Inquiry calls for action on violence 'epidemic'

OTTAWA - The sweeping calls for change stemming from the public inquiry into the 2020 deadly mass shootings in Nova Scotia include a push to overhaul Canada's approach to the "epidemic" of gender-based, intimate-partner and family violence — something one advocate says will require transformative change.

The Mass Casualty Commission — which examined the shooting spree in rural Nova Scotia that left 23 people dead, including the gunman — released a report last week that makes 130 recommendations aimed at improving public safety and policing.

The commissioners singled out their findings about domestic violence, saying they believe it to be the "single most important" lesson to be learned.

There is growing evidence, the report says, "that many men who commit mass casualties have previously committed gender-based violence, intimate partner violence, or family violence," and that many mass violence events begin with an attack on a specific woman, as it did in Nova Scotia.