Wednesday 8 June 2022

THINKING OUT LOUD WITH SHELDON MacLEOD: A pivotal day at the Mass Casualty Commission

 
 

Talking about Talk Radio with Sheldon MacLeod

255 views
Streamed live on Dec 1, 2020
8.11K subscribers
We are joined by the long time Halifax talk radio host Sheldon MacLeod to discuss the art of talk radio, it's importance, and why shows like Sheldon's are difficult to keep on the air.
 
 
---------- Original message ----------
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 2022 11:04:40 -0300
Subject: Fwd: RE Lawyers, cops, polticians and journalists etc STILL
playing dumb about my calls and emails about Federal and provincial
governments plan to hold public inquiry into Nova Scotia mass
shootings
To: Daniel.Gould@novascotia.ca, PREMIER <PREMIER@gov.ns.ca>,
"Brenda.Lucki" <Brenda.Lucki@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>
Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>



---------- Original message ----------
From: postmaster@pco-bcp.gc.ca
Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2022 02:16:12 -0400
Subject: Undeliverable: RE Lawyers, cops, polticians and journalists
etc STILL playing dumb about my calls and emails about Federal and
provincial governments plan to hold public inquiry into Nova Scotia
mass shootings
To: david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com

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---------- Original message ----------
From: Premier <PREMIER@novascotia.ca>
Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2022 06:17:44 +0000
Subject: Thank you for your email
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>

Thank you for your email to Premier Houston. This is an automatic
confirmation your message has been received.

As we are currently experiencing higher than normal volumes of
correspondence, there may be delays in the response time for
correspondence identified as requiring a response.

If you are looking for the most up-to-date information from the
Government of Nova Scotia please visit:
http://novascotia.ca<https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnovascotia.ca%2F&data=04%7C01%7CJane.MacDonald%40novascotia.ca%7Ceeca3674da1940841c1b08da0c273c2c%7C8eb23313ce754345a56a297a2412b4db%7C0%7C0%7C637835659900957160%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=%2BUnVWeFXmCZiYsg7%2F6%2Bw55jn3t3WTeGL9l%2BLp%2BNkqNU%3D&reserved=0>

Thank you,

Premier’s Correspondence Team



---------- Original message ----------
From: "Pineo, Robert" <RPineo@pattersonlaw.ca>
Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2022 06:16:34 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: RE Lawyers, cops, polticians and journalists
etc STILL playing dumb about my calls and emails about Federal and
provincial governments plan to hold public inquiry into Nova Scotia
mass shootings
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>

Thank you for your email.  Please note that I will be out of the
office on during the weeks of June 6 and 13, 2022 attending court and
other hearings.  I will be checking my messages and will respond
within 24 hours. .

If you matter is urgent, please email Cassandra Billard at
cbillard@pattersonlaw.ca.

I apologize for any inconvenience.


---------- Original message ----------
From: "McCulloch, Sandra" <smcculloch@pattersonlaw.ca>
Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2022 06:16:43 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: RE Lawyers, cops, polticians and journalists
etc STILL playing dumb about my calls and emails about Federal and
provincial governments plan to hold public inquiry into Nova Scotia
mass shootings
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>

I will be preparing for and attending the Mass Casualty Commission
proceedings the week of June 6th.  I will receive and respond to your
message as promptly as I can.  If you require an urgent response,
please contact Theresa Kaye at tkaye@pattersonlaw.ca or (902)
897-2000.



---------- Original message ----------
From: "Scott, Michael" <mscott@pattersonlaw.ca>
Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2022 06:16:43 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: RE Lawyers, cops, polticians and journalists
etc STILL playing dumb about my calls and emails about Federal and
provincial governments plan to hold public inquiry into Nova Scotia
mass shootings
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>

I am away from the office attending Mass Casualty Comission
proceedings. For urgent matters, please contact mys assistant Gaia, at
902.405.8166.



---------- Original message ----------
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2022 03:16:03 -0300
Subject: RE Lawyers, cops, polticians and journalists etc STILL
playing dumb about my calls and emails about Federal and provincial
governments plan to hold public inquiry into Nova Scotia mass shootings
To: Roger.Burrill@masscasualtycommission.ca, nasha@nmbarristers.com,
josh@chesterlaw.ca, RPineo@pattersonlaw.ca,
smcculloch@pattersonlaw.ca, "Michelle.Boutin"
<Michelle.Boutin@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, lbordeleau@perlaw.ca, "blaine.higgs"
<blaine.higgs@gnb.ca>, "hugh.flemming" <hugh.flemming@gnb.ca>,
"Roger.Brown" <Roger.Brown@fredericton.ca>, "Mark.Blakely"
<Mark.Blakely@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "Marco.Mendicino"
<Marco.Mendicino@parl.gc.ca>, "martin.gaudet"
<martin.gaudet@fredericton.ca>, rglangille@gmail.com, oldmaison
<oldmaison@yahoo.com>, Emily.Hill@masscasualtycommission.ca,
Nick.Carleton@uregina.ca, tara@mdwlaw.ca, mscott@pattersonlaw.ca,
comlaw <comlaw@uottawa.ca>, eratushn@uottawa.ca, paulpalango
<paulpalango@protonmail.com>, michael.macdonald@thecanadianpress.com,
jennifer@halifaxexaminer.ca, andrewjdouglas
<andrewjdouglas@gmail.com>, prmibullrun@gmail.com, arankin@herald.ca,
parker@donham.ca, gavin.giles@mcinnescooper.com, PREMIER
<PREMIER@gov.ns.ca>, "Bill.Blair" <Bill.Blair@parl.gc.ca>,
cbillard@pattersonlaw.ca, lkaulback@pattersonlaw.ca
Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>, "steve.murphy"
<steve.murphy@ctv.ca>, sheilagunnreid <sheilagunnreid@gmail.com>,
Newsroom <Newsroom@globeandmail.com>, haley.ryan@cbc.ca

http://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2022/06/thinking-out-loud-with-sheldon-macleod.html
 

Wednesday, 8 June 2022

THINKING OUT LOUD WITH SHELDON MacLEOD: A pivotal day at the Mass
Casualty Commission
 
 
 
---------- Original message ----------
From: "Mendicino, Marco - M.P." <Marco.Mendicino@parl.gc.ca>
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2022 23:16:57 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: RE Lawyers, cops, polticians and journalists
etc playig dumb about my calls and emails about Federal and provincial
governments plan to hold public inquiry into Nova Scotia mass shootings
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>

