Talking about Talk Radio with Sheldon MacLeod
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
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>
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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.
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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.
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://
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.
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.
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.
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.
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@
josh@chesterlaw.ca, RPineo@pattersonlaw.ca,
smcculloch@pattersonlaw.ca, "Michelle.Boutin"
<Michelle.Boutin@rcmp-grc.gc.
<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@
Nick.Carleton@uregina.ca, tara@mdwlaw.ca, mscott@pattersonlaw.ca,
comlaw <comlaw@uottawa.ca>, eratushn@uottawa.ca, paulpalango
<paulpalango@protonmail.com>, michael.macdonald@
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.
Wednesday, 8 June 2022
THINKING OUT LOUD WITH SHELDON MacLEOD: A pivotal day at the Mass
Casualty Commission
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.
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
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If you are a resident of Eglinton—Lawrence and require assistance
continue reading below.
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To contact Public Safety Canada directly, please visit:
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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
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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.
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.
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.
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.
An English message follows
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---------- 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.
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the Nova Scotia Mass Shooting - Feb 21 Pre-Show - Nick Beaton's Open Letter
Notice Nick Beaton mentions Commissioner Stanton’s Inquiries Book out of the gate???
Son of mass murder victim calls for public inquiry
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.”
The Halifax Examiner is an advertising-free, subscriber-supported news site. Your subscription makes this work possible; please subscribe.
Some people have asked that we additionally allow for one-time donations from readers, so we’ve created that opportunity, via the PayPal button below. We also accept e-transfers, cheques, and donations with your credit card; please contact iris “at” halifaxexaminer “dot” ca for details.
Thank you!
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
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@
josh@chesterlaw.ca, RPineo@pattersonlaw.ca,
smcculloch@pattersonlaw.ca, "Michelle.Boutin"
<Michelle.Boutin@rcmp-grc.gc.
<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@
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.
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.
> < 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.
> 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/
>
>
>
> ---------- 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.
>
>
> 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://
>
>
> ---------- Original message ----------
> From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
> 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/
>
>
> 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.
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@
Ronda.Bessner@
Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
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@
Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>, prmibullrun@gmail.com,
tim <tim@halifaxexaminer.ca>, zane@halifaxexaminer.ca,
media@masscasualtycommission.
https://www.saltwire.com/cape-
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@
https://www.saltwire.com/cape-
'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
Heidi Petracek 2016
Heidi Petracek
CTV News Atlantic Reporter
Published Friday, June 4, 2021 7:28PM ADT
https://www.canadaland.com/
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.
Wednesday, 29 July 2020
Federal and provincial governments to hold public inquiry into Nova
Scotia mass shootings
https://twitter.com/
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.
#nbpoli #cdnpoli
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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.
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?
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.
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.
---------- 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.
MCC Day 26 – A(n Overdue) Shift to Truro, & Accommodation Decision Drama
12 Comments
MCC Day 27 – Participants’ Boycott Continues, and Local District Commander Testifies (by Video)
MCC Day 28 - S/Sgt. Rehill's Pre-taped Testimony & How Commissioners Might Rebuild Confidence
David Raymond Amos
MCC Day 32 – Truro Police Chief Dave MacNeil Testifies
What The MCC Can Learn From Commissioner Stanton’s Inquiries Book
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
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.
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.
-
Police almost shot the wrong man: Details from the inquiry into Canada’s deadliest mass shooting
-
Excerpt: How Lillian Campbell Hyslop became Gabriel Wortman's 17th victim in N.S. killing spree
“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
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
'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
'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 / 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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