---------- Original message ----------
From: Info <Info@gg.ca>
Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2022 07:44:31 +0000
Subject: OSGG General Inquiries / Demande de renseignements généraux au BSGG
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Thank you for writing to the Office of the Secretary to the Governor
General. We appreciate hearing your views and suggestions. Responses
to specific inquiries can be expected within three weeks. Please note
that general comments and opinions may not receive a response.
*****
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---------- Original message ----------
From: postmaster@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2022 03:45:06 -0400
Subject: Undeliverable: [SUSPECTED SPAM] N.S. Mass Casualty Commission
final report delayed SURPRISE SURPRISE SURPRISE
To: david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
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Simmering rift between RCMP, municipal police, boils over in N.S. inquiry
Inquiry hears of issues with funding models, integration, lack of trust
The inquiry has heard that tensions have escalated over the past two years due to disagreements over the mass shooting response, policing standards, tracking special services, funding and the emergency alert system.
Although senior officers on both sides have said the deterioration in the relationship has been at the senior management level, with minimal impact on front-line officers, a member of the Mass Casualty Commission leading the inquiry disagrees.
"The reality is it makes a huge difference to the people on the front line because, without the support of their senior leadership, you're not going to have people stepping up," Commissioner Leanne Fitch said Thursday when questioning Halifax Regional Police Chief Dan Kinsella.
"They're going to want to be out there working together. But if there's barriers because there is lack of co-operation and communication in the relationships at the senior management level, we're not gonna get past that, and that's a disservice to public safety."
Municipalities offered help
During the mass shooting on April 18 and 19, 2020 when 22 people were killed, municipal police leaders reached out to the RCMP to offer help.
Among them were Kinsella and Chief David MacNeil of Truro police, one of the nearest forces to Portapique, where the rampage began.
Julia Cecchetto, who was Kentville police chief at the time and head of the Nova Scotia Chiefs of Police Association, sent an email on April 19 to all her fellow chiefs looking for resources. Most responded to offer what they could.
But the Mounties didn't accept any offers of help from the municipal police forces during or after the 13 hour-rampage, as the gunman crossed the province killing residents and destroying homes.
Instead, the RCMP turned to Mounties in New Brunswick for immediate support the night of April 18. In the months following the murders, RCMP officers from Quebec and Ontario were brought into Nova Scotia to relieve local members.
About 100 members of Halifax Regional Police were active in various roles during the weekend and also helped with some investigative work, but it was not in response to a request for help from the Mounties.
Chief Supt. Chris Leather, one of the senior Mounties in Nova Scotia at the time of the shootings, testified last month that bringing in municipal forces during a major event is "fraught with risk."
"If they're not reading from the same page, if they're not aligned in terms of their thinking, their training and how they address a situation, what an awful place to experience that breakdown," Leather said.
Municipal forces have also complained they weren't kept informed during the shootings. When he testified in June, MacNeil said he learned from news reports that the gunman had driven through Truro.
The gunman's mock RCMP police vehicle is seen here driving on Esplanade
Street in Truro, N.S., the morning of April 19, 2020. (RCMP)
A major breaking point between the RCMP and municipal forces came in April, when the Nova Scotia Chiefs of Police Association voted to redesignate the RCMP to associate member status, with no voting power.
MacNeil has testified that the association reached that decision after a disagreement with the Mounties on several policy issues, some connected to the mass shootings and others that weren't.
"It gave us a bit more of an independent voice," MacNeil said.
MacNeil said the RCMP wanted the Nova Scotia chiefs to say the Alert Ready system fundamentally doesn't work for police use, a position the chiefs didn't support.
Both MacNeil and Kinsella have told the inquiry they knew issuing an alert was an option.
The RCMP's demotion on the committee was "disappointing," Commissioner Lucki wrote in a May letter to the chiefs, saying it undermined the association's goals of developing deep cooperation between the police forces in the province.
Leather also said that when it comes to building trust and working together, "actions speak louder than words."
"If you relegate and remove us from key associations, what do you think … the expectations are in terms of outcomes are going to be for that? Nothing but more difficulties and challenges," Leather testified.
Although Kinsella said Thursday the RCMP wasn't "kicked out" of the association, it was certainly a difficult day for all sides. He said the association would like to see the Mounties participate as associate members, but "they haven't taken us up on that currently."
RCMP move to track services caused concern
In January 2021, the RCMP began tracking requests from municipal forces for special services like police dog units or forensic identification services.
Hayley Crichton, executive director of public safety and security with the provincial Justice Department, said in a January commission interview that Leather made the suggestion to track requests so the government could understand the "significant" costs the RCMP absorbs from those calls.
Since then, requests have to go directly through the RCMP criminal operations officer and are flagged to the province — a practice that raised concern among municipal chiefs.
Kinsella said Thursday there were no conversations about the change between RCMP and chiefs of police before it happened, and there will be issues when anything is "thrust" on someone without warning.
Lee
Bergerman, former assistant commissioner and recently retired
commanding officer of the Nova Scotia RCMP, testifies last Monday in
Halifax at the Mass Casualty Commission inquiry into the mass murders in
rural Nova Scotia on April 18-19, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan)
Lee Bergerman, the retired commanding officer of the Nova Scotia RCMP, testified this week that the move caused "concerns" for municipal forces that they'd be billed for those services, but that hasn't happened.
"It was important for us as the RCMP to be able to track and tell our story to the province as to why we were in deficit because we weren't always spending money within our own policing jurisdictions," Bergerman said.
Although Crichton said the RCMP Act prohibits the Mounties from directly billing any municipality for their services, the roles and responsibilities for all police agencies in the province could be shifting when new standards are announced.
Policing standards issues widened 'rift'
Although Crichton said the province has been working slowly on updating policing standards, it wasn't until April 2021 that the Justice Department established two committees to finally wrap them up.
The standards, which Crichton said were last updated in 2003, set a "minimum base requirement" that all agencies must meet across the province. She said not only will they lay out how policing should be done, but also formalize access to those special services.
"Annapolis Royal doesn't need to have a major crime unit, but they do need to have formalized access to one," Crichton said. "What that means in terms of cost recovery … we haven't gotten there yet."
Bergerman testified that the RCMP's push to bring in these standards has also widened the "rift" between the Mounties, provincial Justice Department, and municipal forces.
Halifax
Regional Police Chief Dan Kinsella testifies last Thursday at the Mass
Casualty Commission inquiry into the mass murders in rural Nova Scotia
on April 18-19, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan)
While Bergerman said the commission would have to ask a municipal chief why that has created an issue for them, she suggested it could be because the standards might require specialized units like emergency response teams — all of which are "cost-prohibitive for a lot of municipalities."
RCMP members have also taken issue with the existing standards. Leather testified a main reason the RCMP opted to not take part in recent policing audits is because all forces are being measured against standards that are "non-existent or antiquated."
Issues with integration have worsened: Kinsella
Another point of contention has been tension over who has jurisdiction and control over certain cases and resources within the Halifax municipality, Kinsella testified.
Although Kinsella said he learned of issues with the current Criminal Investigation Division's integrated model as soon as he took the chief's job in 2019, the mass shooting "amplified it a little bit."
Municipal and RCMP members in the division work side by side, but Kinsella said last August the Mounties pulled their detectives out of the division's major crime unit where they had made up about 20 per cent of the members.
Kinsella said he'd understood that an incoming RCMP inspector didn't think the structure was appropriate and decided to handle major crime cases in their Halifax territory on their own.
This echoes themes from a 2021 wellness report of senior Nova Scotia RCMP commissioned officers and civilian equivalents. Respondents described an ongoing "turf battle" over operational control and funding between the Halifax Regional Police and RCMP.
Twenty-two
people died on April 18 and 19, 2020. Top row from left: Gina Goulet,
Dawn Gulenchyn, Jolene Oliver, Frank Gulenchyn, Sean McLeod, Alanna
Jenkins. Second row: John Zahl, Lisa McCully, Joey Webber, Heidi
Stevenson, Heather O'Brien and Jamie Blair. Third row from top: Kristen
Beaton, Lillian Campbell, Joanne Thomas, Peter Bond, Tom Bagley and Greg
Blair. Bottom row: Emily Tuck, Joy Bond, Corrie Ellison and Aaron Tuck.
(CBC)
Several participants also reported that despite the Mounties doing their best to be a "partner" in this integrated model, "the leadership of HRP was doing everything it could to undermine and break the relationship with the RCMP in order to access more resources from (Halifax Regional Municipality) and the province."
When asked about how to move forward and rebuild bridges between the Mounties and municipal forces, Leather said major turnover at the RCMP senior level has presented a chance to start over.
RCMP
Chief Supt. Chris Leather is questioned in July by lawyer Michael Scott
at the Mass Casualty Commission inquiry into the mass murders in rural
Nova Scotia in 2020. (Kelly Clark/Canadian Pres)
"As sad as I am for leaving, I'm happy for the person coming in behind me, they will have a clean slate and an opportunity to engage with the municipal chiefs without any of this baggage that we've all carried around for the last two years," Leather testified.
The Nova Scotia RCMP has confirmed that Leather's position of criminal operations officer is being filled by Chief Supt. Sue Black, while Chief Supt. Jeffrey Christie is taking the lead role as officer in charge of the Halifax RCMP.
Assistant Commissioner Dennis Daley will also soon take the top spot as commanding officer of the Nova Scotia Mounties.
Kinsella said he's already been in touch with Christie, and when both he and Daley land in the province the Halifax chief is committed to coming to the table with them "in good faith."
Model under review
There's one main point on which the RCMP and municipal forces do agree — the current policing model in Nova Scotia does not seem to be working.
Officers from both sides have told the commission about the struggle to keep up with the demands of modern policing and technology with shrinking dollars and members.
While he was provincial justice minister with the former Liberal government, Mark Furey started the process of a police services review in December 2020.
Public information on the progress of that review has been limited, and last summer Justice Minister Brad Johns said any such work was on hold until the outcome of the inquiry.
Two Nova Scotia municipalities where most of the shootings occurred, Colchester and Cumberland, have also started their own policing reviews examining the merits of keeping the RCMP as their police service compared to switching to a municipal force.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/man-shot-dead-halifax-police-barricade-weapons-1.6564805
Man, 59, dead after encounter with Halifax police
Nova Scotia's police watchdog is investigating the incident.
A 59-year-old man is dead after being shot by a police officer in Dartmouth, N.S., according to Halifax Regional Police.
Officers responded to a weapons complaint on Carleton Street at approximately 8:30 p.m. Saturday, a news release said.
Police say a man with a firearm had barricaded himself inside a home. While attempting to arrest him, the man confronted officers with a gun and that's when an officer shot him, according to police.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. No other information has been released.
The province's Serious Incident Response Team is investigating the incident, said interim director John Scott. The police watchdog investigates when a member of the public is injured or killed during an interaction with police.
"We have an investigator now that's commenced ... trying to get his things in order by way of getting over there to take a look at the scene, to find out who all the potential witnesses are," Scott said.
---------- Original message ----------
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2022 04:44:05 -0300
Subject: N.S. Mass Casualty Commission final report delayed SURPRISE
SURPRISE SURPRISE
To: Maureeen.E.Doherty@rcmp-grc.
Sean.Mcgillis@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, "Brenda.Lucki"
<Brenda.Lucki@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, Angie.Boucher@rcmp-grc.gc.ca,
Brigitte.Voitel@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, "Nathalie.Drouin"
<Nathalie.Drouin@justice.gc.ca>, "Marco.Mendicino"
<Marco.Mendicino@parl.gc.ca>, mcu <mcu@justice.gc.ca>, PREMIER
<PREMIER@gov.ns.ca>, info <info@masscasualtycommission.
<info@gg.ca>, "Ian.Shugart" <Ian.Shugart@pco-bcp.gc.ca>, "ian.fahie"
<ian.fahie@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "Mark.Blakely"
<Mark.Blakely@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "warren.mcbeath"
<warren.mcbeath@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, washington field
<washington.field@ic.fbi.gov>, chris.marshall@rcmp-grc.gc.ca,
rcmpns-grcne@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, "mike.lokken"
<mike.lokken@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, michael.omalley@rcmp-grc.gc.ca,
"Michelle.Boutin" <Michelle.Boutin@rcmp-grc.gc.
fin.minfinance-financemin.fin@
<Frank.McKenna@td.com>, "Katie.Telford" <Katie.Telford@pmo-cpm.gc.ca>,
"kris.austin" <kris.austin@gnb.ca>, "michael.macdonald"
<michael.macdonald@
<Michael.Duheme@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "Sean.Fraser"
<Sean.Fraser@parl.gc.ca>, "rick.perkins" <rick.perkins@parl.gc.ca>,
"stephen.ellis" <stephen.ellis@parl.gc.ca>,
MaryAnne.McCormick@rcmp-grc.
<Kevin.leahy@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "Bill.Blair" <Bill.Blair@parl.gc.ca>,
"Candice.Bergen" <Candice.Bergen@parl.gc.ca>,
mla@esmithmccrossinmla.com, "Mike.Comeau" <Mike.Comeau@gnb.ca>,
"Mitton, Megan (LEG)" <megan.mitton@gnb.ca>, premier
<premier@ontario.ca>, Office of the Premier <scott.moe@gov.sk.ca>,
michelle.stevens@novascotia.ca, heather.fairbairn@novascotia.
elizabeth.macdonald@
dkogon@amherst.ca, jmacdonald@amherst.ca, darrell.cole@amherstnews.ca,
lifestyle@thecoast.ca, tmccoag@amherst.ca, dpike@amherst.ca,
JUSTMIN@novascotia.ca, andre <andre@jafaust.com>, "jeff.carr"
<jeff.carr@gnb.ca>, "andrea.anderson-mason"
<andrea.anderson-mason@gnb.ca>, "Ross.Wetmore" <Ross.Wetmore@gnb.ca>,
"jake.stewart" <jake.stewart@parl.gc.ca>, "rob.moore"
<rob.moore@parl.gc.ca>, "John.Williamson"
<John.Williamson@parl.gc.ca>, Justweb@novascotia.ca, "barb.whitenect"
<barb.whitenect@gnb.ca>, "Boston.Mail" <Boston.Mail@ic.fbi.gov>,
"hugh.flemming" <hugh.flemming@gnb.ca>
Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>,
Fraser.Logan@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, paulpalango <paulpalango@protonmail.com>,
NightTimePodcast <NightTimePodcast@gmail.com>, nsinvestigators
<nsinvestigators@gmail.com>, "Pineo, Robert" <rpineo@pattersonlaw.ca>,
andrew <andrew@frankmagazine.ca>, Newsroom
<Newsroom@globeandmail.com>, oldmaison <oldmaison@yahoo.com>,
"martin.gaudet" <martin.gaudet@fredericton.ca>, "Roger.Brown"
<Roger.Brown@fredericton.ca>, "blaine.higgs" <blaine.higgs@gnb.ca>,
Bill.Hogan@gnb.ca
https://davidraymondamos3.
Saturday, 27 August 2022
N.S. Mass Casualty Commission final report delayed SURPRISE SURPRISE SURPRISE
MCC - DAY 63 - HRP CHIEF DAN KINSELLA
17 Comments
️ Thank You for your positive thoughts 
God bless the 23
️
are with you. God bless the 23 , and the families, and everyone here.
Listen closely...
️
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/springhill-crime-spree-1.6563084
With crime on the rise, Springhill looks for solutions
Residents say methamphetamine use the root of recent problems
A crowd of 150 filled a meeting room Thursday to address a recent crime wave in the area.
"This isn't about finding answers tonight," said Heather Gibbons, the Springhill resident who organized the meeting. "This is about trying to find solutions down the road because this isn't something we can fix overnight."
Springhill used to have its own police force when it had town status. But, since 2015, it has been policed by a small RCMP detachment of seven members that is not staffed 24 hours a day.
Heather Gibbons organized the meeting to discuss Springhill's recent crime spree. (Paul Palmeter/CBC)
Many people who spoke at the meeting say their police coverage is not as good as it used to be.
Murray Scott, the mayor of the Municipality of Cumberland, attended the meeting. Scott is a former Springhill police officer who went on to become Nova Scotia's justice minister after he was voted in as the MLA for the riding of Cumberland South.
"It used to be a 24-hour service so there would always be at least two officers on at all times both day and night," said Scott. "Today we have 27 RCMP officers paid for in the entire municipality, which is the second largest municipality in the province."
A crowd of 150 people gathered in Springhill to discuss what they can do about crime in their community. (Paul Palmeter/CBC)
The large geographic area is part of the problem for people in Springhill.
Residents said response times to calls aren't quick enough. Numerous residents said there is a growing methamphetamine problem with drug users often walking around the community looking to steal.
"It's overwhelming the amount of petty crime and break and enters, thefts," said Gibbons. "I've never seen anything like it."
One resident stated more drug addiction support is needed.
"We need resources and education to combat it, and if we don't get that then we are just shooting ourselves in the foot because it's not going to get better."
Three RCMP officers attended the meeting.
Staff Sgt. Craig Learning was one of the three RCMP officers who attended the meeting in Springhill. (Paul Palmeter/CBC)
"I would say Springhill in the Cumberland District is our busiest community," said Staff Sgt. Craig Learning, the Cumberland District RCMP commander. "But a lot of people just aren't reporting and we need people to report these crimes if they want some sort of timely action taken."
This week the Municipality of Cumberland announced upcoming public meeting dates as part of a police review it announced this spring. One of those meetings, aimed at getting public engagement from community members, will be in Springhill on Sept. 15.
Gibbons said some small committees will be formed as the community continues to explore ways to address crime.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
N.S. Mass Casualty Commission final report delayed
Commission's final report now expected by March 31, 2023, instead of Nov. 1, 2022
The final report from the Mass Casualty Commission leading the inquiry into the April 2020 massacre where a gunman killed 22 people across the province will be delayed five months.
In a notice on Friday, the commissioners said after making a request, the provincial and federal government granted an extension to submit the final report from Nov. 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023.
The commission said it's still on track to complete public proceedings by the end of September 2022 as planned and has "not requested any additional funding to accommodate an extension."
Twenty-two
people died on April 18 and 19, 2020. Top row from left: Gina Goulet,
Dawn Gulenchyn, Jolene Oliver, Frank Gulenchyn, Sean McLeod, Alanna
Jenkins. Second row: John Zahl, Lisa McCully, Joey Webber, Heidi
Stevenson, Heather O'Brien and Jamie Blair. Third row from top: Kristen
Beaton, Lillian Campbell, Joanne Thomas, Peter Bond, Tom Bagley and Greg
Blair. Bottom row: Emily Tuck, Joy Bond, Corrie Ellison and Aaron Tuck.
