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Vancouver riot review gets underway

Former Vancouver Olympic boss John Furlong and former Nova Scotia deputy attorney general Doug Keefe have been appointed co-chairs of a review into the June 15 Stanley Cup riot in Vancouver.
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Former Vancouver Olympic executive John Furlong

Former Vancouver Olympic boss John Furlong and former Nova Scotia deputy attorney general Doug Keefe have been appointed co-chairs of a review into the June 15 Stanley Cup riot in Vancouver.

The B.C. government ordered the review after the June 15 final game of the NHL playoffs turned into an ugly scene of vandalism and looting that took police three hours to bring under control.

Keefe is a veteran of investigations in Nova Scotia, including the 1992 Westray Mine explosion that killed 26 workers and the crash of a Swissair flight in 1998 that killed all 229 people on board.

Furlong chaired Vancouver's 2010 Olympic bid committee and went on to serve as president of the Olympic organization.

The review team is to report to the province and city of Vancouver by Aug. 31.

It will look at the lessons of the 1994 Stanley Cup riot, and the plans by the Vancouver Police to prepare for the 2011 event. Recommendations are to include a framework for future public events in Vancouver.