Anne McLellan, 1 of 3 commissioners of N.S. mass shooting inquiry, steps down

One of the three people selected to lead the public inquiry into the Nova Scotia mass shooting has dropped out.

Anne McLellan has informed the federal and provincial governments that she supports the decision to call a public inquiry, but is unable to commit the time required to carry out an inquiry commissioner's responsibilities.

Bill Blair, the federal minister of public safety, and Mark Furey, Nova Scotia's justice minister, had described the former federal Liberal cabinet minister as someone whose expertise would help delve into the circumstances surrounding the mass shooting.

McLellan had agreed to serve on a panel reviewing the killings alongside Michael MacDonald, a former chief justice of Nova Scotia, and Leanne Fitch, the former chief of police in Fredericton.

But the closed-door review was strongly criticized byrelatives of the 22 victims of the April 18-19 killings, who had advocated for a public inquiry with the power to subpoena witnesses to testify under oath.

The two governments did an about-face on the review Tuesday and ordered a public inquiry, and at the time Blair said the three people appointed for the review had also agreed to serve as commissioners.