(CBC)
Reasons for the extension request included the timeline for submitting the final report being tight from the start, delays from COVID-19 and "the pace, unpredictability and volume of document disclosure severely affected the commission's ability to meet timelines and progress our work in a timely way."
This past Monday, a lawyer for the commission revealed new notes from retired RCMP assistant commissioner Lee Bergerman were shared during the same period Bergerman was giving evidence to the commission.
Lori Ward, counsel for the federal government, blamed the late disclosure on the time it took to track down the notes Bergerman made in the months before she retired last October.
"We recently received them and were attempting to review them and disclose them before her evidence and I regret that we were not able to do so," Ward said.
The commissioners said the extra time granted will allow them to complete the final report "which will be substantial, with the care and attention it deserves."
"We have said that we want to ensure this process is thorough and the report and its recommendations are beneficial to all Canadians and will help to improve community safety across our country."
With files from Blair Rhodes
Alberta RCMP officers threatened with COVID-19 contamination
April 7, 2020
Edmonton, Alberta
News release
Members of the Alberta RCMP have reported being threatened in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic. In the past several days, RCMP officers have reported being threatened to be coughed on by members of the public who claim to be COVID-19 positive.
"The threat to transmit the COVID-19 virus is a threat to the wellbeing and health of our members which is a criminal offence," said Assistant Commissioner John Ferguson, Alberta RCMP's Officer-in-Charge of Criminal Operations. "To actually carry out these threats would be an Assault on a Peace Officer."
Currently, there is only one recorded incident that has led to charges in Wetaskiwin, Alta. That individual was charged with assault on a police officer and failure to comply with the Public Health Act.
We want Albertans to know that their provincial police force is fully operational, and continues to ensure the safety and security of Albertans. These times are unprecedented, and we want Albertans to know we are prepared and ready to serve across this province. Members of the public are reminded to adhere to current public health guidelines with respect to slowing the spread of COVID-19.
For more information on COVID-19 and how Albertans can protect themselves and others, please visit www.Alberta.ca/COVID-19.
–30–
Contact information
Fraser Logan
Alberta RCMP Media Relations Manager
780-412-5261
---------- Original message ----------
From: "Bergen, Candice - M.P." <candice.bergen@parl.gc.ca>
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2022 18:35:02 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: No Harry Potter magic here, just the Hells
Angels -by Paul Palango
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
On behalf of the Hon. Candice Bergen, thank you for contacting the
Office of the Leader of the Official Opposition.
Ms. Bergen greatly values feedback and input from Canadians. We read
and review every incoming e-mail. Please note that this account
receives a high volume of e-mails. We reply to e-mails as quickly as
possible.
If you are a constituent of Ms. Bergen’s in Portage-Lisgar with an
urgent matter please provide complete contact information. Not
identifying yourself as a constituent could result in a delayed
response.
Once again, thank you for writing.
Sincerely,
Office of the Leader of the Official Opposition
------------------------------
Au nom de l’hon. Candice Bergen, nous vous remercions de communiquer
avec le Bureau de la cheffe de l’Opposition officielle.
Mme Bergen accorde une grande importance aux commentaires des
Canadiens. Nous lisons et étudions tous les courriels entrants.
Veuillez noter que ce compte reçoit beaucoup de courriels. Nous y
répondons le plus rapidement possible.
Si vous faites partie de l’électorat de Mme Bergen dans la
circonscription de Portage-Lisgar et que votre affaire est urgente,
veuillez fournir vos coordonnées complètes. Si vous ne le faites pas,
cela pourrait retarder la réponse.
Nous vous remercions une fois encore d’avoir pris le temps d’écrire.
Veuillez agréer nos salutations distinguées,
Bureau de la cheffe de l’Opposition officielle
---------- Original message ----------
From: Info <Info@gg.ca>
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2022 18:35:42 +0000
Subject: OSGG General Inquiries / Demande de renseignements généraux au BSGG
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Thank you for writing to the Office of the Secretary to the Governor
General. We appreciate hearing your views and suggestions. Responses
to specific inquiries can be expected within three weeks. Please note
that general comments and opinions may not receive a response.
*****
Nous vous remercions d'avoir écrit au Bureau du secrétaire du
gouverneur général. Nous aimons prendre connaissance de vos points de
vue et de vos suggestions. Il faut allouer trois semaines pour
recevoir une réponse à une demande précise. Veuillez noter que nous ne
donnons pas nécessairement suite aux opinions et aux commentaires
généraux.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: This message may contain confidential or privileged
information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are
not the intended recipient, you should not disseminate, distribute or
copy this email. Please notify the sender immediately if you have
received this email by mistake and delete it from your system.
AVIS IMPORTANT : Le présent courriel peut contenir des renseignements
confidentiels et est strictement réservé à l’usage de la personne à
qui il est destiné. Si vous n’êtes pas la personne visée, vous ne
devez pas diffuser, distribuer ou copier ce courriel. Merci de nous en
aviser immédiatement et de supprimer ce courriel s’il vous a été
envoyé par erreur.
---------- Original message ----------
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2022 15:34:46 -0300
Subject: Re: No Harry Potter magic here, just the Hells Angels -by Paul Palango
To: Maureeen.E.Doherty@rcmp-grc.
Sean.Mcgillis@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, "Brenda.Lucki"
<Brenda.Lucki@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, Angie.Boucher@rcmp-grc.gc.ca,
Brigitte.Voitel@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, "Nathalie.Drouin"
<Nathalie.Drouin@justice.gc.ca>, "Marco.Mendicino"
<Marco.Mendicino@parl.gc.ca>, mcu <mcu@justice.gc.ca>, PREMIER
<PREMIER@gov.ns.ca>, info <info@masscasualtycommission.
<info@gg.ca>, "Ian.Shugart" <Ian.Shugart@pco-bcp.gc.ca>, "ian.fahie"
<ian.fahie@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "Mark.Blakely"
<Mark.Blakely@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "warren.mcbeath"
<warren.mcbeath@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, washington field
<washington.field@ic.fbi.gov>, "fin.minfinance-financemin.fin"
<fin.minfinance-financemin.
<Frank.McKenna@td.com>, "Katie.Telford" <Katie.Telford@pmo-cpm.gc.ca>,
"kris.austin" <kris.austin@gnb.ca>, "michael.macdonald"
<michael.macdonald@
<Michael.Duheme@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "Sean.Fraser"
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MCC - DAY 63 - HRP CHIEF DAN KINSELLA
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Little Grey Cells
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David Amos
9 hours ago
In 2006 I ran against the ex cop from Springhill Murray Scott when he
was the Attorney General of Nova Scotia. This was done after raising a
lot of Hell about my concerns about the RCMP et al while running in
the elections of the 38th (Fundy Royal) and 39th (Fredericton)
Parliaments. Later in 2006 I ran in the provincial election in NB
while preparing to sue the Crown in Federal Court in Fredericton just
as I had promised to do during the aforementioned elections. Trust
that In had some interesting battles with the RCMP and many other
corrupt cops in Nova Scotia long before Mikey Savage and Murray Scott
became Mayors and the dude Kinsella came down here to be the latest
HRP Chief. However in 2004 a war began with the RCMP and the
Fredericton Police Force that all their past and present bosses are
well aware of particularly the MMC Commissioner Fitch
NO HARRY POTTER MAGIC HERE, JUST THE HELLS ANGELS
By Paul Palango
The deliberate murkiness about Gabriel Wortman’s associations with criminals in the years prior to his deadly killing sprees has led to much speculation about what he was really doing. The RCMP says it couldn’t find any serious organized crime connections in Wortman’s past. The Mounties couldn’t figure out where his money came from. The Mass Casualty Commission – the Spinquiry, as we call it – isn’t all that curious about any of it, either.
We don’t know precisely what Wortman was doing all those years before he killed 22 people on April 18 and 19, 2020, but several police sources have provided Frank Magazine with a potentially helpful road map.
It begins with Hogwarts.
We’re not talking about Harry Potter’s magic school, but rather Project Hogwarts, a joint-forces police operation that began in Nova Scotiain 2016.
The information about Project Hogwarts was provided to Frank Magazine by a group of current and former law enforcement officers who are familiar with aspects of what had taken place. One of them is Jimmy McNulty, the pseudonym we use for a source we’ve been talking to for this story since almost the beginning.
“In 2015, the Atlantic provinces started seeing a new stage in the proliferation of outlaw motorcycle gangs,” said Jimmy McNulty. “The Hells Angels were moving east, setting up in Charlottetown and Nova Scotia. The Red Devils, the Angels’ number one support club, set up shop in Musquodoboit Harbour. Another support club, the Gatekeepers MC(I remember those guys!-ed.) started opening up clubhouses around the province. They were supported by the Sedition MC and the Darksiders MC.”
It had been about 14 years since the Hells Angels had been driven out of Nova Scotia after a series of devastating police actions, and now the gang was coming back to town, not only in the Maritimes but also across the country. It was part of a strategy to control the illegal drug trade from coast to coast.
The RCMP was on the case. In fact, then Commissioner Robert Paulson had made taking down the Hells Angels his number one crime-fighting priority in Canada. RCMP projects were being initiated everywhere to counter the threat.
“People were noticing that the bikers were setting up shop and began to complain about it all,” McNulty said. “By the spring of 2016, police forces in Nova Scotia, led by the RCMP, tried to tackle the issue. A provincial biker enforcement unit called the CFSEU (Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit) was set up as part of RCMP federal operations. It was called Project Hogwarts.
“Our intention was to show the outlaw motorcycle gangs that we always control the grounds in our area,” McNulty said. “Our media mouth pieces used fear tactics to rouse the public about the dangers and we began our policing.”
Stories to that end, like one by Keith Doucette of The Canadian Press in late 2016, began sounding the alarm.
“It doesn’t sit well with me for them to be here because I know what they bring with them,” Doucette wrote, quoting RCMP Corporal Andy Cook. “I’ve seen them in action, and they bring violence with them and they bring drug trafficking with them.”
Stephen Schneider, a criminology professor at St. Mary’s University, told Doucette that the Hells Angels were looking to not only control the Canadian market but were likely also planning to set up an export market.
“They are certainly operating pill presses out in B.C. and perhaps they want to start setting up production facilities in the Maritimes so they actually can start exporting,” Schneider was quoted as saying.
Throughout 2016 and 2017, the pages of Frank were littered with biker stories, not only big-picture stuff like who was pulling the strings in Nova Scotia — full-patch London, Ont. HA David (Hammer) MacDonald was one of the top guys — but identifying the comings and goings of many of the smaller players on the ground here, from Annapolis County to Sydney.
Project Hogwarts was lead by RCMP Inspector Alfredo Bangloy. The “brains” of the operation was RCMP Sgt. Angela Hawryluk. Other members of the original team included then-Cpl. (now Sgt.) Mike Kerr, RCMP constables Chris Dodge, Scott Morrison, Peter Hurley and Colby Smith. Halifax Police officers on the team included Detective constables Steve Fairbairn, Nathan Cross, Curtis Osmond, Mike Carter, Cory Simmonds and Rebecca Trueman. A civilian working with the unit was Ellen Urquhart.
As the team conducted its surveillance, they became aware of then 47-year-old Robin Moulton, a high-profile Hells Angels Nomad from New Brunswick, making his presence known in Nova Scotia. The Nomads are elite Hells Angels members who have no set club house and are said to have earned their ranking by having killed for the club, although Moulton does not appear to have ever been charged with murder. Moulton’s lawyer, T.J. Burke did not respond to a request for comment on this or previous stories.
“We focused a lot on Moulton and even put a tracker on his vehicle,” McNulty said. “We followed him back to New Brunswick and were able to identify various real estate and businesses to which he was associated.
“The investigation was proceeding smoothly until the RCMP brass in New Brunswick caught wind that we had expanded into New Brunswick and were chasing bikers on their turf. They were pissed,” McNulty said. “They wanted to shut us down.”
Before that happened, a parallel operation to Hogwarts was set up in New Brunswick – Operation Trident.
The Nova Scotia CFSEU investigation is archived in the RCMP’s PROS record system under file number 2016-979629, McNulty said. The New Brunswick one is filed in the PROS system as 2016-1141937. Frank Magazine will be filing a request to see those files in due course.
In 2016, the outlaw-biker obsessed Commissioner Paulson put assistant commissioner Larry Tremblay in charge of the New Brunswick RCMP. A former member of the Canadian Navy, Tremblay joined the RCMP and rose through the ranks. Between 2004 and 2008 he was seconded to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. In Ottawa, Tremblay ran national security, financial crimes and serious organized crime investigations until 2014. He then moved into protective services, hobnobbing with the political elite, overseeing security for the Prime Minister, Governor General and Parliament, a tried-and-true steppingstone to the upper echelons of the RCMP.
Tremblay had no sooner hit the ground in New Brunswick when he began to put in place his own hand-picked team to take on the Hells Angels. Many of them were trusted French speakers, like then Staff-Sgt. Dustine Rodier, who took command of the Hampton, N.B. detachment, which was at the centre of the action. people he believed he could trust. McNulty said that many of the investigators from Hogwarts and Trident were rolled into two new operations: Projects J-Thunderstruckand J-Thunder.
Project J-Thunderstruck targeted Hells Angels Nomad Emery “Pit” Martin who was operating in Northern New Brunswick, along the border with Quebec.
Project Thunder’s focus was on his fellow Nomad Robin Moulton and the Red Devils, in particular, in Southern New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
It could be reasonably argued that creating large interprovincial operations made sense, considering that the entire population of the Maritimes is less than that of the city of Toronto.
The new investigators added to the investigation roster included Inspector Deanna Hill, Inspector Ron DeSilva, Staff Sergeants Bruce Reid, Sgt. Eric Lanteigne and Constable Julie Messina. Other key players included Fredericton Sgt. Mike Berry and Corporal Gerard Crispo. There were additional investigators from RCMP federal services, Fredericton Police, the Canadian Border Security Agency and other policing jurisdictions.
Here’s where the investigations started to get tricky.
“Any RCMP investigation of outlaw bikers requires an informant, someone the Mounties can control,” McNulty said.
In early 2017, he said, the team was told that the RCMP indeed had a new informant for Project Thunder.
“We were told that they had someone in the Truro-Portapique area who was tied into MS-13 and the Angels,” McNulty said. “The Mounties were hot on it.”
For those familiar with this ongoing saga, the El Salvadoran street gang Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 – “the most notorious street gang in the Western Hemisphere” – is linked to precisely one person in that area – Wortman’s friend and handyman Peter Alan Griffon.
The RCMP and the Spinquiry have all but made the 42-year-old Griffon invisible in spite of his obvious credentials as a witness that many in the public would like to see testify. Griffon was reportedly working on Wortman’s property in the hours leading up to the beginning of the massacres. He called Lisa Banfield’s phone on a number of occasions. Griffon also told police that he was the person who applied the RCMP decals to a decommissioned police car, creating the near perfect replica of an RCMP cruiser that Wortman used during his 13.5-hour spree. Griffon was never charged and his current whereabouts are unknown.
Parole Board of Canada documents describe the circumstances of his 2014 arrest as part of an investigation into MS-13 elements in Edmonton.
“In December 2014 police were conducting an investigation into a known Security Threat Group(STG). You came to their attention through this investigation and on the same day, police stopped a vehicle you were driving. The vehicle was searched and police found cash, a baggie with 3 grams of cocaine, a black backpack containing approximately 800 grams of cocaine, more cash, a score sheet, a portable hard drive and a camera. Police also located multiple cell phones in the vehicle.
“A short time later, police searched a warehouse where you were living. A number of items were found, including multiple firearms and ammunition, approximately 4 kilos of cocaine, $30,000 in cash and various paraphernalia used to buff, package, and traffic cocaine. You did not have a licence to possess any of the weapons and admitted to the police that you worked for a cocaine distribution operation and his job was to store, process, distribute, and transport cocaine to traffickers.”
Griffon languished in an Alberta jail for several years, partly because of a day parole violation, and eventually received a relatively short sentence of two years, eight months and nine days.
The obvious problem with Griffon being the sole RCMP informant was that in 2017 he was still imprisoned in Alberta and didn’t win his parole until August 2018. Once he was paroled, Griffon was allowed to move back to live in his parents’ house, which was located several hundred meters south of Wortman’s cottage at 200 Portapique Beach Road.
“We didn’t get a name on the informant, but I firmly believe it was Wortman and that he was the one who supplied the hydraulic pill presses to the Hells Angels. He fit the profile perfectly,” McNulty said.
The danger for the police, McNulty added, was that Wortman was also a criminal who might have been playing both sides at the same time.
Wherever the truth lies, McNulty said that there was likely a natural evolution of the relationship between Wortman and the RCMP. Wortman had family members who were Mounties and he associated with police officers on a regular basis. It likely all began with a simple relationship, exchanging information with police officers such as Halifax constable Barry Warnell and RCMP constable Greg Wiley, who visited Wortman 16 times until early 2017.
“The thing to note is that Wiley told the MCC that he had no notes about their conversations, which I find hard to believe. That’s not the way the Mounties roll. They report everything,” McNulty said. “What Wiley did say was that he would check in with Wortman about minor criminal activity in the community. That tells you something right there.”
McNulty and their group believe that as Project Thunder got off the ground, the RCMP relationship with Wortman moved to the next level – agent.
“That’s where the big money is,” McNulty said. “He would have had a professional handler at that point. I believe that Mountie was Constable Peter Hurley. That was his specialty. He was the kind of handler who promised the moon to potential informants and even more so to agents, but the RCMP is notorious for not following through.”
Once New Brunswick took over, Inspector DeSilva, then head of the Federal Serious and Organized Crime Unit, assumed the handler responsibility, McNulty said.
We may never know the true story. It would be a criminal offense for a Mountie to reveal the identity of an informant or agent, even after they are dead. The RCMP undercover manual instructs members to lie to everyone but a judge about such matters.
What we do know is what we are allowed to know.
When Moulton was arrested in August 2017, he was charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possession of a restricted firearm – a 9 mm Beretta. Not much considering all the effort when you think about it.
At the time of his arrest, CBC News asked then Fredericton Police Chief Leanne Fitchabout the investigation. She said: “Getting down into the weeds of any particular aspect of ongoing or past or present issues could jeopardize investigations and officer and public safety, so I won’t be commenting on any specifics.”
In 2018, Moulton received a rather short sentence of four years and six months.
There was a good reason why that happened, McNulty said.
“The agent was still in place and the RCMP couldn’t reveal everything they knew because that would point to the agent, so they left important things out so they could continue their investigation,” McNulty said. “It could be argued that there was a miscarriage of justice. Moulton’s lawyer wasn’t given all the facts about what the police had been doing.”
