Desmond Fatality Inquiry notice; CIGO file photo
The lawyer representing members of the Desmond family in the Desmond Fatality Inquiry says the COVID-19 pandemic is causing a significant delay to the inquiry, and it’s a missed opportunity to shine a light on the issues that allowed the tragedy to happen.
Adam Rodgers says people stuck at home because of COVID-19 would have had more time to follow the proceedings.
Lionel Desmond, an Afghanistan war veteran diagnosed with PTSD, killed his wife, mother, daughter, and himself in their Upper Big Tracadie home in 2017.
The first round of testimony wrapped up in March; more sessions had been scheduled for May, June, July, and December.
Rodgers tells The Hawk Warren Zimmer, the inquiry’s presiding judge, explored options for conducting the inquiry remotely, but found they didn’t meet their requirements.
“Part of the point of this inquiry is to draw public attention to these issues,” he says. “If we had been able to do some of this during this time when people are at home, perhaps looking for content, I think it would have drawn more attention to the issues at play.”
Rodgers says testimony is now scheduled to resume in September or October.
