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HALIFAX — The independent watchdog that handles complaints against the RCMP will review how the Mounties in Nova Scotia handled a woman’s calls for help before she tried to hire a hit man to kill her allegedly abusive husband.

Nova Scotia Justice Minister Ross Landry said Wednesday he called for the review from the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP because the public has raised questions about how Nicole Ryan’s case was handled.

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“What’s at issue for me is the perception in the public, and if there’s a feeling of doubt or questions then we want to put that to rest,” Landry said, adding that his office received three complaints from the public.

“I don’t want to minimize the (problem of) violence against women in our society. … We know that there have been far too many people abused that do not come forward. We need them to feel safe and that they will be fully supported.”

Policing expert Paul McKenna said Landry — a former RCMP officer — made a prudent decision to ask for the commission’s help, but he said the agency has faced criticism over the years for failing to take a more aggressive approach to its investigations.