Thank you for contacting the constituency office of the Hon. Marco
Mendicino, P.C., M.P. for Eglinton—Lawrence.
Please be advised that our office has the capacity to assist with
requests within Eglinton—Lawrence only and we prioritize
correspondence from residents.
If you reside outside the riding and require assistance, you can
contact your local Member of Parliament by entering your postal code
here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en
If you are a resident of Eglinton—Lawrence and require assistance
continue reading below.
            · For assistance with casework, we require your full name,
phone number, address and postal code to proceed.
            · For non-ministerial meeting requests, we need to know
the nature of the meeting and we will respond back with possible
options.
            · For media requests, the Press Secretary will get back to you.
To contact Public Safety Canada directly, please visit:
https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/bt/cntct-en.aspx
To contact Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada directly,
please email minister@cic.gc.ca or phone 613-954-1064.
For assistance with the situation in Afghanistan, please continue reading.
If you and your family require assistance regarding the rapidly
evolving situation in Afghanistan, detailed information on Canada’s
special measures to support Afghan nationals is available here:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/afghanistan/special-measures.html
For Afghans who assisted the Government of Canada, please contact:
Canada-Afghanistan@international.gc.ca.
For questions on how Afghan nationals may reunite with their families
in Canada, or information on the humanitarian program to resettle
Afghans outside of Afghanistan, please contact:
IRCC.SituationAfghanistan.IRCC@cic.gc.ca.
You may also call 1-613-321-4243 from Monday to Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 7
p.m. (ET).
For Canadians in need of consular assistance in Afghanistan, please
contact Global Affairs Canada’s 24/7 Emergency Watch and Response
Centre in Ottawa at:
·    Phone: 613-996-8885
·    Email: sos@international.gc.ca
·    SMS: 613-686-3658
 
 
---------- Original message ----------
From: "Pineo, Robert" <RPineo@pattersonlaw.ca>
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2022 23:17:11 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: RE Lawyers, cops, polticians and journalists
etc playig dumb about my calls and emails about Federal and provincial
governments plan to hold public inquiry into Nova Scotia mass shootings
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>

Thank you for your email. I am out of the office attending the public
hearings at the Mass Casualty Commission. I will be returning to the
office on Friday, March 4, 2022. My response to you will be delayed.

If you require a more timely response, please contact Cassandra
Billard at cbillard@pattersonlaw.ca.



---------- Original message ----------
From: "McCulloch, Sandra" <smcculloch@pattersonlaw.ca>
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2022 23:17:11 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: RE Lawyers, cops, polticians and journalists
etc playig dumb about my calls and emails about Federal and provincial
governments plan to hold public inquiry into Nova Scotia mass shootings
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>


I will be unavailable for much of the day on Friday, March 4th.  I
will have only periodic access to email.  I will receive and respond
to your message as promptly as I can.  If you require a more urgent
response, please contact Lisa Kaulback at lkaulback@pattersonlaw.ca or
902.896.6172.



---------- Original message ----------
From: "Scott, Michael" <mscott@pattersonlaw.ca>
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2022 23:17:05 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: RE Lawyers, cops, polticians and journalists
etc playig dumb about my calls and emails about Federal and provincial
governments plan to hold public inquiry into Nova Scotia mass shootings
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>

Thank you for your email. I am out of the office attending public
hearings for the Mass Casualty Commission. My response to you will be
delayed. For urgent matters, please contact mys assistant Gaia, at
902.405.8166.


---------- Original message ----------
From: Comlaw <comlaw@uottawa.ca>
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2022 23:16:59 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: RE Lawyers, cops, polticians and journalists
etc playig dumb about my calls and emails about Federal and provincial
governments plan to hold public inquiry into Nova Scotia mass shootings
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>

An English message follows


Merci d’avoir communiqué avec le Bureau d’admission et de recrutement
de la Section de Common Law.

Comme nous sommes actuellement au milieu de la période d'évaluation,
il est possible que notre réponse à une demande non urgente vous
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Si vous désirez obtenir plus d’information concernant le statut de
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Thank you for contacting the Common Law Section Admissions and
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As we receive over 3000 applications each year, the assessment process
takes many months. As such, you can expect a decision at any time up
until late spring.

Thank you for your understanding,

The Common Law Section Admissions and Recruitment Office




---------- Original message ----------
From: Newsroom <newsroom@globeandmail.com>
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2022 23:18:29 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: RE Lawyers, cops, polticians and journalists
etc playig dumb about my calls and emails about Federal and provincial
governments plan to hold public inquiry into Nova Scotia mass shootings
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>

Thank you for contacting The Globe and Mail.

If your matter pertains to newspaper delivery or you require technical
support, please contact our Customer Service department at
1-800-387-5400 or send an email to customerservice@globeandmail.com

If you are reporting a factual error please forward your email to
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Letters to the Editor can be sent to letters@globeandmail.com

This is the correct email address for requests for news coverage and
press releases.
 
  
 
 
 

the Nova Scotia Mass Shooting - Feb 21 Pre-Show - Nick Beaton's Open Letter

2,039 views
Premiered Feb 20, 2022
7.27K subscribers
In this episode I will review and discuss a powerful video released by Nick Beaton in which he presents five requests for the Mass Casualty Commission overseeing the public inquiry into the mass shooting that took the life of his wife and unborn child.
 
 

Notice Nick Beaton mentions Commissioner Stanton’s Inquiries Book out of the gate???

 
 
 
 

Son of mass murder victim calls for public inquiry

Dawn and Frank Gulenchyn. Photo: Facebook.

Three months after the mass murder that claimed 22 lives and forever disrupted dozens more in northern Nova Scotia, there remain many unanswered questions about what happened and why.

The gunman, whom the Halifax Examiner refers to as GW, is dead. Meanwhile calls for a public inquiry are still very much alive. Federal and provincial political leaders have promised there will be an inquiry but many who lost loved ones to homes set on fire and gunshots during a 13-hour rampage are getting weary of waiting. They want a public inquiry.

“How could the RCMP tell us they don’t think this was a planned attack? They told us during the last conference call they don’t feel this was planned!,” said Ryan Farrington, a note of incredulity creeping into his voice. The 40-year-old man from Trenton, Ontario lost both his mother and stepfather, Dawn and Frank Gulenchyn, when their retirement home at 71 Orchard Beach Road was burned to the ground by the killer.

“The Mounties kept saying COVID-19 pushed him overboard,” said Farrington. “I don’t believe that for a fact since the RCMP also told us for the last three years he was going across the border collecting illegal guns when he wasn’t even supposed to own guns. And then he is also buying mock police cars. Nobody does that for the fun of it. You’re planning something. It might not have been planned for the 18th or 19th of April. But I definitely think he was planning on doing this mass shooting at some point in his life.”

Farrington said the RCMP have told families there will be an inquiry into the mass murder but the RCMP doesn’t know when, or, what form it may take. That responsibility lies with political leaders.

“My biggest issue is the restorative justice angle the Justice Minister of Nova Scotia mentioned,” said Farrington. “I want a full out public inquiry. I think the families deserve that. We deserve to know the truth. And we deserve to know what they are going to do prevent this from happening again — because no one should ever have to lose a loved one this way.”

Farrington was a frequent summer visitor during the 10 years his folks owned the home in Portapique, several houses down from the 136 Orchard Beach Drive warehouse where GW stored his mock police cars and motorcycles before he torched it during his 13-hour rampage. Frank retired almost 10 years ago while Ryan’s mother Dawn continued to fly down for a week every month while she worked in dietary services at the Hillsdale Terraces nursing home in Oshawa until a year ago. “Why them?,” Farrington wonders. “They were quiet people. Not outdoorsy. Frank kept to himself and busy with his woodworking. I don’t know of any connection to the killer.”

He and his younger brother Jon may never know. Here are a few facts that have emerged so far. A Portapique resident drove up the road when he smelled the fire GW set to his own house at 200 Portapique Beach Road. This was after assaulting and confining his common law spouse inside a police car at his warehouse.