The twin projects concluded on April 9, 2020 with the announcement by Inspector DeSilva that two more Hells Angels member and two Red Devils had been arrested in New Brunswick over the previous seven weeks. DeSilva went out of his way to link the arrests to the previous ones of Moulton and Martin, three and two years earlier, respectively. In October, 2021 Martin received a seven-and-a-half year prison term for cocaine trafficking and acting in the benefit of a criminal organization.
“One of the most dangerous times is the end of an operation,” another police source said, echoing the thoughts of others. “By that time, the bad guys, especially the bikers, usually have a good idea about who the rat was.”
Nine days after the projects closed, Wortman began his rampage.
From the closed and dangerous world of outlaw bikers, I continue to hear stories about how Wortman was identified as a snitch and had his life threatened over what happened to Moulton, Martin and the others. No one yet will go on the record, which comes as no surprise, considering the, um, grave consequences.
As for the Mounties, they have their own Hogwarts thing – a magical ability to make controversies disappear into the wind.
In the spring of 2020, around the time of the massacres or shortly afterward, multiple sources say that Hurley was transferred to Ferryland, a small RCMP detachment on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland, about an hour’s drive south of St. John’s. In recent months, he has taken down his social media.
Others, such as Staff-Sgt. Reid were not so lucky. Shortly before 2 p.m. on October 25, 2019, he committed suicide at a baseball diamond in Rothesay, N.B. Reid suffered from typical psychological maladies affecting many police officers, but those who knew him closely say he was particularly distraught over his unheeded warnings about significant failings in the overall Hells Angels’ investigations. According to sources in New Brunswick, Reid believed a number of people – as many as four – had been murdered during the course of the investigation largely due to the RCMP’s shortcomings. Reid told people that he was worried sick about one of the agents that the force had employed. He strongly believed that the person was dangerous and unsuited to the task, but that no one would listen to him.
Fifteen months after the massacres, New Brunswick Attorney General Hugh Flemming took the unprecedented step of having Asst. Commissioner Tremblay removed from his posting. Flemming stated in a letter to RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki that he had “lost faith” in Tremblay, but gave no specifics about the roots of his dissatisfaction.
Nova Scotia’s underperforming boss, Assistant Commissioner Leona (Lee) Bergerman, was allowed to resign, as were a significant number of her underlings who were involved in the RCMP response to the massacres.
Before she retired Sgt. Hawryluk was the Mountie in charge of writing the informations to obtain search warrants in the post-massacres investigation. She became a vocal critic of Frank Magazine and me, to the point of lambasting a small store owner near where she lived over his selling my recent book, 22 Murders.
The other trick that the RCMP employs when faced with embarrassment is to promote those who might have failed and safely bury their possible transgressions in the upper echelons of the force. For example, Chief Superintendent Chris Leather was moved to a federal policing leadership role in Ottawa.
Staff-Sgt Rodier was promoted to Inspector and was running the Communicatons wing and 911 operations for the RCMP on the weekend of the massacres. After that debacle she received another promotion to Superintendent.
Superintendent Darren Campbell was given a bump to Chief Superintendent and placed in charge of operations in New Brunswick.
His new boss was now Assistant Commissioner Deanna Hill. She was a key player in Projects Thunder and Thunderstruck and afterward was placed in charge of the RCMP in Newfoundland.
“Tremblay put his people in place all over the Maritimes so that he could control things” McNulty said. “After he was pushed out, they brought back Deanna Hill to replace him. It’s just a continuation of what had been going on. You can’t help but think that they’ve put people in place to protect the untold story that scares the shit out of all of them.”
Next there is DeSilva. We don’t know yet what he really did – and the RCMP would never confirm or deny if he was Wortman’s handler -- but the Mounties obviously thought he did a terrific job. DeSilva was named Officer of the Year in 2017 and eventually was promoted to Superintendent. He is currently the officer in charge of the Codiac Detachment, essentially the municipal police for Moncton and its sister communities of Dieppe and Riverview. That’s where at least three of the four murders may have taken place.
One might think that the Mass Casualty Commission might be interested in poking around in all this, but one of its three Commissioners is Leanne Fitch who, to echo her CBC quote, is not the kind of person who likes “getting down into the weeds” of police investigations. The entire Commission appears to be laser focused on not getting to the bottom of the story, having avoided any potentially embarrassing exploration like that for about six months.
Its circular logic goes something like this: “We can’t explore anything that we haven’t been able to document, and we are not going to search for documents that we haven’t been told about because our mandate is not to find fault or cause trauma.”
Our mandate is quite the opposite.
If you can lend us a hand, please step forward and tell us what you know. The greater community would appreciate it very much.
https://thetarnishedbadgecom.godaddysites.com/f/the-media-and-the-murders-by-rick-howe
The Media and the Murders by Rick Howe
Most Nova Scotians today know the basics of what transpired April 18th and 19th, 2020 when something snapped in the mind of Dartmouth denturist Gabriel Wortman, who, dressed as an RCMP officer and driving a replica RCMP vehicle, launched a two day murderous rampage that left 22 Nova Scotians and one unborn child dead and the gunman himself killed by the RCMP.
It was the worst mass killing in Canadian history and it happened here at home. You might think getting the full story behind what happened would be a priority for the mainstream media. Sadly that has not been the case.
Even as the Mass Casualty Commission promises to get to the truth of what happened that tragic weekend, many Nova Scotians remain skeptical. There are some who believe the Commission is party to a cover-up and there never was any intention to reveal the whole truth about the actions of Gabriel Wortman and Canada’s national police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Critics believe this has become an effort to deflect from the relationship between them. Why isn’t Wortman’s criminal record and his association with a criminal motorcycle gang not part of the MCC inquiry? The critics believe there is an effort to cover-up the RCMP’s involvement or relationship with Wortman and his relationship with the Hells Angels. Was Gabriel Wortman a confidential police informant? Yet there is little effort by the mainstream media to get to the real story, beyond the pablum fed to them by the RCMP and the MCC.
I’ll give the Chronicle Herald a thumbs up for facts unearthed by its reporters in the thousands of documents dumped online by the Commission, seemingly an effort to bury pertinent details. The CBC’s Elizabeth McMillan has, through freedom of information requests, also revealed new details. However, it stops there.
The mainstream Nova Scotia media need to wake up to the very real possibilities this is much more than just one man’s two day killing spree. Serious questions need to be asked and revealed about events leading up to that weekend, the April weekend itself and the days and weeks following the murders. Where is CTV’s Rick Grant when you need him?
Sadly, those days of investigative reporters breaking news stories are long gone. Halifax’s all-news talk station has no reporters. When was the last time CTV, CBC or Global broke a major story? CTV for example, has done a reasonable job reporting details from the testimony before the Mass Inquiry Commission, but in the days following the mass killings, the mainstream media continued to accept the narrative presented by the RCMP even as details were few, including no accurate account of the number of people killed. Radio, television and newspaper reports often included verbatim RCMP news releases. It was left to the alternative media to carry the ball.
Thanks to online sites like Little Grey Cells and quasi-news organizations like the Halifax Examiner, and especially Frank Magazine, we began getting details not provided by the RCMP. We were beginning to realize the Mounties were holding key facts from the public.
Frank’s release of the 911 calls from Wortman’s victims and video from his take-down at the Big Stop in Enfield were major scoops. And Frank’s Paul Palango has been ruthless is revealing more details about Wortman, his criminal record and his association with motorcycle gangs and police. He has been a thorn in the side of the RCMP to the point where the RCMP’s media co-ordinator referred to Palango as “an asshole.” He alone has kept this story fresh in the minds of those who follow alternative media.
Then there’s the Lisa Banfield story. Wortman’s long-time companion was indeed a victim of abuse, but the MCC’s decision not to allow cross examination by lawyers for his victims because she was a victim was more evidence for those screaming cover-up. Any effort to question her about her story the night the massacres began was denied.
Why? She is a key witness who could provide more details about what might have set Wortman off and her story about escaping handcuffs while locked in the gunman’s RCMP replica police cruiser and spending the night huddled inside a log in the woods is sketchy at best. And again it is only Frank and Paul Palango who are asking questions about her claims. The Examiner’s Tim Bousquet bought into the MCC’s version of events and recently told a critic to “fuck off.”
Palango told me quite emphatically this is a story about the failure of police, but he thinks the mainstream media has lost interest. Palango says he has no doubt a cover-up is underway. He got support for his claims from an unlikely source, retired CTV anchor Steve Murphy. In two commentaries Murphy agreed there is more to this story than we are being told and suggested the so called conspiracy theorists were on the right track. Murphy also said Lisa Banfield should have been cross-examined by family lawyers. Outside of his comments, it has been crickets from the mainstream media.
”There is no longer a sense of pursuit,” Palango told me.
“It’s like the instinct had been bred out of reporters. No one is doing anything.”
So many questions need answers. Why did the Mounties call for help from the RCMP in New Brunswick? Why not seek aid from nearby police in Truro or Amherst? Why were highway blockades not set up? Why was a man with known ties to the Hells Angels and a neighbour and a friend of Wortman’s evacuated with his father and mother from their home in Portapique while four children whose parents had just been murdered huddled in one home for hours? Why was Constable Heidi Stephenson, basically a traffic cop, looking for a killer alone in her police car? Was the gunman a police confidential informant? What was Gabriel Wortman’s connection to the Hells Angels?
The truth is out there. But is the Nova Scotia media up to the task of unravelling the full story behind this terrible tragedy? Stay tuned. There’s clearly a lot more to learn.
--
Andrew Douglas
Frank Magazine
phone: (902) 420-1668
fax: (902) 423-0281
cell: (902) 221-0386
andrew@frankmagazine.ca
www.frankmagazine.ca
HEY, READERS: THIS IS ONE
STILL WAGGING THAT BRINK’S TALE
by Paul Palango
August 5, 2022
At a time when one might think that the Mass Casualty Commission has all but buried the notion that Gabriel Wortman was either an RCMP informant or, even worse, a paid agent, there are significant holes in the official story that suggest otherwise, according to informed sources.
One source, close to the operations of Brink’s Security, says they were aware of details of the March 30, 2020 transaction in which Wortman made an unusual and even unprecedented withdrawal of $475,000 in $100 bills from the Brink’s Security Depot at 19 Ilsley Avenue in the Burnside Industrial Park in Dartmouth. Security camera video shows Wortman entering the Brink’s lot, going into a “man room” in the building, signing a slip and leaving with a pouch containing the money.
“The authorization to release the money was signed by the New Brunswick RCMP,” insists the source.
The money that Wortman received came from the CIBC bank, but was routed through CIBC Intria, a subsidiary company that typically provides cash for ATM machines. That Wortman was able to have money delivered by CIBC Intria to Brinks for pickup was highly irregular and contravened all banking regulations, says a banking insider aware of the CIBC’s set up and protocols.
“The first rule of banking is that you count out the money in front of the customer,” the banking source said.
“It’s all done in person and is filmed. You can’t let $475,000 walk out the door just like that. That’s everyone’s year end bonus. The money is counted and signed for. If this was Wortman’s personal money, the bank would never send it through Intria and then have the customer pick it up in a pouch without counting it. There’s too much room for error. That just wouldn’t happen. What this all tells me is that they bent the rules for him because it likely wasn’t his personal money. There was something else going on there.”
Both sources are reluctant to go on the record at this time for what should be obvious reasons, but one might reasonably conclude that the three Commissioners running what we’ve taken to calling the Spinquiry would be eager to dig deep into these allegations.
Such is not the case.
Let’s examine what the Commission did and didn’t do.
The $475,000 cash withdrawal by Wortman has put the RCMP and its enablers on the defensive since it was first reported in June 2020 in MacLean’s magazine by me, Stephen Maher and Shannon Gormley.
In that and a follow-up story, we reported that informed police sources told us that the money pick up had all the hallmarks of an undercover operation. Subsequently, as reported in my recent book and in these pages, we have reported additional sourcing for similar transactions involving the RCMP in New Brunswick and in Western Canada.
In a June 4, 2020 public update RCMP Superintendent Darren Campbell made a statement that the RCMP could find “no evidence” of a special relationship between Wortman and the force.
More recently, Campbell provided a more forceful written statement to the MCC that was co-signed by Superintendent David Astephen, a former Halifax Mountie who is now director of RCMP National Covert Operations.
“There was never any special relationship of any kind between Gabriel Wortman and the RCMP. This includes the fact that Wortman was never a confidential informant nor a civilian police agent for the RCMP. Furthermore, a review of our departmental security records indicates that Wortman was never employed by, nor a volunteer with, the RCMP.
“The standard law-enforcement practise is not to release information about whether someone was, or was not, a confidential informant. This ‘neither confirm, nor deny’ policy is in keeping with the Supreme Court of Canada’s description of informer privilege as being of ‘fundamental importance’ and ‘an ancient and hallowed protection which plays a vital role in law enforcement’… If law enforcement regularly confirmed that certain individuals were not confidential informants while refusing to do the same for others, we would in effect undermine our legal obligation to protect informer privilege where it does exist. Such a practise would not only put confidential informants at risk of serious harm, but also discourage the important role that citizens who provide information to law enforcement play in the overall protection of public safety.”
As strong as the denial appears to be, it should come with a “buyer beware” warning. Campbell is now helping run New Brunswick’s “J” Division, where there is a seemingly impenetrable lid on what has been going on there over the past few years.
Even more interesting is the fact that one of Astephen’s predecessors as director of National Covert Operations was Superintendent John Robin.
Remember him? The husband of then Halifax County RCMP boss Janis Gray, Robin inserted himself into the Nova Scotia Investigation in April 2021. His sidekick in that ruse was former Mountie Mike Butcher, the husband of then Assistant Commissioner Leona (Lee) Bergerman.
Robin pretended to be assigned to the Mass Casualty Commission. He even had a business card proclaiming his make-believe office. That’s what covert operations does. It’s sneaky. Deceptive. And has a lot of tricks up its sleeve.
In spite of Campbell and Astephen’s declaration to the contrary, there is the very real possibility that the RCMP has merely doubled down on the big lie about Wortman. That would be the smart move for a desperate organization. After all, who would dare challenge them? Governments? The ocularly challenged mainstream and alternative media?
Under Part 31.1, section 3.3 of the RCMP’s covert operational manual this is stated: “The identity of a source must be protected at all times except when the administration of justice requires otherwise, i.e. a member cannot mislead a court in any proceeding in order to protect a source.”
Protecting the identity of covert sources — even after their death — is standard policing procedure.
The police can lie to anyone but a judge in a courtroom setting. The Inquiry is not a court. J. Michael MacDonald, the chief commissioner, is a former judge, not a sitting judge. The stakes for the RCMP and governments are enormous, if Wortman were found to have been working for the RCMP. There is good reason for the powers that be to mislead the public. That being the case, one would expect that they would show their every card to prove their position, but that is not what they have done.
Opinions masquerading as facts are dished out. There are gaping omissions. What should be there, just isn’t there.
In July, the Mass Casualty Commission dumped hundreds of pages of Wortman’s financial records and emails between him and the CIBC. It all looked to be thorough, indisputable and daunting. In those documents, Wortman was shown to be liquidating guaranteed investment certificates (GICs) because of his fear of a banking collapse due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the emails Wortman pleaded to have the monies sent to Brink’s. It was an unprecedented event and, as we pointed out in this magazine recently, hasn’t been repeated since.
“It was the first time, and I’ve worked there for three years, that we ever had an arrangement like that,” Brinks employee Tiyana Gillis said in a statement to the MCC.
“Yeah, it was, it was odd.”
It’s important to note that Wortman purchased the GICs in 2016 and 2017. The Commission and the RCMP, however, could not determine the origin of the funds that Wortman had used. Wortman’s own financial records showed a rather paltry income for his businesses, his personal accounts and those of Lisa Banfield, who made around $15,000 one year but drove a flashy Mercedes Benz.
In combing through Wortman’s records, forensic accountants working for the RCMP said they could not find the sources of Wortman’s money. That’s extremely curious for two reasons.
One: A quality banking source points out that notes on such matters are made and stored forever. And in many cases regular retail customers can access those notes.
Two: In Lisa Banfield, who fielded almost every phone call for Wortman and who shared a bank account with him, the RCMP and the MCC had a potential co-operating witness.
Did they ask her where the money came from?
There appears to be nothing in the public record about her describing the couple’s cash flow and its origins and no way to account for the $705,000 in cash that the RCMP found hidden outside Wortman’s burned-out cottage.
Nevertheless, MCC investigator Dwayne King offered this opinion in his report to the MCC:
“As a result of the writers reviewing all of the evidence currently available to the Commission, it is the opinion of the writer that:
l The $705,000 in cash in not the direct proceeds of street level drug trafficking;
l The $475,000 in cash picked up by the perpetrator from Brinks is not payment relating to a confidential informant;
l There is not sufficient information available to form an opinion on the original source of funds from the $475,000 in cash withdrawn by the perpetrator. There is also insufficient information available to form an opinion on the source of the $230,000 in currency that made up a portion of the $705,000 in currency that was seized.”
It should be noted that Toronto Police Department sources describe King as being part of then former Police Chief Bill Blair’s inner circle on the force before he moved on to politics. Blair was the federal Public Safety minister at the time of the massacres and was instrumental in setting up the Mass Casualty Commission and its wonky mandate.
Next comes the comment from the Brink’s-linked source about the New Brunswick RCMP authorizing the release of the monies.
One of the source documents we could not find in Wortman’s financial records released by the Mass Casualty Commission was the release he was filmed signing before being handed the $475,000.
In statements released by the MCC, Brink’s manager Marcel Briand does not address the issue of who authorized the transaction. He was not called as a live witness.
The link to the RCMP in New Brunswick is an important one and entirely unexplored by the MCC.
Police sources both within and outside the RCMP point to two long-term relationships with police officers that they found suspicious.
One was with Halifax Constable Barry Warnell, the longest serving police officer on the force. Until around 2007, Warnell was considered to be an undercover specialist who dabbled in real estate on the side. In a statement to the MCC, he said his relationship with Wortman was based on their mutual business interests. The MCC did not dig into the details.
RCMP Constable Greg Wiley also stated that he visited Wortman 16 times at his Portapique cottage between the years 2008 and 2017. Wiley had no notes of the visits and did not appear to file reports on the visits, which police sources say was odd. Wiley did, however, vaguely state that Wortman was passing on information about criminal activities in the area.
