Eight months after the Fredericton Police Force admitted that errors they made led to a stay of proceedings in two deaths, the police chief says all 19 recommendations by an independent investigator are now in progress.
Chief Gary Forward told a public safety committee meeting at City Hall on Thursday that all recommendations should be completed by summer 2027.
“It’s critically important that the police force demonstrate through action that not only do we have accountability for this, but that we are prepared to do the hard work to make sure that it doesn’t happen again,” he said.
The Crown stayed five murder charges in June 2025 related to the homicides of Corey Markey and Brandon Patrick Donelan due to an “unsurmountable evidentiary issue” that was reported by Forward.
The issue has not been made public, but the chief issued an apology at the time and promised the independent review.
In December 2025, Ian D. Scott, a lawyer and former director of Ontario’s police watchdog, released the findings of his review.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
Scott said the report did not find any substantial criminal or disciplinary misconduct by any of the officers involved in the cases. However, it did find “limitations” in how the force deals with complex cases.
The report made 19 recommendations to improve oversight, training, file prioritization and staffing. It called for the creation of an oversight committee, more up-to-date training and reduced workload for investigative teams.
The force has now appointed retired RCMP inspector Andrea Gallant to head the oversight committee.
“Public trust with the community is certainly our priority moving forward,” Forward said Thursday.
“This is why we have the subject matter experts coming in to act as that oversight to make sure that we’re proceeding with these recommendations, so that in a very short period of time, we can feel more comfortable about the fact that the issue won’t repeat itself.”
Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers told Global News she’s pleased with the force’s response and progress.
“My hope is that the public appreciates that there has been accountability taken and that the issue has been taken seriously and that due diligence has been employed,” she said.
The next progress update on the recommendations form the Scott report is scheduled for April 2.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Fredericton police make progress on investigative reforms after homicide errors