“The RCMP told us when [he] drove by my Mom’s place the first time, [he] saw what he described as an RCMP car there. He noticed [GW’s] garage was on fire,” recalls Farrington.“ Then within five minutes, when he and another person slowly drove back, [he] noticed my Mom’s house was on fire. I guess that’s when he was shot at. He told the first-responding officer he saw an RCMP vehicle and a man dressed in a uniform.”

The man was taken by ambulance to the Truro hospital with a gunshot wound in his arm probably inflicted by the man in uniform who appears to have been GW. The man has declined an interview request from the Examiner.

Farrington is also part of a proposed class action lawsuit being filed against GW’s estate, the province of Nova Scotia, and the RCMP. Ten days ago he was one of several family members briefed on a conference call by RCMP Supt. Darren Campbell.

Farrington said he has questions he thinks only a public inquiry can answer. One of them is why policing agencies didn’t react to previous complaints from family and neighbours (so called “red flags”) about GW’s earlier behaviour.

“I don’t understand how somebody who is violent and who had multiple reports on him and yet nobody in law enforcement kept an eye on him,” Farrington said.

“Another thing that gets me is this Emergency Alert system. From what the RCMP have told me, I know it probably wouldn’t have saved my parents.” The RCMP also found evidence of gunfire inside the home where the bodies of the Gulenchyn couple were found. It’s believed to be the third location GW visited on Saturday night.

“But definitely the emergency text alert could have saved everybody on April 19,” continued Farrington. “One of my biggest questions is why would they use Twitter? I don’t use Twitter and my parents definitely didn’t have Twitter.”

Farrington is currently on stress leave and unable to work. “I suffer from severe anxiety and panic attacks,” he said. “I had it under control until this happened. I’m a loss prevention officer: I arrest people for theft. I’m just not in the right state of mind to do this job properly right now.”

He’s additionally trying to organize his mother’s affairs. “Unfortunately, my Mom was in the process of doing her will so whatever she did have, was lost with the house. Right now we are going through court to handle the administration of her estate.”

Farrington is part of a private Facebook group organized for the families of victims who have bonded over their shared nightmare.

“We lean on each other for support,” said Ryan of the group. “We call each other if someone is having a bad day. Nick Beaton (husband of Kristin Beaton, a mother and VON Employee, shot and killed in her car by GW on the morning of April 19) has been absolutely amazing. He’s really good to talk to.”


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---------- Original message ----------
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2022 19:16:50 -0400
Subject: RE Lawyers, cops, polticians and journalists etc playig dumb
about my calls and emails about Federal and provincial governments
plan to hold public inquiry into Nova Scotia mass shootings
To: Roger.Burrill@masscasualtycommission.ca, nasha@nmbarristers.com,
josh@chesterlaw.ca, RPineo@pattersonlaw.ca,
smcculloch@pattersonlaw.ca, "Michelle.Boutin"
<Michelle.Boutin@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, lbordeleau@perlaw.ca, "blaine.higgs"
<blaine.higgs@gnb.ca>, "hugh.flemming" <hugh.flemming@gnb.ca>,
"Roger.Brown" <Roger.Brown@fredericton.ca>, "Mark.Blakely"
<Mark.Blakely@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "Marco.Mendicino"
<Marco.Mendicino@parl.gc.ca>, "martin.gaudet"
<martin.gaudet@fredericton.ca>, rglangille@gmail.com, oldmaison
<oldmaison@yahoo.com>, Emily.Hill@masscasualtycommission.ca,
Nick.Carleton@uregina.ca, tara@mdwlaw.ca, mscott@pattersonlaw.ca,
comlaw <comlaw@uottawa.ca>, eratushn@uottawa.ca
Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>, "steve.murphy"
<steve.murphy@ctv.ca>, sheilagunnreid <sheilagunnreid@gmail.com>,
Newsroom <Newsroom@globeandmail.com>, PREMIER <PREMIER@gov.ns.ca>,
haley.ryan@cbc.ca

Deja Vu Anyone???

http://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/07/rallies-continue-push-for-public.html

Wednesday, 29 July 2020
Federal and provincial governments to hold public inquiry into Nova
Scotia mass shootings


>
> ---------- Original message ----------
> From: "Pineo, Robert" <RPineo@pattersonlaw.ca>
> Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2020 15:25:26 +0000
> Subject: Re: RE Families of Shooting Victims Disappointed by
> “Independent Review” I just called Correct?
> To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>, "McCulloch, Sandra"
> < smcculloch@pattersonlaw.ca>
> Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
>
> Why are you quoting my statement back to me?
>
> Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>
>
> ________________________________
> From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2020 9:53 AM
> To: smcculloch@pattersonlaw.ca; rpineo@pattersonlaw.ca
> Cc: motomaniac333
> Subject: RE Families of Shooting Victims Disappointed by “Independent
> Review” I just called Correct?
>
> http://www.pattersonlaw.ca/News/NewsArticleView/tabid/179/ArticleId/1746/Families-of-Shooting-Victims-Disappointed-by-Independent-Review.aspx
>
>
>
> ---------- Original message ----------
> From: "McCulloch, Sandra" <smcculloch@pattersonlaw.ca>
> Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2020 12:53:30 +0000
> Subject: Automatic reply: RE Families of Shooting Victims Disappointed
> by “Independent Review” I just called Correct?
> To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>
>
>
> Thank you for your email. I will be away from my office conducting
> discovery examinations on July 27th through 29th.  I will respond to
> your e-mail as soon as possible.  Please contact 902.897.2000 if your
> matter requires more urgent
> attention.https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/nova-scotia-shooting-13-deadly-hours
>
>
> ---------- Original message ----------
> From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>
> Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2020 09:53:20 -0300
> Subject: RE Families of Shooting Victims Disappointed by “Independent
> Review” I just called Correct?
> To: smcculloch@pattersonlaw.ca, rpineo@pattersonlaw.ca
> Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
>
> http://www.pattersonlaw.ca/News/NewsArticleView/tabid/179/ArticleId/1746/Families-of-Shooting-Victims-Disappointed-by-Independent-Review.aspx
>
>
> Families of Shooting Victims Disappointed by “Independent Review”
>
> The “Independent Review” announced by Ministers Furey and Blair is
> wholly insufficient to meet the objectives of providing full and
> transparent answers to the families and the public, identifying
> deficiencies in responses, and providing meaningful lessons to be
> learned to avoid similar future tragedies.
>
> The choices of commissioners, and in particular Former Chief Justice
> Michael MacDonald, were thoughtful and appropriate for an inquiry.
> Former Chief Justice MacDonald is of the highest rank in judicial
> capabilities and is of unassailable integrity. That said, any
> decision- maker can only render decisions based on the information and
> evidence presented to them.
>
> The announced “independent review” model, to be conducted in a
> so-called “non- traumatic” and “restorative” way, will prejudice the
> panel by restricting the evidence and information being presented.
>
> In a public inquiry setting, such as was employed in the Marshall and
> Westray public inquiries, interested parties had the opportunity to
> question the witnesses. It is a very well- held maxim in our common
> law legal tradition, that cross-examination is the most effective
> truth-finding mechanism available. Without proper and thorough
> questioning, the panel will be left with incomplete and untested
> evidence upon which to base its decision. This is completely contrary
> to our Canadian notions of fair and transparent justice.
>
> Most disappointingly, Ministers Furey and Blair have hidden behind
> their contrived notion of a “trauma-free” process to exclude the full
> participation of the families under the guise of protecting them from
> further trauma. This is not how the families wish to be treated.
> Minister Furey has spoken with the families, so he must know that they
> want to participate, not to be “protected” by an incomplete process.
>
> The families want a full and transparent public inquiry. Why will
> Minister Furey not give them this? Why will he not give the citizens
> of Nova Scotia this? “We are all in this together” has been the slogan
> throughout 2020 - the families simply want us all, the public, to be
> in this together now to figure out a better tomorrow for families and
> the Province.
>
> For further inquiries, please contact:
>
> Robert H. Pineo
> 902-405-8177
> rpineo@pattersonlaw.ca
>
>
> Sandra L. McCulloch
> 902-896-6114
> smcculloch@pattersonlaw.ca
>



