Cyclical Violence and Systemic Neglect

On April 18 and April 19, 2020, Canada’s largest mass murder took place in and beyond Portapique, Nova Scotia. At the end of March 2023, the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) released their final report on the investigation that followed, retelling the series of events that transpired, and the years leading up to them. 

Together, the details that have unfolded since 2020 tell a disturbing but familiar story. We now know that the perpetrator in the Nova Scotia attacks had a history of violence. Throughout his lifetime, he had been a victim of violence himself, and then went on to  abuse his  power and privilege, enacting destructive behaviour at home, in his workplace, and in his community. The MCC final report, details negligent responses to the violence in the decades leading up to the mass casualty event, and the many missed opportunities for intervention. The devastation in 2020 was a result of the systemic protection of a violent but affluent white man whose freedom took precedence over the safety of women, and other marginalized people. 

The findings of the MCC report support what we already know to be true about violence: it is always related to control and power, and that it rarely occurs in isolation or from out of nowhere. 

Reports from community members, including sex workers, in Nova Scotia note that the perpetrator was known as predatory and violent towards people in his family, workplace, and community. In spite of many attempts to report concerns or violent incidents, the perpetrator managed to evade the weak interventions of police for years. 

It’s well-documented that women, sex workers, and other marginalized people who survive violence are often disbelieved when sharing their accounts with police. Even more, we know that survivors who are people of colour, queer, and trans, who also do sex work are disproportionately dismissed and more likely to be criminalized when they report violence to police. 

The trope of the “perfect victim” is a familiar one. The person who is more likely to be believed, and to receive support, is the person who doesn’t “deserve” to be a victim in the first place. Picture a straight white woman who doesn’t use drugs or alcohol, has stable housing, a steady income, many social connections, and family support. Now, the mass murder in Portapique has uncovered another popular trope: that of the  “perfect perpetrator.”

The harrowing event in 2020 and the work of processing it, reveals  a story of intergenerational trauma, the vicious cycle of violence, and, as the report clearly states, the “collective systemic failure” to protect people. 

The recommendations from the MCC are detailed and exhaustive, outlining actions to make meaningful systemic and cultural changes towards violence prevention. The Commission’s report asks us to consider what safety in our communities actually looks like. It also asks what accountability should look like for the systems that are intended to uphold our collective safety. It’s important to ask ourselves these kinds of questions while recognizing that the RCMP has a pattern of not following external recommendations or making policy changes after violent events, especially over the last twenty years.

A closer look at the decades of abuse, negligence, and cumulative system failures eventually builds a full picture of the kinds of safety our institutions are built for, and for whom. Has the Mass Casualty Commission report uncovered a lifelong string of missed opportunities for intervention? Or has it revealed a deep-rooted history of selective protection and compliance for a certain kind of perpetrator? After all, how is it that a 73 year old woman in downtown St. John’s is arrested and incarcerated for spray painting, while  a well-known and violent business owner in rural Nova Scotia skirts accountability and avoids the criminal justice system for decades? 

Embracing a public health and harm reduction approach to violence, as recommended by the MCC, means recognizing that gender inequity and abuse of social and systemic power are what create the conditions for violence to persist. If we’ve learned anything from the MCC, then, it’s that we cannot uphold safety in our communities without believing and prioritizing the wellbeing of all. Especially those who are all too often considered collateral: women, sex workers, people of colour, trans folks, and survivors. In both big and small ways, violence is preventable if we consider the conditions that make it possible.

On behalf of the St. John’s Status of Women Council, we extend our condolences to the loved ones of those whose lives were taken and hope for healing to the survivors and their families.

Bridget Clarke,

Advocacy Coordinator

St. John’s Status of Women Council