“I knew the value of having a few people in the community that you go to, and ironically, this is the irony of it, I was going to a guy, him of all guys and asking, um, ‘Is there anything that we sh-should know about or anyone — anyone that should be on our radar?’ And isn’t it ironic how things have turned out?” said Wiley.
To a policeman’s ear that sounds like Wortman was a budding informant.
“It’s very suspicious,” said a former senior Mountie.
“There are repeated visits and no records of what happened. That’s not the way it should go if everything is on the up-and-up.”
In 2017, Wiley stopped seeing Wortman. The date is interesting.
That year, New Brunswick RCMP boss, Assistant Commissioner Larry Tremblay, moved to take over all anti-outlaw biker operations in the Maritimes.
The question then becomes: Was it merely a co-incidence that Const. Wiley stopped dropping in on Wortman in 2017 or was there something deeper going on?
If Wortman was indeed an agent, he would have been working for not only the New Brunswick RCMP but possibly other law enforcement agencies, including Halifax police and the Canadian Border Security Agency, multiple sources speculate.
If his cover was blown, as some police sources believe it was, then Wortman was a man either on the run or headed into witness protection.
The opinion by Dwayne King dismissing Wortman’s involvement in criminal activities dovetails perfectly with the position taken by the MCC. It has shown no interest in the past almost six months of hearings delving into Wortman’s criminal past or possible connections to the RCMP or other police forces.
Finally, there is the source who is familiar with both CIBC and CIBC Intria operations.
In its document dump, the MCC did not release any supporting documents from Intria showing either the authorization for the release of the monies and other directions that it might have received.
“I don’t care what the Commission is saying,” said the CIBC-Intria source, “The story doesn’t work for me. Banks are fastidious about the rules. This transaction flew under the radar of FinTrac (Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada). Why would the bank do this for Gabriel Wortman and no one else? It doesn’t make sense. If Wortman could do it and get around FinTrac, every criminal would be doing this.”
A tricky story like this one is the inevitable result of the approach taken by the MCC in its proscribed, blinkered, cautious and politically correct mandate.
It conducts its proceedings in a “trauma-informed” fashion which means it doesn’t want to upset anyone – except for those, including Mounties, who refuse to toe the line and stick to the preferred narrative.
They can be savaged.
It’s not trying to find fault or assign blame, and then skips over inconvenient details and refuses to pin the tail on the donkey.
It bombs us with thousands of pages of predigested “interviews” and “statements” but lawyers are restricted from conducting proper cross examinations.
What we’re left with is the RCMP’s proven ineptitude, deceptions and lies, all wrapped in a stifling blanket of secrecy, which naturally fuels suspicion and skepticism.
The Mass Casualty Commission’s go-to response is that there is only one truth —their truth — and a fact is not a fact in its view unless it comes from the three Commissioners, the federal government and its bevy of lawyers, the RCMP or approved and vetted witnesses.
It has weaponized the concept of conspiracy theorism.
The Commissioner agreed with Lisa Banfield’s pricy lawyer, James Lockyer, that her being cross examined by anyone but Commission legal counsel would lead to a feeding frenzy of conspiracy theories. Imagine that. Banfield spent 19 years with an eventually murderous criminal but she’s too fragile to be challenged about what she did and didn’t know about him and his activities. That’s a novel definition of transparency, if ever there was one.
Those very same lawyers for the families were told that they can’t roam outside the established boundaries of the Mass Casualty Commission’s “foundational documents” because that, too, would invite conspiracy theories. No questions about touchy things like Wortman’s criminal history or questionable reports by the Serious Incident Response Team, the police lap, er, watchdog.
In spite of all their efforts and vigilance to control the narrative, a lingering and pervasive odor continues to rise from the Mass Casualty Commission.
There is a legal term whose meaning could be adapted to describe what has been going on.
Res Ipsa Loquitor — the thing speaks for itself.
--
Andrew Douglas
Frank Magazine
phone: (902) 420-1668
fax: (902) 423-0281
cell: (902) 221-0386
andrew@frankmagazine.ca
www.frankmagazine.ca
Campbell and Leather Mexican standoff by Paul Palango
Frank Magazine August 3, 2022
On Campbell and Leather, and the Mexican standoff brewing in the background at the MCC
By Paul Palango
RCMP Superintendent Darren Campbell apologized to the surviving families of the victims and spilled a tear or two in the process in his recent testimony before the Mass Casualty Commission inquiry.
He was followed for two days by Chief Superintendent Chris Leather, who conceded that he “missed the mark” on that terrible weekend of April 18 and 19, 2020 when demented denturist Gabriel Wortman killed 22 Nova Scotians in two rampages over a 13.5-hour-long period.
Wow! Contrition, finally, from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The important question: was it sincere, or was it all just part of the master RCMP playbook when it comes to dealing with uncomfortable controversies like this one?
Deny. Deflect. Lie. And, if none of that works, Cry.
What we’ve taken to calling the Spinquiry meandered for more than five months and 74 or so sessions to get to Campbell and Leather. By the time they did, it should be noted, it was the last week of July. Most people were likely kicking back and relaxing, tuned out to the impossible narrative presented by the “trauma-informed” commission.
Let’s look at what was likely going on by adding some valuable and needed context and history, notions to which our friends in the mainstream and alternative media seem to be acutely allergic when they report the news.
To fully appreciate what was going on, we must begin with the barrage of information that spewed out of the MCC pipeline in the days before Campbell and Leather were called upon.
Much of the previous two weeks was consumed with panel hearings and testimony about “gender-based and intimate-partner violence.” This was all orchestrated as a buildup to the unchallenged “testimony” of Wortman’s common-law wife, Lisa Banfield. As you may recall, lawyers for the family were not allowed to cross-examine her out of fear that digging for truth would only lead to more “conspiracy theories.” Yep, you heard that right.
Two things happened on Friday July 23, effectively the working day before Campbell was called the following Monday to give his evidence.
First, there was the damning testimony of two professors, Kristy Martire from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and Tess Neal from the University of Arizona. They concluded that the RCMP’s much touted “psychological autopsy” was nothing but bunk, mere public-relations window dressing that was devoured whole by the mainstream media back in the late spring of 2020 when it was first announced.
Lawyer and MCC critic Adam Rodgers questioned why Martire and Neal were hired for the job over local talent “perhaps done so for a fraction of the cost.”
Rogers also made some other interesting observations: “These experts were not contracted to provide the MCC with their own, or an alternate, forensic psychological assessment of the killer. There does not appear to be any plan to have one performed either. At least the MCC has not stated that one is forthcoming. So, we do not have access to the RCMP report, and will not receive an independent report analyzing the psyche of the killer. This seems like a shortcoming for an inquiry that, among other things, is trying to figure out why a person committed a mass shooting.
“Martire and Neal were highly critical of the RCMP assessment. They did not even know what to call it, noting that it also had elements of a retrospective behavioural profile and a retrospective risk assessment, both of which (in their view) are different than a psychological autopsy. The author of the report, Dr. Matt Logan, was noted not even to be a certified psychologist in Canada, despite referring to himself as a “criminal psychologist, a term which the experts testified does not exist in the field,” Rogers said.
The second thing that the MCC slipped by most of the public was a statement from a Mountie who had been hidden from public sight for more than two years. He is Superintendent Archie Thompson. He was the senior officer in command of Northeast Nova, where most of the murders occurred.
Thompson said he chose to stay home that night and not actively become part of the RCMP response at a command post.
“I wouldn’t want to do that and inject myself into the investigation… The rank, the colour of the uniform tends to have an impact when I show up,” Thompson said.
Now retired, Thompson was not called to testify or be cross examined about his version of events.
Superintendent Campbell came to testify under a bit of a cloud, having complained that Commissioner Brenda Lucki had tried to politically interfere in the Nova Scotia investigation on behalf of the prime minister and other politicos.
The RCMP has never laid a serious charge in any of it and has all but disappeared key witnesses such as ex-con Peter Griffon, Wortman’s biker-connected handyman and replica police car decorator.
Before he even testified, Campbell was given a sideways promotion and sent off to New Brunswick.
He returned to Nova Scotia and spent two days talking and answering some questions from lawyers at the MCC hearings. In the minds of some, he appeared to have acquitted himself well. Some people were moved by how Campbell had comported himself, right down to his tears of apparent contrition. Isn’t it amazing how a few well-timed tears can cause so many people to suspend their disbelief?
A former senior RCMP member sent me this message: “As a retired Superintendent…. I’d like to say some complimentary words on the Supt’s appearance and testimony before the commission. Is there somewhere I can post them?”
I told the former Mountie that there was more going on here than the media had let on.
“The thing you have to remember is that lawyers for the families were not allowed by the Commission to ask a variety of questions. The fact of the matter is that for 27 months the RCMP has stated that its response was near perfect and that it would do the same thing in a similar situation. Now, the force’s leaders are saying otherwise,” I wrote.
“Thanks, Paul,” he replied. “On 2nd thought, I’ll leave it alone.”
That’s the part that we are not allowed to see. While it might appear to be a normal process going on at the inquiry (spinquiry, shurely!-ed.), it is anything but. The lawyers for the families have strict limitations about what they can pursue.
When it came to questioning Campbell, two sources tell me that the lawyers were restricted from asking questions about charges that were laid against Lisa Banfield, which were subsequently dropped.
The lawyers were also prohibited by the MCC from asking Campbell about anything involving Banfield having spent the night in the woods around Portapique or her subsequent emergence at 6:30 am. No questions were allowed about her alleged abuse at the hands of Wortman.
They couldn’t ask questions about the role played by other RCMP officers, one of them being then Inspector Dustine Rodier, who was promoted to Superintendent recently. Rodier was in charge of the 911 Centre and other communications and was previously the commanding officer at the Hampton, N.B. detachment.
The family’s lawyers also could not broach the subject of investigations by the Serious Incident Response Team into the shoot-up of the Onslow Belmont firehall or the killing of Wortman at the Irving Big Stop on the morning of April 19th. Security video from that incident appears to refute the testimony of two RCMP officers before the MCC, but the Commission ruled that line of inquiry was out of bounds.
As one lawyer put it: “Unless we had an actual documentary evidence on which to base a question, we couldn’t ask. Otherwise, it was promoting ‘conspiracy theories.’ “
That in a nutshell explains the ultimate purpose of the MCC’s innovative use of what it calls “foundational documents.”
Every witness called to testify has been essentially vetted through previous interviews which are captured in the foundational documents. Over the past six months, these documents have either been dribbled out or released in a torrent, all but overwhelming anyone trying to absorb the information contained within them.
Meanwhile, things get left out here and there, like the supporting documents for much of the financial information about Wortman that was recently released.
Where are they and why weren’t they available before Campbell and Leather were questioned?
Sometimes the witnesses in the foundational documents have been called to appear in the public forum, many other times not. The only rhyme or reason about who gets called seems to be whether their version of events serves the larger intended narrative that is desired by the powers to be.
The last witness to be called before the MCC’s summer break was Chief Supt. Leather.
As previously reported in Frank Magazine, Leather is not a natural Mountie. He started his career in York Region outside of Toronto and was one of the rare Mounties to join the force as an officer. He came to Nova Scotia in September 2019 as the Criminal Operations Officer (CROPs). His previous assignment in federal policing – Project Busbar – an international drug smuggling investigation in Ontario had ended in a fiasco. As is so often the case in the RCMP, he was nevertheless promoted and moved to a distant posting – Nova Scotia – in a page ripped out of the Catholic Church personnel manual.
Looking surprisingly gaunt and nervous, one couldn’t help but get the impression that Leather is a man who knows he is under the gun. The chosen scapegoat.
From the time we first met him during the RCMP press conference alongside Assistant Commissioner Lee Bergerman, Leather did not make a great first impression. He seemed unsure of himself, nervous, almost sick to his stomach.
In the few statements he made after the massacres, he was clearly following the RCMP mantra – deny, deflect etc.
Leather was on the record as defending the RCMP response. He said that he would not change a thing about it. He would rely on Twitter. He wouldn’t put out a public alert.
Now, he appears to have undergone a bit of a change of heart.
Like Campbell, Leather has supported the political interference story involving Commissioner Lucki which, considering his current posting in federal policing in Ottawa – shoulder to shoulder with Lucki – was either extremely unwise or part of a larger charade.
Leather protested during the hearing that he was compelled to be “honest,” but it’s too early to tell what actually is going on. From day one Leather genuinely appears to have been in the dark about what was really going on with Wortman before and during the rampages. Maybe he actually was.
There is an important clue, however, that there is more intrigue than first meets the eye.
Leather appeared a few days earlier in Ottawa to testify before the House Committee on Public Safety and Security, which is eager to probe the Lucki political interference story.
He brought along with him his personal lawyer.
Why does Chris Leather need his own lawyer when it’s quite clear that the federal Crown is prepared to spend tens of millions of dollars to defend all the Mounties?
Does Leather see himself as the designated scapegoat?
A source in Ottawa, close to the committee, said that Leather’s lawyer has indicated that he is holding an “insurance policy” for his client.
This has turned into a Quentin Tarantino-esque Mexican standoff, right here in Nova Scotia. Just about everyone is armed with a lawyer and aiming their metaphorical guns at everyone else.
You’d think that, before long, something’s gotta give.
https://thetarnishedbadgecom.godaddysites.com/f/the-lockyer-factor-by-paul-palango
The Lockyer Factor By Paul Palango
FRANK MAGAZINE JULY 20, 2022
THE LOCKYER FACTOR
by Paul Palango
If you haven’t already noticed, something truly strange happened on the road to finding the truth about what actually happened before, during and after the Nova Scotia massacres of April 18 and 19, 2020.
Lisa Banfield and her $1,200-an-hour lawyer, James Lockyer, appear to have been controlling the show from the very beginning. The Lockyer factor as a not-so-hidden influencer on the news is important to address.
On April 19, 2020, just hours after Lisa Banfield arrived at the door of Leon Joudrey, she contacted lawyer Kevin von Bargen in Toronto to seek advice and help. The lawyer, a friend of Wortman and Banfield, put her onto James Lockyer.
From that moment forward, her every word has been treated as gospel. By the RCMP, by the Mass Casualty Commission, and by the compliant media. Even those who believe her to have been a victim of domestic violence at the hands of Gabriel Wortman (and she clearly was), but also believe she might know more than she’s letting on — and that what she knows might be important to the inquiry’s purported fact-finding mission — have been dismissed as cranks and conspiracists.
According to financial documents released by the inquiry after Lisa Banfield’s dramatic “testimony” on July 15, Banfield reported earnings of $15,288 one recent year.
That would cover a day, plus HST, of Lockyer’s valuable time.
He has been on the clock for 27 months or so, his fees covered by taxpayers through the Mass Casualty Commission.
Banfield’s finances, such as they are, would have been a juicy subject for any curious lawyer, but she wasn’t allowed to be cross examined. Too traumatic, remember.
Questions abound.
Why did Banfield hire an esteemed criminal lawyer? Did no one let her in on her status as a victim?
Lockyer seems like an exotic choice. He made his name from the early ‘90s onward representing men wrongly convicted of murder, such as Stephen Truscott, David Milgaard, Robert Baltovich and Guy Paul Morin. Morin was falsely accused of killing 9-year-old Christine Jessop in Queensville, Ontario, near Toronto.
I was the city editor at the Globe and Mail then. I was intimately involved in the story which was being covered by one of our reporters, Kirk Makin. I even at one point had a meeting with Makin and Morin’s mother, who protested his innocence. At the time I was wrongly unmoved and skeptical of her story, but Makin persisted in digging into it and worked closely with Lockyer. Morin was eventually exonerated. Kudos to all. I hope I got smarter after that.
Lockyer, who lived a block away from me in Toronto, went on to become a champion of the wrongly convicted and started the Innocence Project to work on their behalf. Among his many clients was Rubin (Hurricane) Carter, the former boxer who was wrongly convicted of three murders in Paterson, NJ and was the inspiration for the 1976 Bob Dylan epic Hurricane.
In recent years, Lockyer and his Innocence Project became involved in the case of Nova Scotia’s Glenn Assoun, who was wrongly convicted in 1999 of murdering Brenda Way in Dartmouth four years earlier.
Lockyer worked along with lawyers Sean MacDonald and Phil Campbell to have Assoun’s conviction overturned after he had spent 17 years in prison. In the final years of that campaign an activist reporter named Tim Bousquet took on the Assoun case and wrote about it extensively for years, channeling and publicizing what the lawyers and their investigators had uncovered. To his credit Bousquet uncovered some things on his own.
Perhaps the biggest revelation in the Assoun case was that the RCMP had destroyed evidence and had mislead the courts about Assoun.
Bousquet joined with the CBC in 2020 and produced a radio series, Dead Wrong, about the case. As Canadians should know well by now, both the federal and Nova Scotia governments ignored what the Mounties were caught doing.
Fast forward to the Nova Scotia massacres and the news coverage of it.
As I wrote in my recent book, 22 Murders: Investigating the Massacres, Cover-up and Obstacles to Justice In Nova Scotia, I had a brief fling with Bousquet and his on-line newspaper, The Halifax Examiner, in 2020.
After publishing an opening salvo in Maclean’s magazine in May 2020, I couldn’t find anyone else interested in my reporting, which challenged the official narrative. Maclean’s writer Stephen Maher introduced me to Bousquet. I knew nothing about either him or the Halifax Examiner.
Over the next several weeks, Bousquet published five of my pieces and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Examiner punched well above its weight. Its stories were being picked up and read across the country. Although I had never met the gruff and the usually difficult-to-reach Bousquet, I thought we had a mutual interest in keeping the story alive as the mainstream media was losing interest in it and were moving on. At first blush, Bousquet seemed like a true, objective journalist determined to find the truth. Hell, I was even prepared to work for nothing, just to get the story out.
“I have to pay you, man,” he insisted in one phone call.
I felt badly taking money from him. I had no idea what his company’s financial situation might be, and I didn’t want to break the bank. He said he could pay me $300 or so per story and asked me to submit an invoice, which I did.
Soon afterward, a cheque for $1500 arrived. I cashed it and then my wife Sharonand I sent him $500 each in after tax money as a donation. Like I said, I didn’t want to be a drag on the Examiner.
Once we made the donations, Bousquet all but ghosted me. He was always too busy to take my calls or field my pitches. I couldn’t tell if I was being cancelled or had been conned.
I began to replay events in my head and the one thing that leapt out to me was Bousquet’s defensive and even dismissive reaction to two threads I thought were important and newsworthy which I wanted to write about.
One was the politically sensitive issue of writing objectively about all the women in the story. There were female victims who had slept with Wortman, which I though was contextually important in understanding the larger story. Bousquet had made it clear that he wasn’t eager for me to write about that. (Be trauma informed!-ed.)