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2022 15:11:37 -0400
Subject: Fwd: RE My calls and emails about Federal and provincial
governments plan to hold public inquiry into Nova Scotia mass
shootings
To: Dwayne.King@masscasualtycommission.ca,
Ronda.Bessner@masscasualtycommission.ca
Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2021 14:32:30 -0300
Subject: RE My calls and emails about Federal and provincial
governments plan to hold public inquiry into Nova Scotia mass
shootings
To: "barbara.massey" <barbara.massey@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "barb.whitenect"
<barb.whitenect@gnb.ca>, "Brenda.Lucki" <Brenda.Lucki@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>,
"hugh.flemming" <hugh.flemming@gnb.ca>, "Bill.Blair"
<Bill.Blair@parl.gc.ca>, jpink@pinklarkin.com, andrew
<andrew@frankmagazine.ca>, andrewjdouglas <andrewjdouglas@gmail.com>,
jesse <jesse@viafoura.com>, jesse <jesse@jessebrown.ca>,
"steve.murphy" <steve.murphy@ctv.ca>,
Joel.Kulmatycki@masscasualtycommission.ca, clambie@herald.ca
Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>, prmibullrun@gmail.com,
tim <tim@halifaxexaminer.ca>, zane@halifaxexaminer.ca,
media@masscasualtycommission.ca

https://www.saltwire.com/cape-breton/news/ns-mass-casualty-commission-to-announce-participants-in-portapique-probe-100582762/

N.S. Mass Casualty Commission to announce participants in Portapique probe
Chris Lambie · Posted: April 30, 2021, 4:43 p.m.

Investigators want to hear from anyone who can shed light on the
events of April 18-19, 2020, says the release. “If you or someone you
know wants to get in touch with the investigations team, please
contact Joel.Kulmatycki at 902-394-3501 or
Joel.Kulmatycki@masscasualtycommission.ca


https://www.saltwire.com/cape-breton/news/provincial/card-raises-independence-questions-about-nova-scotias-mass-casualty-commission-100584621/

'I have no idea who to trust anymore': card raises independence
questions about Nova Scotia's Mass Casualty Commission
Chris Lambie · Posted: May 5, 2021, 6:46 p.m.

https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/we-have-got-to-have-someplace-to-put-our-trust-high-expectations-for-the-mass-casualty-commission-1.5457120

'We have got to have someplace to put our trust': High expectations
for the Mass Casualty Commission
Heidi Petracek 2016

Heidi Petracek
CTV News Atlantic Reporter
Published Friday, June 4, 2021 7:28PM ADT


https://www.canadaland.com/podcast/372-the-rcmps-portapique-narrative-is-falling-apart/?fbclid=IwAR06bHusmV2akKQL93VSkbflNz9EgApVGqkLYADBKV7v6wonaNstP_YAM14

 CANADALAND
#372 The RCMP’s Portapique Narrative Is Falling Apart
Frank Magazine publisher Andrew Douglas and reporter Paul Palango
discuss their bombshell story, and what the RCMP may still be hiding
about Gabriel Wortman.


http://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/07/rallies-continue-push-for-public.html

Wednesday, 29 July 2020
Federal and provincial governments to hold public inquiry into Nova
Scotia mass shootings

https://twitter.com/DavidRayAmos/with_replies

David Raymond Amos‏ @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos
Methinks lots of folks may enjoy what Peter Mac Issac and his cohorts
said while the RCMP and a lot of LIEbranos were stuttering and
doubletalking bigtime N'esy Pas?

https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/07/rallies-continue-push-for-public.html


 #nbpoli #cdnpoli


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioT6vj0zA_Q&t=3045s


Citizens Rise Against Corruption in Trudeau Government


58,732 views
Streamed live on Jul 27, 2020


Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson
Citizens Rise Against Corruption in Trudeau Government - Peter Mac Issac

 ----------Origiinal message ----------
 From: Peter Mac Isaac <prmibullrun@gmail.com>
 Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2020 21:42:20 -0300
 Subject: Re: RE The "Strike back: Demand an inquiry Event." Methinks
it interesting that Martha Paynter is supported by the Pierre Elliott
 Trudeau Foundation N'esy Pas?
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>

 A lot of info to chew on - every now and then we win one - Today we
 won a partial victory when the provincial liberals threw the federal
 liberals under the bus forcing their hand . Now the spin will be to
 get a judge they can control.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjxatZIus_o


Police Corruption? Nova Scotia Shooter - Behind The Scenes


86,369 views
Streamed live on Jul 28, 2020

Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson
Nova Scotia Shooter Behind The Scenes with Paul Palango a former
senior editor at The Globe and Mail and author of three books on the
RCMP, the most recent being Dispersing the Fog, Inside the Secret
World of Ottawa and the RCMP. His work on the Nova Scotia massacre has
been published in MacLeans and the Halifax Examiner.


---------- Original message ----------
From: Timothy Bousquet <tim@halifaxexaminer.ca>
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2020 05:41:36 -0300
Subject: Re: fea3
To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>

Hello, I’m taking a much-needed vacation and will not be responding to
email until August 4. If this is urgent Halifax Examiner business,
please email zane@halifaxexaminer.ca.

Thanks,

Tim Bousquet
Editor
Halifax Examiner

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Newsroom <newsroom@globeandmail.com>
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2021 15:43:14 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: Re My calls today about Federal Court File #
T-1557-15 Need I say that CBC lawyers such as Sylvie Gadoury and
Judith Harvie will need lawyers to argue me in Federal Court?
To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>

Thank you for contacting The Globe and Mail.

If your matter pertains to newspaper delivery or you require technical
support, please contact our Customer Service department at
1-800-387-5400 or send an email to customerservice@globeandmail.com

If you are reporting a factual error please forward your email to
publiceditor@globeandmail.com<mailto:publiceditor@globeandmail.com>

Letters to the Editor can be sent to letters@globeandmail.com

This is the correct email address for requests for news coverage and
press releases.





