Posted: Feb 03, 2021 6:00 AM AT | Last Updated: February 3 Nova Scotia RCMP Commanding Officer and Assistant Commissioner Lee Bergerman reads an statement at the start of a news conference on April 22, 2020. (Tim Krochak/The Canadian Press) Seventy Mounties took sick leave in the wake of April's mass killings in Nova Scotia and the province's justice minister agreed to pay for out-of-province officers to backfill, but only until the end of August, newly released documents show. Assistant Commissioner Lee Bergerman, commanding officer for Nova Scotia RCMP, first requested approval for the extra help on April 27, eight days after a gunman disguised as an RCMP officer killed 22 people, leaving 16 crime scenes in several rural communities.