There was also the fact that female police officers were at the intersection of almost every major event that terrible weekend. The commanding officer was Leona (Lee) Bergerman. Chief Superintendent Janis Graywas in charge of the RCMP in Halifax County. Inspector Dustine Rodierran the communications centre. It was a long list that will continue to grow.
I believe in equal pay for work of equal value but that comes with equal accountability for all. I am gender neutral when evaluating performance.
But it didn’t take psychic powers to detect that gender politics was a big issue with Bousquet – his target market, as it were.
I really wanted to write about Banfield. My preliminary research strongly suggested to me her story was riddled with weakness and inconsistency, but nobody in the mainstream media would tackle it. Hell, for months her name wasn’t even published anywhere outside the pages of Frank magazine.
Bousquet’s position was that Banfield was a victim of domestic violence and that her story, via vague, second-hand and untested RCMP statements, was to be believed. No questions asked.
“You’re going to need something really big to convince me otherwise,” Bousquet said in one of our brief conversations.
Afterward, I did have one face-to-face meeting with him in Halifax. He actually sat in the back seat of our car because Sharon was in the front. We met up because I wanted to tell him about sensitive leads I had which, if pursued, would show that the RCMP had the ability to manipulate its records and destroy evidence in its PROs reporting system.
Considering his involvement in the Assoun case, where that very issue was at the heart of Assoun’s exoneration, I thought Bousquet would be eager to pursue the story.
As I looked at him in the rearview mirror, I could sense his discomfort and lack of interest. So could Sharon who was sitting beside me.
“That was weird,” she said.
Bousquet got out of the car, walked away and disappeared me for good.
It was all so inexplicable. If this was the new journalism that I was experiencing, there was something terribly wrong with it. I couldn’t believe that a journalist like Bousquet who aspired to be a truthteller felt compelled to distill every word or nuance through a political filter first or even something more nefarious.
Later, while writing for Frank Magazine, I broke story after story about the case. Incontrovertible documents showing that the RCMP was destroying evidence in the Wortman case. The Pictou County Public Safety channel recordings showing for the first time what the RCMP was doing on the ground during the early morning hours of April 19. The 911 tapes. The Enfield Big Stop videos. That Lisa Banfield lied in small claims court on two different occasions.
Bousquet either ignored or ridiculed most of those stories in the Halifax Examiner or on his Twitter feed, as if I were making the stories up.
For the most part throughout 2021, the Halifax Examiner didn’t even bother covering the larger story. There was no discernible legwork or energy being expended on it. And regarding the stories he did publish, I began to see a pattern. Naïve readers might have thought that he was digging for new stories when in fact the Examiner was merely mining court documents and uncritically reporting what resided therein. It was all stenography, straight from the mouths of the RCMP and the MCC.
Time and time again, “new” stories would be published which were essentially no different from previous ones but all with the same theme: as Ray Daviesof the Kinks put it in his masterpiece Sunny Afternoon: “Tales of drunkenness and cruelty.”
The Monster and the Maiden stories, as I called them, reinforced in readers' minds that Banfield was a helpless victim controlled by a demonic Wortman, a narrative that, upon reflection, seemed to perfectly suit Lockyer’s strategy.
For 27 months the RCMP and the Mass Casualty Commission played along, sheltering Banfield as part of their “trauma-informed” mandate, even though there was plenty to be skeptical about her story.
Banfield was beside Wortman for 19 years during which he committed crime after crime. She was reportedly the last person to be with Wortman and her incredible, hoary tale of escape should have been enough to raise suspicions about her.
From the moment she knocked on Leon Joudrey’s door she has been treated as a victim, which to this day astounds law enforcement experts and others who have monitored the case. Many observers, including but not limited to lawyers representing the families of the victims, have serious questions about how Banfield spent the overnight hours of April 18/19. Not helping matters is that she doesn’t appear to have been subjected to any level of normal criminal investigation or evidence gathering. Her clothing wasn’t tested. There were no gunshot residue tests. She wasn’t subjected to a polygraph or any other credible investigative procedure.
Enter James Lockyer of the Innocence Project.
The puppetification of Tim Bousquet
As we moved closer to July 15, the day that Banfield would be “testifying” at the MCC, it is also important to consider what Bousquet and his minions were doing at the Halifax Examiner.
In the weeks and days leading up to Banfield’s appearance, the Examiner’s reporting and Bousquet’s Twitter commentary began to take on an illogical, more contemptuous and even hostile approach to anyone who refused to buy into the RCMP and Banfield’s official version of events.
In a series of hilariously one-sided diatribes, Bousquet lashed out at Banfield’s critics whom he wouldn’t name. Some (likely us) were “bad-faith actors.” He decried the “witchification” of Banfield.
He tweeted: “And just to repeat for the 1000th time: I’ve read transcripts of interviews with dozens of people. I’ve read three years’ of emails between Banfield and GW. I’ve read her Notes app. There is ZERO evidence that she had any prior knowledge (of) GW’s intent to kill people…. The notion that she is ‘complicit’ is pulled out of people’s diarrhetic asses and plain old-fashioned misogyny.”
Oh, misogyny, that old woke slimeball to be hurled at any male who dare be critical of any female.
One can’t help but sense the deft hand of a clever and experienced defence lawyer running up the back of Bousquet’s shirt. That makes sense.
Look at what has transpired on Lockyer’s watch.
Since April 2020, the RCMP and the federal and provincial governments have wrapped themselves in a single, vague and inappropriate platitude – trauma informed.
The original selling point was that this approach would prevent the surviving family members from being further traumatized by the ongoing “investigation” into the massacres.
What actually happened is much more sinister.
Lisa Banfield was coddled and protected the entire time not only by the authorities but also by Lockyer’s friends in the mass media. The wily old fox had the opportunity to mainline his thoughts into the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, the CBC, CTV and Global News who unquestioningly lapped it up.
At the MCC, Banfield wasn’t allowed to be cross examined because, as Mr. Lockyer so eloquently explained, cross examination would just lead to more conspiracy theories.
That’s rich.
The search for the truth will only confuse matters -- it’s better for everyone that Banfield spin a much-rehearsed tale without challenge. That’s clearly a $1,200-an-hour lawyer speaking.
The whole world has gone topsy-turvy. The Mass Casualty Commission, the federal and provincial governments, the RCMP and Lisa Banfield are now aligned on one side of the argument.
Meanwhile, the re-traumatized families find themselves agreeing with this magazine and other skeptics and critics.
The final irony is that the Halifax Examiner bills itself as being “independent” and “adversarial.” It seems to be neither these days.
In the end, Tim Bousquet’s approach to covering the Nova Scotia Massacres is, to use his words: “Dead Wrong.”
Paul Palango is author of the best selling book 22 Murders: Investigating the massacres, cover-up and obstacles to justice in Nova Scotia (Random House).
--
Andrew Douglas
Frank Magazine
phone: (902) 420-1668
fax: (902) 423-0281
cell: (902) 221-0386
andrew@frankmagazine.ca
www.frankmagazine.ca
On 8/24/22, David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
> https://davidraymondamos3.
>
> Tuesday, 23 August 2022
>
> Trudeau appointed Brenda Lucki Commissioner Designate of the Royal
> Canadian Mounted Police effective April 16, 2018
>
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?
>
>
> MCC - DAY 62 - COMM BRENDA LUCKI -DAY 2
> 1,013 views
> Streamed live 12 hours ago
> Little Grey Cells
> 3.47K subscribers
> 1 Comment
>
> David Amos
> David Amos
> Welcome to the Circus
>
>
>
> https://www.facebook.com/
>
> Frank
>
> FRANK is a magazine of news, satire, opinion, politics and humour.
> Nova Scotia's own scandal sheet.
>
> Page · Magazine
> Nova Scotia · Halifax, NS, Canada
> (902) 420-1668
> tips@frankmagazine.ca
> FrankMagazine.ca
>
>
> Frank
> August 24th 2022 ·
> The deliberate murkiness about Gabriel Wortman’s associations with
> criminals in the years prior to his deadly killing sprees has led to
> much speculation about what he was really doing. The RCMP says it
> couldn’t find any serious organized crime connections in Wortman’s
> past. The Mounties also couldn’t figure out where his money came from.
> The Mass Casualty Commission – the Spinquiry, as we call it – isn’t
> all that curious about any of it, either.
> We don’t know precisely what Wortman was doing all those years before
> he killed 22 people on April 18 and 19, 2020, but several police
> sources have provided Frank Magazine with a potentially helpful road
> map.
> It begins with Hogwarts.
> We’re not talking about Harry Potter’s magic school, but rather
> Project Hogwarts, a joint-forces police operation that began in Nova
> Scotia in 2016...
> No Harry Potter magic here, just the Hells Angels
> -by Paul Palango
> https://www.frankmagazine.ca/.
> (for subscribers only)
> May be an image of text that says 'HELLS ANGBLS MC'
>
>
> 52 Comments
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Enjoy Ya Bastards
>
> https://davidraymondamos3.
>
>
> https://www.frankmagazine.ca/
>
>
> FRANK Magazine
> READ PDF
> FRK-001-0816.jpg
> Listen to the 911 calls from the night of April 18, 2020 in Portapique HERE
> FRANK AUDIO
> Read our full coverage of the April 18/19 mass shooting HERE
> ARTICLES
>
> by Eddie Corwallis
>
> Ladies and gentleman of the jury, Frank Magazine is under attack.
> This fact will please many people. It will surely displease others.
> But what's at stake here is larger than Frank. It's larger than editor
> Andrew Douglas. Larger than investigative reporter Paul Palango.
> In these insufferable post-truth, sensitive times newsroom suits (and
> pantsuits!-ed.) must decide whether or not they are going to report
> the news, or continue to stand on the sidelines acting as amateur
> grief counselors.
> Like it or not Frank is not in the grief counseling business. We are
> in the news business.
>
> The same business in which Nancy Waugh's CBC Nova Scotia, Dan
> Appleby's CTV Atlantic and Rhonda Brown's Global Halifax used to
> dabble. And still do, on occasion.
>
> But not nearly often enough.
> Frank is not the enemy. Big-boy (and big-girl!-ed.) journalists
> practicing big-boy (and big- girl!-ed.) journalism are a friend to
> anyone who values openness and transparency in society.
> Portapique has left a painful scar which will not go away anytime soon.
> There is no closure. Closure is a media-created myth. It is a
> springboard designed to spin more mainstream media snot & bawl
> stories. And it goes on.
> But getting answers to Portapique is hard work. It's not as easy as
> throwing together a teary-eyed Elizabeth Chiu story or a Heidi
> Petracek outrage story.
> The fact is you can, if you choose, and apparently a lot of you have
> chosen to do just that, cobble together a list of criticisms to be
> laid at the feet of Frank. But not seeking the truth will never appear
> on that list. The day it does appear on that list is the day I bail.
> So, it's an uphill battle. It's tough sledding. And it's
> mind-numbingly frustrating, chiseling truth out of Portapique.
> Frank and Paul Palango are not only up against the Queen's Cowboys,
> this country's notoriously resourceful national police force let me
> remind you, but also up against the misplaced self-righteous
> indignation so commonplace in the age of the send button.
> Frank Magazine was founded 34 years ago, long before the age of the send
> button.
>
> Frank has never demanded the acquiescence of readers. We've only ever
> attempted to inform, and to make them think.
>
> As for our critics?
> Let me say that at times, we may have the tendency to overestimate the
> intelligence of the average Nova Scotian. It sometimes feels that for
> every sentient being among us, there are three Tom Taggarts lurking in
> our midst.
> Time, and history, will tell.
> The cold, hard truth of the matter is that RCMP, incompetence,
> inaction, call it what you will, cost lives in this province. Whether
> it be 10 or 12, 15 or 16, pick a number, go up and down the list for
> yourself. There are people who did not have to be murdered.
> It's what investigative reporter Paul Palango has been saying for many
> months. RCMP negligence and incompetence cost the lives of Nova
> Scotians who should be with us today. It's that simple.
> The evidence, as unearthed by Palango and published by Frank, proves
> overwhelmingly that the RCMP has been lying not only to the victims'
> family but to all Canadians since the get-go.
> So, Frank Magazine, by way of 911 calls, and gas station video, puts
> the best evidence forward. It's what you would do in a court of law.
> It's what you do in the court of public opinion. Put your best
> evidence on the table.
> The backlash is as misguided as it is predictable.
> "Sensationalism!" come the great cries from the heart. From those who
> wouldn't know true sensationalism if it jumped up and bit their noses
> off.
> Let me say, having been in the room, I assure you that nothing was
> thrown up on the Frank website on a whim. And the decision, Frank's
> editor will never make a better one, by the way, wasn't made in a day.
> But in this contemporary Theatre of the Absurd, imagine what's playing:
> Bank robbers rob bank/Bank tellers chase bank robbers across
> street/Bad guys get away/Bank tellers hung in public square for
> jaywalking.
> Paul Palango wants to know why Nick Beaton's pregnant wife, Kristen,
> their unborn child, and many others had to die, and who precisely is
> responsible for a cavalcade of blunders, oversights and negligence.
> Palango, who doesn't operate by press release, is kicking over the
> rocks looking for the truth. If families want a legacy for their loved
> ones, let truth be that legacy.
> And guess what?
> Palango, Frank, et al are dragged off to Calvary for crucifixion by
> the indignant mob dressed in their self-righteous, virtue-signaling
> jammies.
> And the news media is only too happy to provide the nails.
> Reporters who may have forgotten, if they were ever taught, how
> journalism is supposed to work outside the comfort of their low
> stress, Oprah Winfrey softball newsrooms.
> eddie@frankmagazine.ca
>
> https://www.cbc.ca/news/
>
> Nova Scotia justice minister dismisses RCMP assertion of chronic
> underfunding
> Brad John says inquiry shows RCMP have an 'internal issue' that
> doesn't involve the province
>
> Keith Doucette · The Canadian Press · Posted: Aug 24, 2022 5:44 PM AT
>
>
> Brad Johns is Nova Scotia's Justice minister. (Robert Short/CBC)
>
> Nova Scotia's justice minister isn't buying assertions by senior
> Mounties at the inquiry into the 2020 mass shooting that his province
> chronically underfunds the RCMP for policing services.
>
> Brad Johns told reporters Wednesday that problems within the RCMP that
> are surfacing in testimony at the inquiry don't involve the province.
>
> "I think any issues that are there are more around staffing with the
> RCMP," the minister said. "It's an internal issue."
>
> Johns said that any time the RCMP has come forward with concerns
> around resourcing the province has "stepped up."
>
> "The province is funding the RCMP according to the provincial
> agreement and what the RCMP does with those funds is somewhat up to
> the RCMP," he said.
>
> Johns pointed out that Commissioner Brenda Lucki told the inquiry that
> staffing and recruitment is a challenge for the force across the
> country. Those RCMP staffing problems, he said, have led to vacancies
> in Nova Scotia.
> Past complaints about resources
>
> "If they are not filling them (positions) my question is, why?"
>
> Johns said he didn't know how many positions are unfilled in the
> province but added he didn't believe the shortage is "significant."
>
> "There's nothing there that's setting off an alarm for me," he said.
>
> This week, Lucki and retired commander of the Nova Scotia RCMP, Lee
> Bergerman, told the inquiry that the force will require more resources
> because the costs of policing continue to rise.
>
> During her testimony, Bergerman noted that the RCMP has long
> complained of not having enough staff or equipment to adequately
> police Nova Scotia. She said there needs to be a conversation with the
> provincial government and the public about expectations for policing.
>
> Meanwhile, Johns said new provincial standards for policing should be
> ready by late fall.
>
> RCMP officials have told the inquiry that they have been waiting for
> new updated standards before engaging with the Nova Scotia Justice
> Department's process for auditing the performance of police services
> in the province.
>
> "We don't anticipate that there would be anything there that would be
> onerous to municipal policing or the RCMP," the minister said.
>
> CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
>
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?
>
>
>
>
> MCC Day 60 – Commissioner Lucki Cross Examination Revelations
> 104 views
> Aug 24, 2022
> Adam Rodgers
> 710 subscribers
> In my piece yesterday, I noted how Comm. Lucki was able to answer
> questions at length, and with reference to specific details, in
> contrast to the answers of the RCMP’s NS Commanding Officer Lee
> Bergerman. Today we saw a different version of that kind of answer
> from Comm. Lucki. She was still answering at length, but was more
> often unable to provide details on elements of the RCMP operations,
> which are all ultimately under her command.
>
> Many of the questions were relating to operational details of the RCMP
> response to the events of the mass casualty, as well as the RCMP’s
> ability to adopt recommendations made by previous outside reviews from
> third parties. Comm. Lucki seemed less aware than one might expect
> from the leader of the RCMP about the progress of recommendations from
> the review of the death of Colten Boushie, and the MacNeil Report from
> the Justin Bourque shootings in Moncton.
>
> This is all important for two reasons. One is simply that the MCC is
> going to be making a series of recommendations, and the RCMP will no
> doubt be the subject of many of those. So, it is helpful for the
> Commissioners to know whether the RCMP has a good or bad track record
> of incorporating recommendations, and if the track record is bad, what
> oversight protections must be in place to ensure that the forthcoming
> recommendations will be implemented in a timely fashion.
>
> The second reason is to examine the culture of the RCMP itself to
> determine whether it is an organization that is capable of contrition
> and change, and thus can be trusted to regain the trust of Nova
> Scotians and remain as the de facto provincial police force.
>
> There was a mixed bag of examples from Comm. Lucki’s testimony today
> that leave the answers to those questions unclear.At the end of her
> testimony, Comm. Lucki did apologize on behalf of the RCMP, for the
> force not being all that the public expected and needed. This was not
> an emotional apology from the Commissioner, but (in part because it
> was not emotionally driven) struck me as sincere.
>
> The MCC Commissioners had a few questions for Comm. Lucki.
> Commissioner Fitch asked about how it was possible to change the RCMP
> without changing the culture, to which Comm. Lucki said that the
> culture is changing, and that change is being measured in detail
> through such things as detailed annual member surveys, code of conduct
> case analysis, and exit interviews with departing members.
>
> Commissioner Stanton asked about the structure of contract policing,
> and noted that there have been reports, such as the 2007 Brown Report,
> as well as more recent efforts in BC and Alberta to reassess their
> contract relationship with the RCMP. Comm. Lucki was quite interested
> in this area of questioning, and was naturally determined to persuade
> us that contract policing was sustainable, with some reform.