---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ministerial Correspondence Unit - Justice Canada <mcu@justice.gc.ca>
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2021 15:42:21 +0000
Subject: Automatic Reply
To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>

Thank you for writing to the Honourable David Lametti, Minister of
Justice and Attorney General of Canada.

Due to the volume of correspondence addressed to the Minister, please
note that there may be a delay in processing your email. Rest assured
that your message will be carefully reviewed.

We do not respond to correspondence that contains offensive language.

-------------------

Merci d'avoir écrit à l'honorable David Lametti, ministre de la
Justice et procureur général du Canada.

En raison du volume de correspondance adressée au ministre, veuillez
prendre note qu'il pourrait y avoir un retard dans le traitement de
votre courriel. Nous tenons à vous assurer que votre message sera lu
avec soin.

Nous ne répondons pas à la correspondance contenant un langage offensant.


http://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/07/rallies-continue-push-for-public.html
 
 
 
 



MCC Day 26 – A(n Overdue) Shift to Truro, & Accommodation Decision Drama

590 views
May 25, 2022
573 subscribers
After operating out of three separate location (most prominently the Nova Centre) in Halifax, the Mass Casualty Commission has shifted their proceeding location to Truro. The decision appears to have been made primarily for scheduling purposes and in consideration of the availability of venues. There was also a decision released by the Commissioners, which has led to a dramatic boycott by lawyers representing the largest group of family participants.
Cry me a river

 
 
 

MCC Day 27 – Participants’ Boycott Continues, and Local District Commander Testifies (by Video)

679 views
May 26, 2022
573 subscribers
The Mass Casualty Proceedings continued today from Truro, with testimony from Staff Sgt. Al Carroll, who was the District Commander for Colchester County at the time of the shootings. Outside of the facility where the proceedings were taking place, family members and supporters were protesting the Commission’s decision-making on witness accommodation requests for RCMP supervisors. This was day two of the boycott of proceedings by many of the family participants. Some were protesting outside of the proceedings venue, calling for changes to the Commission procedures to allow more fulsome participation (and specifically cross-examination) by participants and their lawyers. Staff Sgt. Carroll, along with two other staff sergeants (none of whom had direct experience with violence or exposure to scenes of violence during the events of the mass casualty) have been given permission to testify by video, with limits on cross-examination. Those protesting are justified in their criticisms of the Commission’s approach. Today’s testimony was a good demonstration of why the accommodation requests need not have been granted. Staff Sgt. Carroll testified for 3 ½ hours in the morning, then another hour in the afternoon, with no unscheduled breaks being requested by him, and he displayed no obvious signs of discomfort, nor certainly trauma. He displayed little emotion of any kind, or much energy, in his answers. The National Police Federation has requested accommodations previously for lower ranking officers. These had been rejected, and the officers thereafter also testified with no obvious signs of discomfort or trauma. All of this serves to undermine the credibility of both the NPF and the Commission.
 
 
 
 
 
 

MCC Day 28 - S/Sgt. Rehill's Pre-taped Testimony & How Commissioners Might Rebuild Confidence

536 views
May 31, 2022
573 subscribers
Staff Sergeant Brian Rehill testified yesterday, by Zoom, and the video was released this morning. S/Sgt. Rehill had asked for accomodations to allow the testimony to not be broadcast live, and for him to not be cross examined. The MCC Commissioners granted his request, but should be having second thoughts after watching him testify without trouble for over five hours. S/Sgt. Rehill testified about miscommunications on the containment efforts in Portapique, the dynamic of having multiple commanders giving orders over the radio, and distinctions between his evidence and S/Sgt. Halliday's when it came to knowledge of the gunman's replica police car. MCC lawyer Roger Burrill asked the direct questions, and then asked some questions on behalf of the other participants. It is not clear why this procedure was considered less traumatic for the S/Sgt. than having another lawyer ask the same questions, though Burrill's gentle approach and lack of any follow-up may be the answer. In the video, I talk about what I think the Commissioners need to start doing in order to start fostering and establishing some confidence among the participants and the public. It is *not* more pre-written, vaguely phrased remarks about how difficult all this must be for everyone
  
 
 
 

 

MCC Day 29 – Alcohol-Fueled Command Decisions

616 views
Jun 1, 2022
573 subscribers
In video posted yesterday evening, retired Sergeant Andy O’Brien testified about his role in the response to the mass casualty events. Sgt. O’Brien oversaw operations for the Colchester County RCMP, but was off duty on April 18, 2020 when he was contacted about the initial reports out of Portapique. He has stated that he had 4-5 drinks of rum that night, and though he was initially reluctant to take on any role, he soon had a radio and was giving directions to officers on the scene from his home. Many of the participants in the MCC continued their boycott of proceedings, as a result of the accommodations granted to Sgt. O’Brien. The testimony was conducted by Zoom, and was not broadcast live. There was also no cross examination permitted, but rather the participants were to provide questions to Commission lawyers to ask. Nothing about Sgt. O’Brien’s presentation or demeanor would convince a neutral observer that he required any accommodations. He was treated very gently at first by Commission lawyer Anna Mancini, who initially tended to read out long paragraphs of Foundational Documents relating to Sgt. O’Brien’s previous experience, then his involvement, and then asked him whether he agreed or had anything to add.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

David Raymond Amos

3,301 Tweets
 
 
 
Good thread on today's private hearing of the Portapique inquiry. #MCC
Quote Tweet
Tim Bousquet
@Tim_Bousquet
·
The media embargo on Staff Sergeant Brian Rehill's testimony before the Mass Casualty Commission (#MCC) has been lifted. I watched all of Rehill's testimony, from 9:30am-5pm; I won't now have a complete report, but offer some general observations
 
 
 
Portapique Commission Chair Michael MacDonald: Sorry to put you through such a long day. Truro Police Chief David MacNeil: No need to apologise. It's my duty to be here.
 
 
 
Excellent Portapique commentary: - reviews Commissioner Stanton's book on how to run inquiries. - He & @Tim_Bousquet recount Truro Chief David McNeil's forthright, confident testimony—in marked contrast to RCMP.
 
 
 

MCC Day 32 – Truro Police Chief Dave MacNeil Testifies

559 views
Jun 6, 2022
573 subscribers
The focus of the MCC was on the Town of Truro today, with a Foundational Document and witness discussing the interaction between the RCMP and Truro Police as Gabriel Wortman made his way towards, and ultimately through, the Town of Truro. We have heard from Chief Dave MacNeil before today, as he has been interviewed about the Truro Police role in and knowledge of the killer’s movements through Truro, and the Truro Police relationship with the RCMP. Chief MacNeil has been critical of the RCMP’s response, their lack of information sharing with Truro Police during the mass shooting, and their efforts after the fact to keep important information from being made public.
 
 
 

What The MCC Can Learn From Commissioner Stanton’s Inquiries Book

332 views
Jun 6, 2022
573 subscribers
Just before being appointed as one of the three Commissioners of the NS Mass Casualty Commission, Toronto-based lawyer, Kim Stanton finished writing a book on Inquiries, called Reconciling Truths. There are several themes and lessons the MCC may draw from this work, which might help it fulfill its mandate, and increase the level of public trust in the Commission.
 
