BC government extends deadline as taser inquiry schedules more submissions

June 10, 2008
The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER — A high level of public interest and the number of submissions to a B.C. public inquiry into the use of Tasers has led the provincial government to extend the deadline for the commission's report by five months.

Commissioner Thomas Braidwood was originally scheduled to report back to the government on the first phase of the inquiry by June 30, but that deadline has been extended to Nov. 30.

There has been so much interest in the inquiry that another day of public presentations has been scheduled June 25 for people who've asked to address the commission.

The extra day will be in addition to the 46 presenters who appeared over 14 days of hearings last month and 43 written submissions.

The B.C. government announced the inquiry following the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski after he was shocked by an RCMP Taser at Vancouver's airport last fall.

A second phase of the inquiry will get underway at a later date, looking specifically at Dziekanski's death.