By Canadian Press

Nova Scotia government says judge dismissed from inquiry had rejected offer for help

Jul 11, 2023 | 11:57 AM

HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government says a judge dismissed from leading a high-profile inquiry had rejected an offer for help, even though he had asked for four extensions to allow him to complete his final report.

The office of the province’s attorney general issued a statement today saying the now-retired judge, Warren Zimmer, was not given a fourth extension because the government had no reason to expect that agreeing to that request would yield a final report.

As well, department spokesman Peter McLaughlin says that when Zimmer first asked for an extension after the inquiry’s hearings concluded in April 2022, the provincial court judge promised to deliver the report in September 2022.

Zimmer was appointed in July 2018 to lead the fatality inquiry that investigated why Afghanistan war veteran Lionel Desmond killed three family members and himself in their rural Nova Scotia home in 2017. 

Last Tuesday, Premier Tim Houston said his government decided to replace the judge because his report was taking too long to complete.

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Two days later, Zimmer wrote to inquiry lawyers saying he had told the government he planned to hand in his report in August and attributing the decision to dismiss him to misinformation and ignorance.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2023.

The Canadian Press