 
Quote Tweet
Tim Bousquet
@Tim_Bousquet
I'm at the proceedings of the Mass Casualty Commission, the public inquiry into the mass murders of April 18/19, 2020. If you want to avoid this thread, you can mute the hashtag #MCC


 
Admit no error — ever — seems to be the watchword.
Quote Tweet
Tim Bousquet
@Tim_Bousquet
·
I would call it a non-self-reflective but arrogant self-confidence, as if they are above the reality of events. Shit just happens, but they're better than being responsible for the shit. [shrug] #MCC
Show this thread
 
 
 
 
 

RCMP witnesses at the Portapique inquiry are strikingly unwilling to acknowledge that they might have done anything differently during Wortman's rampage. #MCC
Quote Tweet
Tim Bousquet
@Tim_Bousquet
·
Mancini: if the evens of April 18/19 would happen again, would the RCMP issue an Alert Ready? Rodier: "Alert Ready would be CONSIDERED" #MCC
Show this thread
 
 
No doubt both of you and @rcmpns remember mean old me Anyone can Google your names and mine EH Parker? 
 

and Tim?

 davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/07/rallie

Parker Donham: The hot mess that is the inquiry into a murder spree and the RCMP response

The commission has so far glossed over such key facts that it could malign the integrity of its own conclusion

Author of the article:
Parker Donham,  Special to National Post
Publishing date: Apr 09, 2022 
 
 

Commission counsel Roger Burrill displays a photo that shows the stretch of Plains Road where Heather O'Brien and Kristen Beaton were murdered by Gabriel Wortman, at the Mass Casualty Commission inquiry in Halifax on March 31, 2022. Photo by Andrew Vaughan / CANADIAN PRESS

The judicial inquiry into deranged denturist Gabriel Wortman’s murder of 22 Nova Scotians in April 2020 is turning into a hot mess.

In the aftermath of Wortman’s murderous rampage, neither the federal nor provincial governments were keen to establish a full-bore judicial inquiry — especially not one that could subject the RCMP to the searching scrutiny afforded by sworn testimony and aggressive cross-examination.

The feds wanted to avoid a public spectacle that might pressure them to carry out top-to-bottom reform of Canada’s dysfunctional national police force. Then-Premier Stephen McNeil came from a family steeped in police work. His mother was high sheriff of Annapolis County, and five of his siblings serve as police officers. His minister of justice was a retired RCMP officer.

The past two decades have seen a string of disastrous RCMP calamities, including incidents in Spiritwood, Sask.; Biggar, Sask. (Colten Boushie); Mayerthorpe, Alta.; Vancouver International Airport ( Robert Dziekanski); Moncton, N.B.; and Houston, B.C. (Ian Bush). How long before an inquiry gets to the bottom of the force’s dysfunction?

Initially, the two governments announced a quiet “joint review” that would conduct inquiries in private before issuing a public report.

A furious outcry from families of the victims and members of the public forced them to reconsider. In July 2020, the then-federal public safety minister, Bill Blair, announced a public inquiry with power to compel witnesses and permit cross-examination. Michael MacDonald, an affable retired chief justice of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, would head the inquiry. The commission is generously resourced.

A memorial remembering Lillian Hyslop is seen along the road in Wentworth, N.S. on Friday, April 24, 2020.     A memorial remembering Lillian Hyslop is seen along the road in Wentworth, N.S. on Friday, April 24, 2020. Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS, file

Its website lists staff members including a chief engagement officer, seven commission counsel, a commission counsel director, a community liaison director, an executive director and chief administrative officer, an investigations director, six investigators, a mental health director, a mental health support an outreach and engagement coordinator, two policy advisors, a research and policy director, three senior commission counsel, three senior communications advisors, a senior legal advisor, a senior policy advisor, a senior policy lawyer, and a team lead, investigations. quite the gravy boat. Quite the gravy boat.

Despite its clutch of PR specialists, the commission was unable to tell me how much it cost to send a glossy postcard to every Nova Scotia residence extolling its work. An unsigned response from the commission’s anonymous media email address said I could wait for the Public Accounts to be tabled next year.

Rubbish. The Public Accounts will certainly not have a line item for that mailing.

In recent weeks, a rising tide of criticism has engulfed the commission’s work. Premier Tim Houston complained about repeated delays in getting hearings underway, and the commission’s unresponsive treatment of victims’ family members. A white-shoe Halifax law firm, Patterson Law, took the unusual step of issuing a public rebuke of the commission over its vague and unconventional procedures.

I feel severely let down … I fought so hard for this public inquiry so another husband and father would not have to go through this

lawyers quoting a victim's husband, Nick Beaton

“Our clients continue to watch for signs that the public inquiry will proceed as it should, but feel greatly disappointed that, a week before commencement, there is no assurance that it will be anything other than the review that our clients marched to oppose in the summer of 2020,” wrote lawyers Sandra McCulloch and Robert Pineo. “In the words of (Nick) Beaton (whose wife was murdered), ‘I feel severely let down… I fought so hard for this public inquiry so that another husband and father would not have to go through this. The Commission is supposed to ask the hard questions and identify where things went wrong and how things need to change, but right now I just don’t see that happening.’”

True inquiries understand that the search for the truth, all the truth, is raw and uncomfortable

lawyer Gavin Giles

This week, Gavin Giles, a partner at McInnes Cooper, one of Atlantic Canada’s largest law firms, wrote a blistering letter to the Halifax Chronicle Herald, denouncing the commission’s procedures. “True inquiries focus on the who, what, when, where, why and how,” he wrote. “True inquiries understand intuitively that the search for the truth, all of the truth, is oftentimes raw and uncomfortable. True inquiries seek out information by exposing witnesses to direct and frequently aggressive forms of questioning. We are not seeing any of that in the commission’s work to date.”

At the heart of the problem seems to be the commission’s mandate that its work be “trauma-informed.” That’s a useful concept when it guides police interviews with sexual assault complainants. It’s foolhardy when applied to a factual inquiry into a mass murder covering 22 killings at 16 locations over 13 hours.

Justice MacDonald and his fellow commissioners seem to have taken the requirement to mean they should soft-pedal anything unpleasant — a plan that quickly sent the commission off the rails.

More On This Topic

  1. Police almost shot the wrong man: Details from the inquiry into Canada’s deadliest mass shooting

  2. Excerpt: How Lillian Campbell Hyslop became Gabriel Wortman's 17th victim in N.S. killing spree

The family of murder victim Heather O’Brien responded with fury when the commission’s summary of evidence elided one particularly unpleasant fact: Data from O’Brien’s Fitbit showed that her heart continued to beat many hours after RCMP Const. Ian Fahie, who attended the aftermath of her shooting, had wrongly concluded that she was dead — and shooed away paramedics because an active shooter incident was underway.

“Const. Fahie is the lower ranking officer in this situation,” wrote Darcey Dobson, O’Brien’s daughter, on Facebook. “He has nothing to gain by lying. More likely he has a lot to lose for telling the truth.”

Commission counsel Roger Burrill explained that he glossed over the Fitbit detail because he thought people might find it “disturbing.”

Imagine that — who would have thought that an honest and competent investigation into the murder of 22 citizens might turn up anything disturbing.