>
> The biggest news of the day may have come in the final moments, when
> Chief Commissioner MacDonald implored Commissioner Lucki to be a
> courageous champion for whatever recommendations emerge from the MCC
> process. One might see this as a sign that the MCC is not going to
> recommend that the province form their own police force and end the
> contract with the RCMP. That may be reading too much into the remarks,
> but that is how they sounded to me.
>
> The MCC will be back tomorrow with Halifax Regional Police Chief Dan
> Kinsella. He will be testifying starting at 2pm.
>
>
>
> https://www.cbc.ca/news/
>
> RCMP commissioner apologizes to families of victims in mass shooting
> 'I don't think we were what you wanted us to be or what you needed us to
> be'
>
> Haley Ryan · CBC News · Posted: Aug 24, 2022 9:34 AM AT
>
>
> RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki testifies at the Mass Casualty
> Commission inquiry on Wednesday. In April 2020, Gabriel Wortman,
> dressed as an RCMP officer and driving a replica police cruiser,
> murdered 22 people. (The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan)
>
> The head of the RCMP has apologized to the families of the Nova Scotia
> mass shooting victims for not being "what you needed us to be."
>
> Commissioner Brenda Lucki testified Wednesday for the second day
> before the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) leading the inquiry into the
> April 2020 massacre where a gunman killed 22 people across the
> province.
>
> "I want to apologize for the RCMP — but in such a way that we weren't
> what you expected us to be, and I don't think we were what you wanted
> us to be or what you needed us to be," Lucki said Wednesday after a
> day of questions from various lawyers for victims' families and other
> participants.
>
> "I wish that we could have been more."
>
> Ryan Farrington, who has attended most of the public hearings this
> summer, had been hoping for an apology from Lucki.
>
> Farrington's mother, Dawn Madsen, and stepfather, Frank Gulenchyn,
> were killed by the gunman in their Portapique home the night of April
> 18, 2020.
>
> Ryan Farrington speaks with media outside the public inquiry into the
> Nova Scotia mass shooting in Halifax on Aug.24, 2022. His mother Dawn
> Madsen and stepfather Frank Gulenchyn were killed by the gunman in
> their Portapique home the night of April 18, 2020. (Shaina Luck/CBC)
>
> Before the apology, Farrington expressed dissatisfaction with Lucki's
> remarks to the families.
>
> "If there were mistakes, you know, admit there were mistakes," he
> said. "That's all we want, and we're not getting that."
>
> Lucki described the mass shooting as a "heinous" event that "nobody
> could predict," and one driven by a highly motivated person. She said
> that's why it's especially important that the inquiry "get this right,
> and we have to make sure those recommendations will help us."
>
> She committed to acting on the recommendations that come from the Mass
> Casualty Commission and tracking that progress — the timing of which
> all depends on funding.
>
> The commissioner also apologized to Nova Scotia RCMP members for not
> being on the ground in the province in the days following the
> shootings as they dealt with the aftermath of losing 22 people —
> including their colleague Const. Heidi Stevenson.
>
> When asked how she can assure Nova Scotia Mounties they will be better
> prepared and safe to serve in a similar situation, Lucki said none of
> the 22 victims should die in vain. Whether it's new training, tactical
> changes, improving relationships with other forces to improve
> responses, Lucki said she is "completely committed to that."
>
> Lucki also apologized specifically to the family of victim Gina
> Goulet, who was killed in her Shubenacadie home the morning of April
> 19, 2020.
>
> Families cleaning crime scenes shouldn't have happened, Mountie
> tells mass shooting inquiry
>
> Gina Goulet, final victim of N.S. shootings, 'nervous' gunman
> might come to her home
>
> Jane Lenehan, the lawyer for Goulet's family, outlined for Lucki how
> Goulet's daughter Amelia Butler wasn't given an official next-of-kin
> notification or told where her mother's body had been taken. Lenehan
> also said the Butlers were left to find evidence in Goulet's home,
> including a bullet casing, after a forensic team had examined it.
>
> "I'm sorry that happened," Lucki said, adding that she couldn't
> imagine what that would be like.
>
> She said while there may have been many reasons why this happened, "it
> really doesn't matter because we didn't meet the family's
> expectations."
>
> Joshua Bryson, who represents the family of victims Peter and Joy
> Bond, asked Lucki on Wednesday why it took RCMP almost 19 hours to
> search the homes on Cobequid Court in Portapique where the Bond and
> Tuck families had been killed.
>
> Lucki said her team was taking notes on all issues brought up during
> the inquiry, like information gaps between officers on the ground and
> at the command post during the shootings. She committed to addressing
> those issues.
>
> "I can't explain what happened in the past. The only thing I can do is
> go forward and say, 'You know what, I have a commitment to you, I have
> a commitment to the families — we will look into this,'" Lucki said.
>
> Lucki promised to champion the inquiry's final report to see that
> changes are made. (The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan)
>
> Bryson and other lawyers asked Lucki about a pattern of issues that
> arose during the response to the mass shooting that had already been
> highlighted in reports coming out of Moncton, N.B., and after Colten
> Boushie's death, including how in the case of Cobequid Court, the
> Mounties weren't following the national policies on securing crime
> scenes.
>
> Although Lucki said she has a "10,000-foot" view on things within the
> RCMP and might not know exactly what changes have come from various
> inquiries or where progress has been made, she's confident that people
> within her national team are aware of issues arising from the mass
> shooting.
>
> "Where it's at, who is specifically being tasked, I can't give you
> those details," Lucki said. "I just know that we're not sitting back."
>
> When Bryson asked whether Lucki had appointed her own board of inquiry
> into the Nova Scotia mass shooting response, which she has the power
> to do, Lucki said no.
>
> Talking to reporters outside the inquiry Wednesday, Bryson said it's
> disappointing that many things that went wrong during the shooting
> response still haven't been formally looked at by the RCMP or included
> in cadet training.
>
> CBC's full coverage of the inquiry into the Nova Scotia mass casualty
>
> "It's 28 months after this mass casualty event, which is too long for
> the families to wait for some answers. There's issues that they could
> remedy right away with a proper review," Bryson said.
>
> Since the April 2020 tragedy, many families that lost loved ones have
> been outspoken about their loss of trust in the national police force.
>
> "What I'm taking away is that there's absolutely no leadership in the
> RCMP," Farrington said after listening to Lucki's testimony Wednesday.
>
> "How do you not know what's going on? You're the commissioner, the top
> officer running the show, and you don't know what is going on? That's
> not acceptable."
>
> Lucki said some "high-risk" issues have seen changes already, like new
> policies with the emergency alert system, but some are being worked on
> while the RCMP waits for the final report from the Mass Casualty
> Commission.
>
> The inquiry has heard the RCMP has reviews into the shooting response
> either proposed, paused or drafted, but Bryson said it's "very
> disheartening" to see no overall review has been done.
>
> Another family lawyer gave Lucki the opportunity to comment on the
> entire Nova Scotia Mountie response during the shootings, including
> the lack of Portapique containment, officers shooting at a civilian at
> the Onslow fire hall, and the hours-long delay in sending out a public
> warning about the mock RCMP car.
>
> Lucki said any situation "can always be better."
>
> Twenty-two people died on April 18 and 19, 2020. Top row from left:
> Gina Goulet, Dawn Gulenchyn, Jolene Oliver, Frank Gulenchyn, Sean
> McLeod, Alanna Jenkins. Second row: John Zahl, Lisa McCully, Joey
> Webber, Heidi Stevenson, Heather O'Brien and Jamie Blair. Third row
> from top: Kristen Beaton, Lillian Campbell, Joanne Thomas, Peter Bond,
> Tom Bagley and Greg Blair. Bottom row: Emily Tuck, Joy Bond, Corrie
> Ellison and Aaron Tuck. (CBC)
>
> Many victims' families represented by Patterson Law indicated to their
> legal team they didn't want generic responses from Lucki, according to
> lawyer Mike Scott.
>
> "I think what the clients would like from the commissioner, and it
> would apply to everyone that we've heard from the RCMP, is to simply
> be candid, be direct, be transparent and tell them the truth," Scott
> said.
>
> "It's difficult to believe that changes are going to be made when it
> appears clear that the powers that be are more interested in
> deflecting rather than actually addressing the issue."
>
> Scott said many of the families appreciated when Supt. Darren Campbell
> apologized to families last month, and promised to "do better."
> Following those remarks, Farrington stopped Campbell in the hallway to
> thank him, but said he wasn't prepared to forgive the entire force.
>
> At the end of Lucki's testimony Wednesday, Commissioner Michael
> MacDonald passionately urged her to be a "champion" of their final
> recommendations when the report is delivered in November.
>
> Michael MacDonald, chair, flanked by fellow commissioners Leanne
> Fitch, left, and Kim Stanton, speaks during the Mass Casualty
> Commission inquiry into the mass murders in rural Nova Scotia on April
> 18/19, 2020, in Halifax on Wednesday, March 9, 2022. (Andrew
> Vaughan/Canadian Press)
>
> He said a lot of work has gone into the inquiry, and they need
> "courageous leaders" to make sure changes are implemented, and honour
> the pain Nova Scotians and Canadians still feel.
>
> "lf people push back — be they politicians, be they colleagues — push
> back harder, please, for the memory of the people who lost their lives
> and for all the suffering," MacDonald said.
>
> Lucki said she takes her role extremely seriously, and understands the
> inquiry's final report offers an opportunity to make change for not
> just the RCMP, but the entire policing community in Canada.
>
> "We will champion this — you have my commitment," Lucki said.
> Lucki concerned she didn't get wellness report for months
>
> Lawyers also asked Lucki about why she never knew that a wellness
> report on senior RCMP officers and civilians in Nova Scotia even
> existed until months after it was finished.
>
> Former assistant commissioner Lee Bergerman, the retired commanding
> officer for the Nova Scotia Mounties, told the commission earlier this
> week the wellness report only came about after she asked RCMP
> headquarters for immediate mental health support for the senior ranks.
>
> Instead, the final report from Quintet Consulting was finished in
> September 2021 and outlined how participants felt about underlying
> issues with national RCMP leadership, policing partners in municipal
> forces, the shooting response and criticisms of Bergerman's own
> performance.
>
> Lucki said she didn't learn the report was completed until this June,
> when she was getting ready to visit Nova Scotia for the first time
> since the mass shooting to attend Const. Heidi Stevenson's memorial
> service and town hall with local Mounties.
>
> It was "deeply concerning" that she only found out about the report so
> late, Lucki said, and asked Deputy Commissioner Brian Brennan and the
> new human resources officer why it hadn't been brought to her.
>
> "It's completely surprising," Lucki said.
> Police following commission request on uniforms
>
> Although Brennan and the HR official had "no idea" how the report fell
> through the cracks, Lucki said she got an update last month that an
> action plan is in place for tackling the wellness report
> recommendations.
>
> Family lawyers have asked that federal justice counsel produce that action
> plan.
>
> Lucki has worn civilian clothing while appearing before the Mass
> Casualty Commission in Halifax, similar to other police officers
> who've testified.
>
> A spokesperson for the commission confirmed that they have requested
> no officers wear uniforms while testifying.
>
> "This was out of concern for anyone following our proceedings who may
> remain troubled by the perpetrator's abuse of the uniform during the
> mass casualty," they said Wednesday in an email.
>
> On Tuesday, Lucki was questioned by the commissioners and Patterson
> Law, which represents most victims' families.
>
> Lucki, Blair tell Commons committee they didn't meddle in N.S.
> shooting probe
>
> High-ranking Mountie insists Lucki pressed him about releasing gun
> details after N.S. shooting
>
> She repeated her stance that a controversial April 28, 2020, phone
> call where she mentioned upcoming Liberal gun legislation to the Nova
> Scotia RCMP team was just her explaining why the public safety
> minister and federal government were interested in details of the
> gunman's firearms.
>
> On Wednesday, Lucki said she hasn't reached out to explain her side of
> things yet to the senior Nova Scotia RCMP officers and civilians who
> were in the phone call because she did not want to impact their
> testimony at the inquiry or House of Commons committee.
>
> But Lucki suggested steps should taken to create a document for
> incoming federal ministers, politicians and RCMP commissioners that
> lays out what political interference is, and what to know about
> interacting with police agencies.
>
> Lucki also told the public inquiry how the mass shooting in Nova
> Scotia became a "turning point" where residents lost faith in the
> Mounties, following criticism from the public and media which
> spiralled into low morale across the force's ranks and a spike in
> retirements or transfers.
>
> With files from Catharine Tunney and Angela MacIvor
> CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
>
>
> ---------- Original message ----------
> From: Info <Info@gg.ca>
> Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2022 16:10:48 +0000
> Subject: OSGG General Inquiries / Demande de renseignements généraux au
> BSGG
> To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>
> Thank you for writing to the Office of the Secretary to the Governor
> General. We appreciate hearing your views and suggestions. Responses
> to specific inquiries can be expected within three weeks. Please note
> that general comments and opinions may not receive a response.
>
> *****
>
> Nous vous remercions d'avoir écrit au Bureau du secrétaire du
> gouverneur général. Nous aimons prendre connaissance de vos points de
> vue et de vos suggestions. Il faut allouer trois semaines pour
> recevoir une réponse à une demande précise. Veuillez noter que nous ne
> donnons pas nécessairement suite aux opinions et aux commentaires
> généraux.
>
>
> IMPORTANT NOTICE: This message may contain confidential or privileged
> information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are
> not the intended recipient, you should not disseminate, distribute or
> copy this email. Please notify the sender immediately if you have
> received this email by mistake and delete it from your system.
>
> AVIS IMPORTANT : Le présent courriel peut contenir des renseignements
> confidentiels et est strictement réservé à l’usage de la personne à
> qui il est destiné. Si vous n’êtes pas la personne visée, vous ne
> devez pas diffuser, distribuer ou copier ce courriel. Merci de nous en
> aviser immédiatement et de supprimer ce courriel s’il vous a été
> envoyé par erreur.
>
>
>
> ---------- Original message ----------
> From: Ministerial Correspondence Unit - Justice Canada <mcu@justice.gc.ca>
> Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2022 16:10:47 +0000
> Subject: Automatic Reply
> To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>
> 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.
>
>
>
> ---------- Original message ----------
> From: Premier <PREMIER@novascotia.ca>
> Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2022 16:10:35 +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: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
> Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2022 13:10:28 -0300
> Subject: Paul Palango no doubt understands why the wishes of
> Commissioner Brenda.Lucki's minions are being obliged me today
> To: Maureeen.E.Doherty@rcmp-grc.
> Sean.Mcgillis@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, "Brenda.Lucki"
> <Brenda.Lucki@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, Angie.Boucher@rcmp-grc.gc.ca,
> Brigitte.Voitel@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
> <Nathalie.Drouin@justice.gc.ca
> <Marco.Mendicino@parl.gc.ca>, mcu <mcu@justice.gc.ca>, PREMIER
> <PREMIER@gov.ns.ca>, info <info@masscasualtycommission.
> <info@gg.ca>, "Ian.Shugart" <Ian.Shugart@pco-bcp.gc.ca>, "ian.fahie"
> <ian.fahie@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "Mark.Blakely"
> <Mark.Blakely@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "warren.mcbeath"
> <warren.mcbeath@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
> <washington.field@ic.fbi.gov>, "fin.minfinance-financemin.
> <fin.minfinance-financemin.
> <Frank.McKenna@td.com>, "Katie.Telford" <Katie.Telford@pmo-cpm.gc.ca>,
> "kris.austin" <kris.austin@gnb.ca>, "michael.macdonald"
> <michael.macdonald@
> <Michael.Duheme@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
> <Sean.Fraser@parl.gc.ca>, "rick.perkins" <rick.perkins@parl.gc.ca>,
> "stephen.ellis" <stephen.ellis@parl.gc.ca>,
> MaryAnne.McCormick@rcmp-grc.
> <Kevin.leahy@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>
> Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>, paulpalango
> <paulpalango@protonmail.com>, NightTimePodcast
> <NightTimePodcast@gmail.com>, nsinvestigators
> <nsinvestigators@gmail.com>, "Pineo, Robert" <rpineo@pattersonlaw.ca>,
> andrew <andrew@frankmagazine.ca>, Newsroom
> <Newsroom@globeandmail.com>, oldmaison <oldmaison@yahoo.com>,
> "martin.gaudet" <martin.gaudet@fredericton.ca>
> <Roger.Brown@fredericton.ca>, "blaine.higgs" <blaine.higgs@gnb.ca>,
> Bill.Hogan@gnb.ca
>
> However Rick Perkins and his parliamentary cohorts really should check
> out Seamus Gorman's YouTube channel and read what local folks have een
> posting in the chats for years N'esy Pas???
>
>
> Enjoy the MCC Circus today
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?
>
> On 8/24/22, David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>> However Rick Perkins and his parliamentary cohorts really should check
>> out Seamus Gorman's YouTube channel and read what local folks have een
>> posting in the chats for years N'esy Pas???
>>
>>
>> Enjoy the MCC Circus today
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?
>>
>> MCC - DAY 62 - COMM BRENDA LUCKI -DAY 2
>> 102 watching now
>> Started streaming 3 hours ago
>> Little Grey Cells
>> 3.47K subscribers
>>
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: "McGillis, Sean" <Sean.McGillis@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>
>> Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2022 15:33:07 +0000
>> Subject: Automatic reply: I just called Commissioner Brenda.Lucki's
>> office again Correct???
>> To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>>
>> Please be advised that I am currently out of the office this week.
>>
>> In my absence, please contact Maureen Doherty as the acting Executive
>> Director.
>> Maureeen.E.Doherty@rcmp-grc.
>>
>>
>> ******************************
>> Veuillez noter que je suis actuellement absent du bureau cette semaine.
>>
>> En mon absence, merci de contacter Maureen Doherty qui est la
>> Directrice Executive par interim.
>> Maureeen.E.Doherty@rcmp-grc.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: "Perkins, Rick - M.P." <rick.perkins@parl.gc.ca>
>> Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2022 15:32:02 +0000
>> Subject: Automatic reply: I just called Commissioner Brenda.Lucki's
>> office again Correct???
>> To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>>
>> Thank you for contacting the office of Rick Perkins, MP. Your e-mail
>> has been received and we will be in touch should your inquiry require
>> a response.
>>
>> Due to the high volume of e-mails our office receives, please note
>> that constituents of South Shore-St. Margaret's will receive priority.
>> If your concern is urgent, please call our Bridgewater office at
>> 902-527-5655, or our Barrington office at 902-637-8611.
>>
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>> Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2022 12:31:56 -0300
>> Subject: Re: I just called Commissioner Brenda.Lucki's office again
>> Correct???
