to a miscommunication between herself and Nova Scotia RCMP.

Ahead of Campbell's news conference on April 28, Lucki said Blair's chief of staff asked her whether the gun details would be released publicly, so she checked with her national RCMP communications team who told her it would be.

Lucki relayed that information back to Blair's office and the deputy minister of Public Safety. But when the gun details weren't actually released, Lucki was upset because "I felt I had misinformed the minister and, by extension, the prime minister."

Various topics for Lucki, Bergerman

While Lucki said she may have used the word "promise" in the April 28 call, she did not make a formal promise to government officials about the sort of information the RCMP would reveal.

The commission has said it expects Bergerman to speak on topics including RCMP culture, leadership and supervision within the Nova Scotia RCMP, and the psychological autopsy of the gunman. The commission also expects to hear from her on after-action reviews, communications with municipalities, and community policing.

Lucki will also be asked about Mountie culture, Nova Scotia leadership and supervision, as well as the role of communications within the RCMP.

Thursday has been set aside as an extra day for testimony, if needed.

An Island RCMP officer has been given a suspended sentence for assault.

Cpl. Blair Ross, 46, pleaded guilty to assaulting a man last September.

The court heard Ross is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Ross's lawyer said Friday that the assault is an incident of which his client is not only ashamed, but regrets.

Last September while off duty, Ross pushed and shoved a younger man during a disagreement, and ripped his shirt. Ross had been drinking at the time.

After he was charged, Ross took a leave from the RCMP. He spent two months in treatment for alcohol problems at a facility in Ontario.

He has also been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, related to his work in child pornography investigations.

CBC interviewed him during one of those cases and at the time he acknowledged the strain.

"As an officer who has to look at this stuff, and realize there's victims somewhere in the world, you have this overwhelming feeling of helplessness," said Ross in February 2008.

This isn't Ross' first brush with the courts. In 1998, he received a conditional discharge for a similar assault involving a woman.

In court on Friday, Ross's lawyer told the court his client hasn't had a drink since the latest incident.

Judge Nancy Orr heard jail time would end the officer's career. She gave him a suspended sentence allowing him to continue working and recovering.

Orr put Ross on probation for two years and ordered him to do 100 hours of community service work.

Before he was charged, Ross was stationed with the Montague detachment. He remains on desk duty while the RCMP finish their own internal investigation.

The RCMP doesn't release results of internal investigations but they say the penalties can include a reprimand, suspension or discharge from the force.

A member of the P.E.I. RCMP has been charged with theft, breach of trust by a public officer and possession of a controlled substance.

Cpl. Blair Ross, the officer responsible for the care and handling of exhibits at Kings District RCMP, was charged on June 4 after a routine review of the exhibit locker by the district commander on May 31 showed "irregularities." according to RCMP.

The RCMP Major Crime Unit laid the charge.

"Several drug exhibits were missing. They were all prescription pills. There were probably five or six of our drug seizures that we've made in the last year that have been affected," said RCMP spokesman Andrew Blackadar.

"Our investigators have to now meet with the federal Crown so the federal Crown can determine if the fact that these exhibits were compromised may certainly lead to the withdrawal some of our drug-trafficking charges."

The investigation is still underway.

Meanwhile, Ross has been suspended from his duties.

He will appear in Georgetown Provincial Court on July 25 to enter a plea.

A Prince Edward Island RCMP officer pleaded guilty on Friday to multiple charges for stealing evidence from the exhibit locker in the Montague detachment.

In June, the RCMP accused Cpl. Blair Ross of stealing prescription pills. He was charged with theft, breach of trust and possession of a controlled substance. He pleaded guilty to all three charges.

According to the RCMP, Ross was the exhibit custodian in Montague. He was one of just a few staff members with access to the evidence locker.

After the district commander noticed several types of prescription narcotics were missing this summer, he called in the Major Crime Unit which found evidence that Ross had stolen them.

This is the second time Ross will be sentenced for a crime.

In February 2011 he was given a suspended sentence for assaulting a man while off duty. He continued working with the RCMP following that incident.

This time, Ross has been suspended with pay and the RCMP said that will continue until he's sentenced.

Ross is scheduled back in court Feb. 6 for sentencing.

The RCMP is also running an internal conduct investigation into Ross's actions.

 RCMP Cpl. Blair Ross says he stole the drugs because he was suffering from back pain. (CBC)

An RCMP officer from eastern P.E.I., who recently retired, has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for stealing painkilling drugs from an evidence locker.

Cpl. Blair Ross pleaded guilty in October to stealing more than 300 pills, including morphine, hydromorphone and Percocet. Ross was the exhibit custodian in Montague, and one of just a few staff members with access to the locker.

RCMP at the Montague detachment first noticed drugs missing from the locker on May 28, 2013. Two officers were examining exhibits to prepare testimony, and they noticed two bottles of prescription pills missing.

The officers notified district commander Staff Sgt. Dave Thibeau, who went into the room with another officer to search for the missing drugs. They found instead other problems with the drug exhibits. Some pills were loose in the bottom of the box and sealed exhibit bags had been cut open and pills removed.

Thibeau sealed the bond room and called in the major crime unit to investigate. Members of that unit were on the scene that evening. Ross was arrested on May 31. He was charged with breach of trust, theft, and possession of a controlled substance.

Pills taken for back pain

On June 3, Ross made a statement to explain his actions.

Ross said he took the drugs because he was suffering from severe back pain from wearing a gun belt. He said he had been prescribed morphine for the pain, but the dosage was not sufficient.

Ross did not want to go back to his doctor for a higher dosage. He worried a stronger prescription could mean being placed on restricted duties because of his disability, and not being allowed to wear a gun.

He had been taking the pills for about a year. At the beginning, he said, he only took drugs that were already dealt with in court and were slated for destruction. In the months leading up to his arrest, he started taking pills that had not yet been dealt with in court.

Ross was with the RCMP for almost 25 years, and had been serving in eastern P.E.I. since August 2009.

Ross was also given two years probation.