Consistent with this approach, the commission refuses to mention Gabriel Wortman’s name in its documents and its own statements at public hearings. It’s as if his name has magical powers, and by its erasure, everything will be better.

Everything isn’t better. The murder of a loved one is an unspeakable life event for those left behind. Its impact never goes away.

Family members counting on the commission proceedings are not children. The commission should stop infantilizing them.

Correction: The original version of this story incorrectly said that the commission website does not include a staff list.

• Parker Donham is a retired journalist and communications advisor living in Cape Breton.

parker@donham.ca Twitter: @kempthead

 







 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3o1lZwzvW8&ab_channel=NighttimePodcast

 


the Nova Scotia Mass Shooting - Feb 27, 2022 - Public Inquiry and Updates with Adam Rodgers

571 views
Mar 1, 2022
7.27K subscribers
Adam Rodgers and I will discuss the unfolding public inquiry into the Nova Scotia Mass Shootings.

 

 

https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/opinion/thinking-out-loud-with-sheldon-macleod-a-pivotal-day-at-the-mass-casualty-commission-100703992/ 

 

THINKING OUT LOUD WITH SHELDON MacLEOD: A pivotal day at the Mass Casualty Commission

After initially refusing to participate, the woman described as the first survivor and a key witness to the events of April 2020 will testify at the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission inquiry. Members of the commission have announced Lisa Banfield will be interviewed and will be questioned under oath to fill in some of the missing pieces of the story that ended with the deaths of 22 people and an unborn child. Her legal case was in court Wednesday, clearing her so-called jeopardy.

Meanwhile, the chair of the MCC announced they would be calling numerous RCMP officers and supervisors to account for what they did and did not do in the events on that weekend almost two years ago.

That, according to a lawyer who has been providing his own commentary about the inquiry, moves us much closer to transparency and integrity. Adam Rodgers, who has participated in public inquiries in the past, says former chief justice Michael MacDonald deserves credit for clarifying what trauma-informed means: That it is not a shield to protect people from testifying.

 

Sheldon MacLeod has been a broadcast professional for close to 30 years. Eyewitness to the transition from 45s and magnetic tape to CDs, MP3s, computers, websites, blogs and the worldwide web. And through all of the technology one thing remains constant: the satisfaction of sharing compelling stories with other humans. The responsibility of knowing better, is doing better. Sheldon is based in Halifax, N.S. Reach out to Sheldon at sheldon.macleod@saltwire.com

Op-ed Disclaimer

SaltWire Network welcomes letters on matters of public interest for publication. All letters must be accompanied by the author’s name, address and telephone number so that they can be verified. Letters may be subject to editing. The views expressed in letters to the editor in this publication and on SaltWire.com are those of the authors, and do not reflect the opinions or views of SaltWire Network or its Publisher. SaltWire Network will not publish letters that are defamatory, or that denigrate individuals or groups based on race, creed, colour or sexual orientation. Anonymous, pen-named, third-party or open letters will not be published.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ExcsEhNYYg&ab_channel=NighttimePodcast 

 


the Nova Scotia Mass Shooting - March 20, 2022 - Updates with Paul Palango

2,324 views
Streamed live on Mar 20, 2022
7.27K subscribers
Paul Palango and I will discuss recent developments related to the Nova Scotia Mass Shooting. 
 
Advance questions and comments can be submitted by voice memo at nighttimepodcast.com/contact Links: the Nova Scotia Mass Shooting Series: https://www.nighttimepodcast.com/nova... 
 
Buy 22 Murders by Paul Palango: https://www.amazon.ca/22-Murders-Inve... 
 
 Provide feedback and comments on the episode: nighttimepodcast.com/contact 
 
Musical Theme: Noir Toyko by Monty Datta Contact: 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/news/hes-clearly-motivated-rcmp-officer-feared-he-was-on-portapique-killers-hit-list-after-prior-run-in-100704079/ 

 

'He's clearly motivated': RCMP officer feared he was on Portapique killer's hit list after prior run-in

From Portapique, he called his wife at home and told her to lock the doors and hide. 

Dorrington and another officer from the Bible Hill RCMP detachment had spent the night of April 18 manning a checkpoint on Highway 2, about four kilometres east of Portapique.

Meanwhile, three other officers from the detachment were first into Portapique and a scene of unfolding chaos was playing out on Dorrington’s police radio: Dead people, a lot, one on the lawn, one on the side of the road. They didn’t know how many shooters they were dealing with.  

But Dorrington had met Wortman, according to the information he provided to Mass Casualty Commission investigators in a Nov 9, 2021, interview.  

One of the gunman’s first victims, who survived, told RCMP that he went by the name Gabriel and he lived in the community. Subsequent checks identified the gunman and showed that Dorrington was the last RCMP officer who had made contact with him. 

About a month and a half earlier, and not far from where the killing spree began, Dorrington had ticketed Wortman for speeding on Portapique Beach Road. Wortman was driving an RCMP Ford Taurus replica with subdued markings, according to Dorrington. It was not the fully marked replica RCMP car he used during his 13-hour rampage on April 18 and 19.   

It was past dark the evening of Feb. 12, 2020, and the officer said he first spotted Wortman's vehicle on Highway 2 after dropping off documents to someone on a traffic matter. 

'Looking for a fight'

Wortman was agitated, according to Dorrington, after a confrontation with Halifax Regional police officers earlier that day at his denture clinic in Dartmouth. According to Dorrington, he had barely pulled the car over before Wortman got out of the Taurus and walked towards the officer. He was aggressive and confrontational, recalled Dorrington. "Like he was looking for a fight." 

Wortman eventually calmed down and Dorrington recalled that the gunman told him that he had multiple Tauruses he'd picked up at auction and a bunch of different RCMP paraphernalia.  

The night the killing started, Sgt. Andy O’Brien, the detachment’s Operations NCO, radioed Dorrington. "You were the last person who had contact with this guy," he recalled O'Brien saying. What can you tell me about him? He said he told O'Brien about the exchange, including details about the replica car.  

Dorrington told investigators he was aware that police dispatch was called from the very first house visited by Wortman and told that there was an RCMP vehicle in the driveway with a huge gun.  

He said he didn’t know for sure that Wortman was driving a fully decaled RCMP replica car until the next morning. That was confirmed when officers found Wortman’s partner in Portapique on the morning of April 19. She told them that Wortman had a list of people he was targeting, lots of money and ammunition. He planned to execute people in Halifax.  She also provided a photo of the replica car he was driving. The revelation that he was driving a replica RCMP car stunned Dorrington. 

"That’s like a bombshell going off." That, and a list of targets. Dorrington told investigators he didn't know who was on the list but was concerned he might be.   

The gunman of the Portapique mass shooting is spotted on video surveillance changing his clothes in Millbrook on April 19, 2020. - Contributed The gunman of the Portapique mass shooting is spotted on video surveillance changing his clothes in Millbrook on April 19, 2020. - Contributed

'Killer just passed by'

Alarm bells went off when Dorrington found out his immediate supervisor Cpl. Rodney Peterson had crossed paths with Wortman on Highway 4 before the gunman made an unsuccessful attempt to enter a home in Glenholme. The incident happened the morning of April 19.  