>> To: Mark.Flynn@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, Sean.Mcgillis@rcmp-grc.gc.ca,
>> "Brenda.Lucki" <Brenda.Lucki@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>,
>> Angie.Boucher@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, Brigitte.Voitel@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
>> "Nathalie.Drouin" <Nathalie.Drouin@justice.gc.ca
>> <Marco.Mendicino@parl.gc.ca>, mcu <mcu@justice.gc.ca>, PREMIER
>> <PREMIER@gov.ns.ca>, info <info@masscasualtycommission.
>> <info@gg.ca>, "Ian.Shugart" <Ian.Shugart@pco-bcp.gc.ca>, "ian.fahie"
>> <ian.fahie@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "Mark.Blakely"
>> <Mark.Blakely@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "warren.mcbeath"
>> <warren.mcbeath@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
>> <washington.field@ic.fbi.gov>, "fin.minfinance-financemin.
>> <fin.minfinance-financemin.
>> <Frank.McKenna@td.com>, "Katie.Telford" <Katie.Telford@pmo-cpm.gc.ca>,
>> "kris.austin" <kris.austin@gnb.ca>, "michael.macdonald"
>> <michael.macdonald@
>> <Michael.Duheme@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
>> <Sean.Fraser@parl.gc.ca>, "rick.perkins" <rick.perkins@parl.gc.ca>,
>> "stephen.ellis" <stephen.ellis@parl.gc.ca>,
>> MaryAnne.McCormick@rcmp-grc.
>> <Kevin.leahy@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>
>> Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>, NightTimePodcast
>> <NightTimePodcast@gmail.com>, nsinvestigators
>> <nsinvestigators@gmail.com>, "Pineo, Robert" <rpineo@pattersonlaw.ca>,
>> andrew <andrew@frankmagazine.ca>, Newsroom
>> <Newsroom@globeandmail.com>, oldmaison <oldmaison@yahoo.com>,
>> "martin.gaudet" <martin.gaudet@fredericton.ca>
>> <Roger.Brown@fredericton.ca>, "blaine.higgs" <blaine.higgs@gnb.ca>,
>> "Bill.Hogan" <Bill.Hogan@gnb.ca>
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: "Duheme, Michael" <Michael.Duheme@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
>> Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2022 15:16:09 +0000
>> Subject: Automatic reply: I just called Commissioner Brenda.Lucki's
>> office again Correct???
>> To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>>
>> Prenez note que je serai absent du 11 au 28 aout. le 8 Aout.
>> 11 au 21, Sean Mcgillis agira à titre de S/Comm intérimaire
>> (Bur,613-843-5914, cell 613 808-0554)
>> 22 au 28, Com/Adj Mark Flynn agira à titre de S/Comm. interimaire,
>> (Cell.613-301-4934, Off. 613-843-5105.)
>> ******************************
>> August 11th -29th, I will be away from the office.
>> 11th- 21st. Sean McGillis will be acting D/Commr. (Bur,613-843-5914,
>> cell 613 808-0554)
>> 22nd-28th, A/Comm. Mark Flynn will be acting D/Commr.
>> Cell.613-301-4934, Off. 613-843-5105.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: "Voitel, Brigitte" <Brigitte.Voitel@rcmp-grc.gc.
>> Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2022 15:16:09 +0000
>> Subject: Automatic reply: I just called Commissioner Brenda.Lucki's
>> office again Correct???
>> To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>>
>> Please note I will be away from the office until September 2nd
>> inclusively.
>> Please contact MaryAnne.McCormick@rcmp-grc.
>>
>> ******************************
>>
>> Veuillez noter que je serai absente du bureau jusqu'au 2 septembre
>> inclusivement.
>> Veuillez contacter MaryAnne.McCormick@rcmp-grc.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: Ministerial Correspondence Unit - Justice Canada
>> <mcu@justice.gc.ca>
>> Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2022 15:15:32 +0000
>> Subject: Automatic Reply
>> To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>>
>> 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.
>>
>>
>> I heard this lady's voicemail today
>>
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: postmaster@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
>> Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2022 11:16:09 -0400
>> Subject: Undeliverable: I just called Commissioner Brenda.Lucki's
>> office again Correct???
>> To: david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>>
>> Delivery has failed to these recipients or groups:
>>
>> Angie.Boucher@rcmp-grc.gc.ca<
>> The email address you entered couldn't be found. Please check the
>> recipient's email address and try to resend the message. If the
>> problem continues, please contact your email admin.
>>
>>
>> Diagnostic information for administrators:
>>
>> Generating server: ACPIC-S4180.natl.rcmp-grc.gc.
>>
>> Angie.Boucher@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
>> Remote Server returned '550 5.1.10 RESOLVER.ADR.
>> Recipient not found by SMTP address lookup'
>>
>> Original message headers:
>>
>> Received: from ADR-S3144.natl.rcmp-grc.gc.ca (10.4.16.243) by
>> ACPIC-S4180.natl.rcmp-grc.gc.
>> (version=TLS1_2, cipher=TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_
>> 15.1.2507.9; Wed, 24 Aug 2022 11:16:08 -0400
>> Received: from ADR-S4553.dmz.rcmp-grc.gc.ca (172.16.22.23) by
>> ADR-S3144.natl.rcmp-grc.gc.ca (10.4.16.243) with Microsoft SMTP Server
>> (version=TLS1_2, cipher=TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_
>> 15.1.2507.9
>> via Frontend Transport; Wed, 24 Aug 2022 11:16:08 -0400
>> Received: from ADR-FE02.rcmp-grc.gc.ca (172.16.8.137) by
>> ADR-S4553.dmz.rcmp-grc.gc.ca (172.16.22.23) with Microsoft SMTP Server
>> (version=TLS1_2, cipher=TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_
>> 15.1.2507.9; Wed, 24 Aug 2022 11:16:04 -0400
>> Received: by ADR-FE02.rcmp-grc.gc.ca (Postfix, from userid 600)
>> id 4MCV8k4NTKz9PC0C; Wed, 24 Aug 2022 11:17:23 -0400 (EDT)
>> Received: from adr-s1925a-E1.dmz.rcmp-grc.gc.
>> (adr-s1925a-E1.dmz.rcmp-grc.
>> by ADR-FE02.rcmp-grc.gc.ca (Postfix) with ESMTPS id
>> 4MCV821s5Pz9PC0M;
>> Wed, 24 Aug 2022 11:17:22 -0400 (EDT)
>> Received-SPF: Pass (mail.rcmp-grc.gc.ca: domain of
>> david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>> permitted sender) identity=mailfrom; client-ip=209.85.167.49;
>> receiver=mail.rcmp-grc.gc.ca;
>> envelope-from="david.raymond.
>> x-sender="david.raymond.
>> x-conformance=spf_only; x-record-type="v=spf1";
>> x-record-text="v=spf1 ip4:35.190.247.0/24 ip4:64.233.160.0/19
>> ip4:66.102.0.0/20 ip4:66.249.80.0/20 ip4:72.14.192.0/18
>> ip4:74.125.0.0/16 ip4:108.177.8.0/21 ip4:173.194.0.0/16
>> ip4:209.85.128.0/17 ip4:216.58.192.0/19 ip4:216.239.32.0/19
>> ~all"
>> Received-SPF: None (mail.rcmp-grc.gc.ca: no sender authenticity
>> information available from domain of
>> postmaster@mail-lf1-f49.
>> client-ip=209.85.167.49; receiver=mail.rcmp-grc.gc.ca;
>> envelope-from="david.raymond.
>> x-sender="postmaster@mail-lf1-
>> x-conformance=spf_only
>> Authentication-Results: mail.rcmp-grc.gc.ca; spf=Pass
>> smtp.mailfrom=david.raymond.
>> smtp.helo=postmaster@mail-lf1-
>> verified) header.i=@gmail.com; dmarc=pass (p=none dis=none)
>> d=gmail.com
>> IronPort-SDR:
>> bcDzUj6WHyXU2zeqyBSnmTOUyTCNm2
>> ogkYwhUvDFqk39Dy5rxVzFAJgCY4/
>> X-ExtLoop1: 1
>>
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: Info <Info@gg.ca>
>> Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2022 15:15:39 +0000
>> Subject: OSGG General Inquiries / Demande de renseignements généraux au
>> BSGG
>> To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>>
>> Thank you for writing to the Office of the Secretary to the Governor
>> General. We appreciate hearing your views and suggestions. Responses
>> to specific inquiries can be expected within three weeks. Please note
>> that general comments and opinions may not receive a response.
>>
>> *****
>>
>> Nous vous remercions d'avoir écrit au Bureau du secrétaire du
>> gouverneur général. Nous aimons prendre connaissance de vos points de
>> vue et de vos suggestions. Il faut allouer trois semaines pour
>> recevoir une réponse à une demande précise. Veuillez noter que nous ne
>> donnons pas nécessairement suite aux opinions et aux commentaires
>> généraux.
>>
>>
>> IMPORTANT NOTICE: This message may contain confidential or privileged
>> information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are
>> not the intended recipient, you should not disseminate, distribute or
>> copy this email. Please notify the sender immediately if you have
>> received this email by mistake and delete it from your system.
>>
>> AVIS IMPORTANT : Le présent courriel peut contenir des renseignements
>> confidentiels et est strictement réservé à l’usage de la personne à
>> qui il est destiné. Si vous n’êtes pas la personne visée, vous ne
>> devez pas diffuser, distribuer ou copier ce courriel. Merci de nous en
>> aviser immédiatement et de supprimer ce courriel s’il vous a été
>> envoyé par erreur.
>>
>>
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: Premier <PREMIER@novascotia.ca>
>> Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2022 15:15:31 +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
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 8/24/22, David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>>> ---------- Original message ----------
>>> From: Brenda Lucki <brenda.lucki@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>
>>> Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2018 17:20:25 -0400
>>> Subject: Re: David Coon and his buddy Chucky Leblanc know Attorney
>>> General Serge Rousselle told the CBC political panel the topic should
>>> not be discussed.because I am about to put my matter before the
>>> Supreme Court (Transferred - Mutation à Ottawa)
>>> To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
>>>
>>> Bonjour - Hello
>>>
>>> I am currently in the midst of transferring to Ottawa, and will be
>>> checking my e-mails periodically. If you require assistance in regards
>>> to Depot, please contact Cpl. Roshan Pinto at 639-625-3577 or Nicole
>>> Yandon at 639-625-3066. If you require anything in regards to the
>>> Commissioner' office, please contact Angie Boucher at 613-8436183 or
>>> Brigitte Voitel 613-843-4590.
>>>
>>> Je suis actuellement en train de préparer ma mutation à Ottawa; je
>>> vérifierai mes courriels à l'occasion. Pour toute demande urgente
>>> concernant la Division Dépôt, veuillez communiquer avec le cap. Roshan
>>> Pinto au 639-625-3577 ou avec Nicole Yandon au 639-625-3066. Pour toute
>>> demande en lien au bureau du commissaire, veuillez communiquer avec
>>> Angie Boucher au 613-8436183 ou avec Brigitte Voitel au 613-843-4590.
>>>
>>> Brenda
>>>
>>
>
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2021 19:00:50 -0400
Subject: Methinks Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin and your buddy Chucky
Leblanc should be clever enough to understand why the LIEbranos
continue to have these blogs taken down N'esy Pas Higgy?
To: mla@esmithmccrossinmla.com, "Mike.Comeau" <Mike.Comeau@gnb.ca>,
"Mitton, Megan (LEG)" <megan.mitton@gnb.ca>, "blaine.higgs"
<blaine.higgs@gnb.ca>, premier <premier@ontario.ca>, Office of the
Premier <scott.moe@gov.sk.ca>, PREMIER <PREMIER@gov.ns.ca>,
michelle.stevens@novascotia.ca
elizabeth.macdonald@
dkogon@amherst.ca, jmacdonald@amherst.ca, darrell.cole@amherstnews.ca,
lifestyle@thecoast.ca, tmccoag@amherst.ca, Newsroom
<Newsroom@globeandmail.com>, mcu <mcu@justice.gc.ca>,
dpike@amherst.ca, "steve.murphy" <steve.murphy@ctv.ca>,
JUSTMIN@novascotia.ca, oldmaison <oldmaison@yahoo.com>, andre
<andre@jafaust.com>, "jeff.carr" <jeff.carr@gnb.ca>,
"andrea.anderson-mason" <andrea.anderson-mason@gnb.ca>
<Ross.Wetmore@gnb.ca>, "jake.stewart" <jake.stewart@parl.gc.ca>,
"rob.moore" <rob.moore@parl.gc.ca>, "John.Williamson"
<John.Williamson@parl.gc.ca>
Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>, Justweb@novascotia.ca,
"Brenda.Lucki" <Brenda.Lucki@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "barbara.massey"
<barbara.massey@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
<barb.whitenect@gnb.ca>, "Boston.Mail" <Boston.Mail@ic.fbi.gov>,
washington field <washington.field@ic.fbi.gov>, "Bill.Blair"
<Bill.Blair@parl.gc.ca>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs becomes first Politician to be
hunted down for month of December!
146 views
Dec 1, 2021
Charles Leblanc
2.18K subscribers
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Blogger <no-reply@google.com>
Date: Mon, 06 Dec 2021 03:55:42 +0000
Subject: Your post titled "Methinks Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin and
Higgy et al understand why Trudeau The Younger and his CBC minions
underestimated the fury of upset Maritimers Nesy Pas?" has been
reinstated
To: david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Hello,
We have re-evaluated the post titled "Methinks Elizabeth
Smith-McCrossin and Higgy et al understand why Trudeau The Younger and his
CBC minions underestimated the fury of upset Maritimers Nesy Pas?" against
Community Guidelines https://blogger.com/go/
post has been reinstated. You may access the post at
http://davidraymondamos3.
Sincerely,
The Blogger Team
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Blogger <no-reply@google.com>
Date: Mon, 06 Dec 2021 03:56:23 +0000
Subject: Your post titled "Yo Premier Iain Rankin tell your buddy Big
Bad Billy Casey to check out my old Chevy in the photo hereto attached
Trust that it is is still registered in Nova Scotia along with my
Harleys etc" has been reinstated
To: david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Hello,
We have re-evaluated the post titled "Yo Premier Iain Rankin tell your
buddy Big Bad Billy Casey to check out my old Chevy in the photo hereto
attached Trust that it is is still registered in Nova Scotia along with my
Harleys etc" against Community Guidelines
https://blogger.com/go/
reinstated. You may access the post at
http://davidraymondamos3.
Sincerely,
The Blogger Team
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Blogger <no-reply@google.com>
Date: Mon, 06 Dec 2021 03:56:07 +0000
Subject: Your post titled "Cumberland North pits high-profile
Independent vs. former 7-term MP" has been reinstated
To: david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Hello,
We have re-evaluated the post titled "Cumberland North pits
high-profile Independent vs. former 7-term MP" against Community Guidelines
https://blogger.com/go/
reinstated. You may access the post at
http://davidraymondamos3.
Sincerely,
The Blogger Team
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Blogger <no-reply@google.com>
Date: Mon, 06 Dec 2021 03:55:14 +0000
Subject: Your post titled "Election Polls with the politically
appointed Senator Pamela Wallin and the IPSOS CEO Darrell Bricker" has
been reinstated
To: david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Hello,
We have re-evaluated the post titled "Election Polls with the
politically appointed Senator Pamela Wallin and the IPSOS CEO Darrell
Bricker" against Community Guidelines https://blogger.com/go/
Upon review, the post has been reinstated. You may access the post at
http://davidraymondamos3.
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Blogger <no-reply@google.com>
Date: Mon, 06 Dec 2021 03:54:43 +0000
Subject: Your post titled "YO Darrell Bricker Deja Vu???" has been reinstated
To: david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Hello,
We have re-evaluated the post titled "YO Darrell Bricker Deja Vu???"
against Community Guidelines https://blogger.com/go/
review, the post has been reinstated. You may access the post at
http://davidraymondamos3.
Sincerely,
The Blogger Team
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Justice Minister <JUSTMIN@novascotia.ca>
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2021 17:19:07 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: MLA Weekly Update and Decision Announcement
(Case Ref: ES3077) Methinks Iain Rankin and Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin
cannot read but I certainly can N'esy Pas Higgy?
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Thank you for your email to the Minister of Justice. Please be assured
that it has been received by the Department. Your email will be
reviewed and addressed accordingly. Thank you.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Higgs, Premier Blaine (PO/CPM)" <Blaine.Higgs@gnb.ca>
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2021 17:21:14 +0000
Subject: RE: MLA Weekly Update and Decision Announcement (Case Ref:
ES3077) Methinks Iain Rankin and Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin cannot read
but I certainly can N'esy Pas Higgy?
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to write.
Due to the volume of incoming messages, this is an automated response
to let you know that your email has been received and will be reviewed
at the earliest opportunity.
If your inquiry more appropriately falls within the mandate of a
Ministry or other area of government, staff will refer your email for
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En raison du volume des messages reçus, cette réponse automatique vous
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If this is a Media Request, please contact the Premier’s office at
(506) 453-2144 or by email
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Cabinet du premier ministre au 506-453-2144.
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Tel./Tel. : (506) 453-2144
Email/Courriel:
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---------- Original message ----------
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2021 14:18:48 -0300
Subject: Re: MLA Weekly Update and Decision Announcement (Case Ref:
ES3077) Methinks Iain Rankin and Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin cannot read
but I certainly can N'esy Pas Higgy?
To: mla@esmithmccrossinmla.com, "Mike.Comeau" <Mike.Comeau@gnb.ca>,
"Mitton, Megan (LEG)" <megan.mitton@gnb.ca>, "blaine.higgs"
<blaine.higgs@gnb.ca>, premier <premier@ontario.ca>, Office of the
Premier <scott.moe@gov.sk.ca>, PREMIER <PREMIER@gov.ns.ca>,
michelle.stevens@novascotia.ca
elizabeth.macdonald@
dkogon@amherst.ca, jmacdonald@amherst.ca, darrell.cole@amherstnews.ca,
lifestyle@thecoast.ca, tmccoag@amherst.ca, Newsroom
<Newsroom@globeandmail.com>, mcu <mcu@justice.gc.ca>,
dpike@amherst.ca, "steve.murphy" <steve.murphy@ctv.ca>
Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>, JUSTMIN
<JUSTMIN@novascotia.ca>, Justweb@novascotia.ca, "Brenda.Lucki"
<Brenda.Lucki@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "barbara.massey"
<barbara.massey@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
<barb.whitenect@gnb.ca>, "Boston.Mail" <Boston.Mail@ic.fbi.gov>,
washington field <washington.field@ic.fbi.gov>, "Bill.Blair"
<Bill.Blair@parl.gc.ca>
N.S. Premier Iain Rankin addresses impaired driving charges from 2003, 2005
Social Sharing
'I'm very very sorry for my actions half a lifetime ago. I was
selfish, it has not happened since'
Brooklyn Currie · CBC News · Posted: Jul 05, 2021 3:34 PM AT
Premier Iain Rankin publicly addressed an impaired driving charge from
2003 on Monday. (Robert Short/CBC)
Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin on Monday publicly acknowledged he was
twice charged with impaired driving nearly two decades ago.
