The House of Commons public safety committee announced Thursday that it will launch a probe into the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski.
Dziekanski died after being shocked with a Taser gun and subdued by four RCMP officers at Vancouver International Airport last month.
Public safety committee members from all four political parties unanimously voted for the review.
It was at least the sixth probe into either his death or the use of Tasers called since the incident.
MPs said they plan on interviewing RCMP officers, customs and immigration officials, airport workers and the company that makes the electrical stun guns.
Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh said the committee's probe may be as close to an independent probe into the incident as Canada will see, saying Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day refused to call one.
No deadline has yet been placed on the public safety committee's probe.
On Tuesday, Day called for a review into Taser use by Mounties to determine if police need wider guidelines on using them.
Paul Kennedy, the head of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, has since said he's concerned the electrical stun guns may be overused. He is to submit an initial report by Dec. 12.
Other recent reviews into the use of Taser guns, or the death of Dziekanski, include:
- The B.C. government's full public inquiry into the incident
- An internal RCMP investigation into the incident
- A review by the Canada Border Services Agency expected this week
- A Nova Scotia review into Taser use after a man died 30 hours after being Tasered by police.
B.C. Solicitor General John Les said Thursday that the inquiry will help clear the air for a concerned public.
"I understand the public confidence issue. It has been shaken and we will take steps through a full airing of the issues to make sure that people can regain their confidence."
On Wednesday, an executive with Taser International said his company wants to participate in any Canadian review of the stun gun and is confident the product would be found safe.
Late last week, the Vancouver Police Department announced it had ordered 70 new Taser guns, meaning all 110 officers trained to use the weapon can have one.
B.C. police chiefs
While meeting in Victoria on Thursday, British Columbia police chiefs voted unanimously to continue supporting the use of Taser guns and rejected calls for a moratorium on their use.
But Gord Tomlinson, president of the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police, said the public outcry following Dziekanski's death may change the way they are used.
"We can never afford to lose public confidence in our police. We hope that any review of the Tasers will lower the temperature of the public outrage surrounding their use," Tomlinson told reporters.
"Forgive us if we sound biased in the defence of the Taser. But if we didn't believe completely that they've saved lived and prevented injuries . . . we wouldn't be using them."
John Muise, CTV's police analyst told Newsnet that he thought the Taser was a viable intermediate weapon, but the inquiry should determine how they are used.
"Do they, in any way, contribute to the death of subjects," he said. "If they do contribute . . . they need to squish it down to one end of the use-of-force continuum."
Muise encouraged the public to consider changes to the policies on when the weapon is used, as opposed to banning them outright.
"In the vast majority of instances, these Tasers actually don't cause any injury," he said.
With files from The Canadian Press
