Nunn Commission

The Nunn Commission of Inquiry (Nunn Commission-December 2006 [1]) was a landmark public inquiry into Canada's youth criminal justice system. It was chaired by the Hon. D. Merlin Nunn, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. The Nunn Commission examined the events of October 14th, 2004-in which Theresa McEvoy, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, a 52 year old teacher's aide and mother of three boys, was killed when the car she was traveling was broadsided by another vehicle. The car was stolen and was being driven at high speeds by a serial young offender who had been mistakenly released from jail just two days previously.

The 16-year old had been released from jail despite the notable issue of having 38 outstanding criminal charges pending against him.

The Commission convened on June 29th, 2005. Over 31 days of testimony, Commissioner Nunn heard from 47 witnesses, including the families of the principals, policing agencies, Government and court officials, educational officials, and the legal establishment. The Commissioner was charged with:

• determining what happened
• what the youth criminal justice policies and procedures were at the time and whether they were adequate
• determining what actions of law enforcement and Justice officials took in relation to this incident
• determining the reasons why the offender was released, and
• judgeing adequacy of legislation governing youth criminal justice in Canada

The Commissioner tabled his final report on December 5th, 2006. The report tabled 34 recommendations in the areas of youth justice administration and accountability, youth crime legislation, and prevention of youth crime. The Commissioner's findings focused much attention on the deficiencies of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, which was cited as an important factor that lead to the tragedy.