"He gets on the radio and he says something to the effect that I think the killer just passed by me and waved or smiled at me, or something to that effect."  

According to Dorrington, Peterson doesn’t follow Wortman and continues driving north while the man believed to be Wortman heads south. 

By this time, Dorrington explains Wortman has the RCMP on a cat-and-mouse hunt. RCMP dispatch get two separate calls about Wortman in Debert. 

At that point everyone is in the Portapique area and there’s no one covering Colchester County, he said. The Wortman sighting in Debert puts him about 20 kilometres from Dorrington’s home just outside Truro. 

"So my concern was that I was the last one to have contact with him and gave him a nice healthy ticket... and so he's clearly motivated."

 He texts his wife to lock down the house and not answer the door. Moments later a friend of Dorrington’s wife texts her saying she spotted a police car driving past her Brookfield home travelling south on Highway 2, about 20 minutes from the commotion in Debert.   

His wife shares the information with Dorrington and he and RCMP dispatch confirm there are no officers in the area. That’s what got everyone redirected to the south, Dorrington said. 

By this time he and four officers from the Bible Hill detachment, including Staff Sgt. Al Carroll, are in Portapique securing the scene.  Dorrington said he pleaded with O'Brien to be sent south because he’s driving an unmarked car and had the best chance to track the gunman down. O’Brien turned him down. 

“You don’t need five people here to watch over a deceased is what I said. . . . I was basically to the point of begging him to let me go down to the 102 South." 

'Disorganized response'

From that point he gets word that Wortman meets two officers on Highway 2, wounding Const. Chad Morrison and killing Const. Heidi Stephenson.  Another bystander Joey Webber is also killed. Wortman then moves on and kills his last victim Gina Goulet. 

“I think it was her vehicle that he subsequently took to the gas station where (Wortman) was found and executed.” 

Dorrington’s version of events tells a tale of confusion and of an undermanned, disorganized police response to the massacre.  

Before the Portapique shooting the Bible Hill detachment was frequently short-staffed and COVID made things worse. As the tragedy unfolded two officers in his detachment were off because of COVID restrictions and begged to be called in. But that didn't happen, according to Dorrington. 

O’Brien was also off at the time due to COVID protocols but took command of the detachment’s response to the emergency crisis.  

Dorrington said O’Brien was not qualified to handle immediate action rapid deployment (IARD). He said there was no clear onsite commander and that O’Brien did not have training on active shooter situations.  

"We all know that," said Dorrington.  

 "And the directions being given are contrary to the IARD doctrine. So I’m receiving direction, myself and (partner) Lafferty specifically, from someone who’s not on scene, who’s not on duty and not qualified.” 


https://www.saltwire.com/halifax/news/rcmps-days-in-nova-scotia-likely-numbered-lawyer-100733175/

Lawyers of families should be allowed to question senior RCMP in mass shooting inquiry: expert

One of the lawyers representing the families of victims has asked the commission for the right to ask questions directly to witnesses they choose. The request came after the commission’s controversial decision to allow two senior RCMP officers to testify last week without being cross-examined by lawyers of the families. 

Ed Ratushny, professor emeritus at the University of Ottawa, said he supports the lawyer’s push to cross-examine witnesses, particularly RCMP officers. Not allowing rigorous questioning of the most important witnesses, destroys the fundamental fact-finding purpose of a public inquiry, he said.

“It also ignores the trauma of the families of all those people who’ve been murdered," said Ratushny, author of the 2009 book The Conduct of Public Inquiries.
"Those families have been waiting for two years to find out what exactly happened and how it happened. They are not getting that."


"Those families have been waiting for two years to find out what exactly happened and how it happened. They are not getting that."

- Ed Ratushny, professor emeritus at the University of Ottawa


The commission's rationale for excusing the officers of cross-examination rests on its task of conducting a "trauma-informed" inquiry. The terms of reference of the joint public inquiry do state that the proceedings follow restorative justice and trauma-informed principles that aim at reducing further harm. 

But Ratushny points out that this does not mean that witnesses should not testify in person and be cross-examined. 

Sparing officers from questioning by lawyers of the families shows the three commissioners, including Chair Michael MacDonald, have misinterpreted the purpose of a trauma-informed inquiry.

"This does not require that witnesses not testify and be cross-examined," he said.

Last week, lawyers representing the majority of the 22 victims’ families boycotted the commission proceedings at the direction of their clients. It came as a result of the lawyers being unable to question the officers.

Emily Hill, senior counsel for the Mass Casualty Commission, told reporters at a briefing on Friday that the commission is considering a request from one of the lawyers representing the families to change a rule that governs who can question witnesses. - Andrew Vaughan / FileEmily Hill, senior counsel for the Mass Casualty Commission, told reporters at a briefing on Friday that the commission is considering a request from one of the lawyers representing the families to change a rule that governs who can question witnesses. - Andrew Vaughan / File 

Ratushny said the spectacle resulted in a hit to the credibility of the inquiry. He pointed to Justice Peter Cory’s emphasis that public inquiries must be open and transparent.  


Cory, who oversaw the inquiry into the Westray Mine Disaster, said that "open hearings function as a means of restoring the public confidence in the affected industry and in the regulations pertaining to it and their enforcement." 

He also said they can serve as a type of healing therapy for a community shocked and angered by a tragedy.

Emily Hill, senior counsel for the Mass Casualty Commission, told reporters at a briefing on Friday that the commission is considering a request from one of the lawyers representing the families to change a rule that governs who can question witnesses. 

Several key RCMP witnesses have yet to testify at the hearing. Hill also said it’s possible the commission will grant further accommodations to witnesses that would allow them to avoid being cross-examined or testifying in person. But she said no further requests for accommodations have been made so far.

In the end, lawyers of the families are being denied fair participation in the inquiry, said the professor. He said the commission is subject to the legal principle of procedural fairness established by the Supreme Court of Canada.  Lawyers for the families are allowed to submit questions but the commissioners decide what if any are put to witnesses by commission lawyers. 


“In order to survive the current crisis of confidence the commission needs to find a way to be trauma-informed and sensitive in a way that does not sacrifice vigorous cross-examination of key witnesses such as senior RCMP officers."

- Wayne MacKay, Dalhousie University law professor


The commission's decision that they can adequately replace cross-examination with their own questioning also is flawed, said the professor. Cross-examination requires adversity.  
The commission's decision to relieve officers of cross-examination ignores the trauma that potentially flawed fact-finding is having on families. 

“The contrast of these approaches could destroy the fundamental purpose of confidence in the impartiality of the commission,” said the professor.

The commission's proper role is not to abolish direct testimony and cross-examination but to control it. "That is basic," he said.

Beyond this, he said testifying and being cross-examined could be therapeutic for police officers.

Wayne MacKay, a Dalhousie University law professor, said the commission is facing a crisis of confidence. One of its important roles is to establish a factual record that people feel accurately describes the tragic events of April 18 and 19. 

"One of the tried and true ways to do that is to have testimony under oath and vigorous cross-examination," said MacKay.

“In order to survive the current crisis of confidence the commission needs to find a way to be trauma-informed and sensitive in a way that does not sacrifice vigorous cross-examination of key witnesses such as senior RCMP officers."

 

 

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