Nunn Commission
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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 14, 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 travelling in was broadsided by another vehicle. The other car had been stolen and was being driven at high speeds by a serial young offender who had been mistakenly released from jail just two days previously.
On October 14, 2004 Archibald (Archie) Billard, then 16, stole a car in Lower Sackville Nova Scotia. After consuming large amounts of cannabis, Billard drove the car at a high rate of speed through downtown Halifax where he struck McEvoy.[2]
The death of McEvoy happened at a time of increased concern about youth crime in Nova Scotia. In the investigation following McEvoy's death it was determined that Billard, though only 16, was already facing multiple charges at the time he stole the car, and had been released from custody only two days earlier.[3] A public outcry about McEvoy's death and a perceived problem with growing youth crime lead to the formation of the Nunn Commission, a landmark public inquiry into Canada's youth criminal justice system.[4]