"This is something that is well known amongst my family, my circle of
friends, and my community. And I want all Nova Scotians to hear it
from me," he said at a COVID-19 briefing.
Rankin was charged in 2003, when he was 20, with impaired driving and
driving with a blood-alcohol content over the legal limit, according
to court documents. He was fined and his licence was suspended for a
year.
Two years later, when he was 22, he was charged again with impaired
driving offences, although the case was ultimately dismissed,
according to court records.
"I make no excuses for my behaviour. I was wrong, and I made a bad
decision. I'm very very sorry for my actions half a lifetime ago. I
was selfish, it has not happened since," said Rankin, 38.
The details of the two cases were first reported Monday by the
business and politics news site allnovascotia.com.
2005 conviction, appeal
Rankin said of the 2005 charges that he was "eventually found to be
innocent." He did not elaborate.
Court records indicate, however, that following a trial he was found
guilty of impaired driving, and not guilty of driving with a
blood-alcohol content above the legal limit.
He was sentenced to 14 days in jail to be served on weekends. He was
also handed a two-year driving prohibition and a year's probation that
included the condition that he attend substance abuse assessment and
counselling as directed by a probation officer.
His conviction was overturned on appeal on January 9, 2007, and a
retrial was ordered. The Crown offered no evidence, and the charge was
dismissed, according to court records.
On Sept. 5, 2003, Rankin pleaded guilty in provincial court to having
a blood-alcohol level exceeding 0.08, after being charged two weeks
earlier.
His sentence included an order prohibiting him from driving for one
year, a one-year licence suspension and a $1,200 fine.
Information disclosed to Liberals in 2013
Rankin said he disclosed the charges to then-premier Stephen McNeil,
and the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, when he first ran in the riding of
Timberlea-Prospect in 2013, and again when he decided last fall to run
for the Liberal leadership.
It's the first time Rankin has disclosed the information publicly in
front of news cameras and journalists.
He said his declaration came after discussions of the charges were
raised internally earlier Monday, but he would not elaborate, calling
it "immaterial."
A reporter for allnovascotia.com, Brian Flinn, confirmed to CBC News
he was the journalist asking questions about the charges. He said he
emailed the premier's office earlier Monday afternoon but did not hear
anything until the COVID-19 briefing.
Rankin's father, Reg Rankin, who served on Halifax regional council,
also has a history of being charged with impaired driving.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/
Halifax Coun. Reg Rankin charged with impaired driving
Mayor Mike Savage says he's disappointed, says Rankin 'needs to reflect'
CBC News · Posted: Mar 27, 2014 12:53 PM AT | Last Updated: March 27, 2014
An RCMP vehicle outside of Reg Rankin's house on Wednesday. (CBC)
Halifax Regional Municipality Mayor Mike Savage says he's disappointed
to learn a member of the regional council has been charged with
impaired driving.
Reg Rankin, the councillor for Timberlea-Beechville-Clayton Park
West, was arrested for impaired driving after a car struck his house
in Timberlea on Wednesday night.
Rankin told CBC News on Thursday he was charged the previous night
with impaired driving, but said he had no other comment.
Three years ago, Reg Rankin took a leave of absence from Halifax
regional council to seek professional help and medical treatment.
(CBC)
Savage said Rankin is likely aware of how serious a situation he finds himself.
"I was disappointed, obviously, when I heard about it," Savage said
Thursday. "But I don't want to prejudge the circumstances of it. We
need to do some more information gathering. Reg needs to reflect."
Nova Scotia RCMP were called to a house located at 82 Maplewood Dr. at
around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday after reports that a car had driven into
the Timberlea home. According to property records, the house belongs
to Rankin and his wife.
Nearly three years ago, Rankin took a leave of absence from Halifax
regional council to seek professional help and medical treatment. The
reason was not disclosed.
Rankin is scheduled to appear in court on May 5 on the impaired driving charge.
He has been issued a temporary licence for seven days to get his
affairs in order, after which he will be barred from driving for three
months.
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: mla@esmithmccrossinmla.com
Date: Tue, 06 Jul 2021 16:31:17 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: MLA Weekly Update and Decision Announcement (Case Ref: ES3077)
To: david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Dear David Amos
MLA Weekly Update
Date Tuesday July 6th, 2021
My Mission as MLA for Cumberland North
Serve the people
Build Unity & Trust
Influence Legislation & public policy
For the greater good.
Educate and Build Capacity
Promote the people and area,
Build a world-class health care system
And improve population health.
I have some news to share to start the week.
I don’t know when Iain Rankin is going to call the next election.
But I do know this.
When Iain Rankin calls the election, I will be running as an
Independent candidate for re-election as MLA for Cumberland North.
You, the good people of Cumberland North know me.
You know I will always put your priorities first.
I will always fight for you.
No apologies.
Running as an Independent outside of party politics isn’t easy.
If the people of Cumberland North continue to stand by me, I will
continue to fight for you.
For better health care.
For regional co-operation to keep our borders open.
For getting rid of the Cobequid Pass tolls.
For supporting local food and the farmers who make it happen.
I’m the only candidate in Cumberland North who doesn’t
have to answer to a party leader in Halifax.
I’m not a career politician. I&
nurse. I have owned and operated my own
businesses. I have put people to work and met a payroll.
Above all, I’m a fighter who doesn’t back down.
With your support, let’s put the people of Cumberland North first.
I learned at a young age to stand my ground and I am not about to
change now.
Last Week in Politics
Last week my staff and I worked with constituents on many matters of
importance such as lack of family physicians, housing, roads, Covid
rules and restrictions, NS NB Border, addictions and mental health and
more.
I continue to work with Municipal partners on various projects
throughout Cumberland North,
This Week In Politics
Local
This week I will be meeting with constituents to continue to work on
ongoing projects for family physician recruitment and addictions and
mental illness recovery projects.
National
The Borders are opening between Canada and US this week for fully
vaccinated persons.
We also see the toll of the wild fires in British Colombia.
Heartbreaking to see the devastation and deaths from the deadly
fires.
Pandemic Update
Vaccine
Vaccination for the Covid-19 virus continues to be the main tool we
have to prevent illness and death. If you require assistance to book
your Covid19 vaccine please call my office and my staff can provide
you with some help. Our office phone number is 902-661-2288.
NS has only 26.1 % of the population with 2nd doses of vaccine while
NB has 39.6% of the population vaccinated with 2nd doses. NB also
vaccinates persons with medical conditions that deems them high risk
but our NS government refuses.
Nova Scotia
NS has 53 active cases of Covid19 as of Monday morning with 3 new
cases being identified on Sunday. No one in ICU in the entire province
and only 3 people in hospital.
https://novascotia.ca/
New Brunswick
NB has 21 active cases of Covid-19 as of Monday morning with only 1
new case identified on Sunday. NB has no one in ICU and 4 persons on
hospital with Covid infections.
https://experience.arcgis.com/
Birthdays
Monday Ashleigh Coffin and Sheila Rushton
Tuesday Laura Wells
Wednesday Mal MacDonald
Thursday Kittee Baxter and Carl LeBlanc
Friday Chuck MacInnis
Saturday Krista Cormier and Adrian VanVulpen
Obituaries
Hermina "Mini" Porter
https://www.
Margaret Ann Myles
https://www.arbormemorial.ca/
Nova Scotia Starts Here ~ Cumberland
Several months ago I started this campaign emphasizing the importance
of Cumberland County. Nova Scotia does start in Cumberland. Cumberland
is the Gateway for the Atlantic Cooridor and on average 50 million
dollars worth of goods travel through our Gateway. We may only have 3%
of the population of NS but we provide critical infrastructure for NS,
the Maritimes, Canada and the entire Eastern Seaboard.
Never underestimate your value as citizens of Cumberland. We are
important and we will stand for our area of the province. It’s
time for Cumberland to receive the respect we deserve and we will grow
and become all that we are meant to be.
Have a great week, take care of yourselves and take care of one another.
Take care,
Elizabeth
Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin MBA, BScN
Cumberland North MLA
Live everyday to the fullest and love as much as humanly possible.
---------- Original message ----------
From: "Higgs, Premier Blaine (PO/CPM)" <Blaine.Higgs@gnb.ca>
Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2021 00:50:26 +0000
Subject: RE: Yo Higgy Methinks the ex RCMP dude Minister Furey should
quit playng as dumb as you always do N'esy Pas?
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to write.
Due to the volume of incoming messages, this is an automated response
to let you know that your email has been received and will be reviewed
at the earliest opportunity.
If your inquiry more appropriately falls within the mandate of a
Ministry or other area of government, staff will refer your email for
review and consideration.
Merci d'avoir pris le temps de nous écrire.
En raison du volume des messages reçus, cette réponse automatique vous
informe que votre courriel a été reçu et sera examiné dans les
meilleurs délais.
Si votre demande relève plutôt du mandat d'un ministère ou d'un autre
secteur du gouvernement, le personnel vous renverra votre courriel
pour examen et considération.
If this is a Media Request, please contact the Premier’s office at
(506) 453-2144 or by email
media-medias@gnb.ca<mailto:med
Office of the Premier/Cabinet du premier ministre
P.O Box/C. P. 6000 Fredericton New-Brunswick/Nouveau-
Tel./Tel. : (506) 453-2144
Email/Courriel:
premier@gnb.ca/premier.
On 6/28/21, David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Justice Minister <JUSTMIN@novascotia.ca>
> Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2021 16:22:01 +0000
> Subject: Automatic reply: MLA Weekly Update Cumberland North (Case
> Ref: ES3077) Methinks Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin will have to hire her
> own lawyer to agrue me now N'esy Pas?
> To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>
> Thank you for your email to the Minister of Justice. Please be assured
> that it has been received by the Department. Your email will be
> reviewed and addressed accordingly. Thank you.
>
>
>
> On 6/28/21, David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: mla@esmithmccrossinmla.com
>> Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 20:49:19 +0000 (UTC)
>> Subject: MLA Constituency Update for Cumberland North (Case Ref: ES3077)
>> To: david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>>
>>
>>
>> Dear David Amos
>>
>> MLA Weekly Update
>>
>> Date Monday June 28th, 2021
>>
>> My Mission is to:
>>
>> Serve the people
>> Build Unity & Trust
>> Influence Legislation & public policy
>> For the greater good.
>> Educate and Build Capacity
>> Promote the people and area,
>> Build a world-class health care system
>> And improve population health.
>>
>> Before I speak about what happened last week in politics I want to say
>> Congratulations to all the graduates of Cumberland North. It is a very
>> special time in the lives of graduates and their families. Education
>> is so important. I hope they embrace life- long learning. Learning
>> keeps you in a positive space and open doors of opportunity. Hoping
>> for a safe week as well for our graduates.
>>
>> I also want to recognize the pain our country is experiencing as more
>> and more bodies of children are being found in unmarked graves
>> throughout our country. As more and more us come to learn the history
>> and the practices, our hearts break for the Indigenous people whose
>> families were broken. Healing is needed and time for reflection as a
>> country will bring us forward stronger as a Nation; as a People.
>>
>> Last week in Politics:
>>
>> I have had many questions and I would like to take some time to walk
>> through a timeline of what happened.
>>
>> Anyone that listens/reads my weekly MLA update on a regular basis
>> knows the ongoing challenges people face due to the restrictions at
>> the NS NB Border since the State of Emergency was declared on March
>> 22nd, 2020.
>>
>> For the last 15 months there has been much hardship and stress on
>> people living in our border community. Yes, it has been hard on
>> everyone, but exponentially greater on the people and the businesses
>> in Cumberland. Much greater.
>>
>> The local frustration has been escalating and over the past few weeks
>> as Covid cases have been low in NB and NS but border restrictions
>> remained unchanged. While all Nova Scotians could travel freely
>> with no restrictions, the people in Cumberland were still being denied
>> the right to see their families, full access to health care services
>> and businesses such as retail and tourism are locked from their
>> customers.
>>
>>
>> On June 11th Premier Higgs had included Cumberland County in NB
>> reopening plan for their Phase 1.
>>
>> Nova Scotia Premier refused to allow Cumberland to join as a bubble.
>> Neighbouring Green Party MLA Megan Mitton and I had been asking since
>> last November for this. People were devastated when Premier Rankin
>> refused to allow this. I spoke with Rankin personally and emphasized
>> the need for this.
>>
>> On June 15th Premier Iain Rankin moves the opening date for the
>> Atlantic bubble up a week to June 23rd from his previous plan.
>>
>> After June 15th: Iain Rankin signs-off on a massive $18 million
>> marketing campaign to incent tourists from Atlantic Canada (mostly NB)
>> to book a trip to NS. Families planned for reunion with families for
>> June 23rd (last Wednesday), for they have been separated since
>> November 20th, nearly 7 months, many often living 10 minutes
>> apart.
>>
>> June 22nd at 2pm Premier Iain Rankin kicks New Brunswick out of the
>> bubble the day before it is scheduled to open without even a courtesy
>> call and adds new complicated NS NB Border rules.
>>
>> Premier Rankin slapped the people here in the face at the 11th hour,
>> once again using the border and the people here as his political
>> pawns. The news spread quickly. I immediately I started getting
>> messages from angry irate constituents saying enough was enough and
>> they were going to shut down the highway. I knew the Premier was doing
>> his press conference at 3pm. I thought long and hard for 30 minutes.
>>
>> I decided I needed to take a stand for the people and at 2:55pm did a
>> facebook live video telling the Premier what was going to happen if he
>> did not backtrack on his flip flop decision to once again stop
>> families from seeing one another. I believed he should know what was
>> going to happen and give him a chance to make it right. I was angry
>> when I did the video. I was indignant for the people whom Premier
>> Rankin is using as his political pawns.
>>
>> I made a decision to stand with the people I represent and I have no
>> regrets.
>>
>> I went to the protest which was forming at exit 7. The protest was
>> there, 30 minutes away from NS NB Border.
>>
>> RCMP were onsite and I stayed in constant communication with them to
>> keep things peaceful.
>>
>> The RCMP officer clearly told me that this was a legal peaceful
>> protest and they would not shut it down and they were there to ensure
>> public safety.
>>
>> A large number of people showed up to protest. A lot of families,
>> including children.
>> What an education they got that day. The right to peaceful protest is
>> part of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We even had a
>> veteran Lorne Baird whom we honoured by clapping after he shared his
>> thoughts. We had a speaker and microphone and gave everyone who wanted
>> an opportunity to speak and share why they were there in
>> protest.
>>
>> RCMP and protestors did allow vehicles through that had children or
>> anyone with medical needs. The RCMP also rerouted traffic around exit
>> 7.
>>
>> During the protest I called Premier Rankin several times and he
>> refused to respond.
>>
>> As time went on, it became evident that he was not going to listen to
>> the needs of our families.
>>
>> RCMP and I spoke and I asked the crowd if they would end the protest.
>> I gave them a commitment that I would travel to Halifax in the morning
>> and request and urgent meeting with the Premier. Almost all people
>> agreed and dispersed. A few people remained and kept one side of the
>> highway closed. The RCMP stayed with them as I left.
>>
>> The next morning I got up and travelled to Halifax.
>>
>> I heard that there was another group protesting at the NS NB Border
>> and the highway was closed with no possible rerouting of traffic. The
>> group leading this closure had been at the other protest and when it
>> ended went to the border. They had been meeting every Sunday for the
>> last 8 weeks at the border protesting and had closed down the highway
>> on at least one occasion. I arrived at One Government Place and was
>> told by the Commissioners that I was not allowed entry into the
>> building. This was a shock to me as MLA’s we are normally
>> entry to this building to both have access to the Speaker’s
>> Office, Protocol and Premier’s office. So I waited outside the
>> building hoping for an appointment. I soon found out that the Premier
>> has left and was in Chester campaigning. While protesters had the NS
>> NB blocked the Premier was ignoring this situation and making funding
>> announcements on the other end of the province. I waited all day. No
>> meeting. The Minister of Health did call me and asked me to call the
>> protesters off but I explained to him the protesters were there on the
>> own free will and not mine. I had called on them twice earlier in the
>> day to open the highway and even spoke with some on the phone with
>> RCMP asking for them to open the TCH and they refused. All morning I
>> received messages and calls of support from various people including
>> my colleagues.
>>
>> Then a few things happened which turned public opinion. The Premier
>> made a negative statement against me and additional protesters from NB
>> joined the blockade who were anti-vaxxers. Although I was not there
>> physically, it appears as though the antivaxxers took over the
>> protest. The media connected me with both the legal peaceful protest
>> at exit 7 the night before and the illegal blockade that happened on
>> Wednesday with the anti-vaxxers. Even though I was not connected, the
>> leader of the PC demanded that I sign a public apology taking full
>> responsibility for the blockade on Wednesday. I refused to do so. I
>> will not accept responsibility for others decisions. The leader of the
>> PC Party made a decision Thursday before noon to remove me from the
>> party. I was devastated by his decision. I remain a member of the PC
>> Party and believe in the mission and values of the progressive
>> Conservative party. The PC party is part of my extended family
>> throughout the province of Nova Scotia. That doesn’t change
>> because one person isn’t willing to stand with me for what is
>> right for the people I was elected to represent. If I signed a fake
>> apology to appease the leader I would have compromised my own
>> integrity and would not have stayed true to the people in Cumberland.
>> How could I sign this in Halifax and then come home and hide myself in
>> shame? No, I will come home and stand proudly with the people I
>> represent, shoulder to shoulder.
>>
>> The number one question I’ve been getting is: “Elizabeth,
>> how are you doing?”
>>
>> Believe it or not, more than anything, I feel grateful:
>>
>> - to the people of Cumberland North for all the supportive messages
>> you have sent my way
>> - to my husband of 30 years Dr. Murray McCrossin for his love and
>> patience (As you may have seen, we celebrated our anniversary last
>> weekend!)
>> - to my children, my brothers, sisters, extended family, my friends
>> and my supporters – inside and outside the constituency
>> - to my constituency staff, Dan and Gladys
>> - to my Cumberland North campaign team
>>
>> When the going gets tough, you truly find out who you can count
>> on. I will never forget who has been there for me.
>>
>> I have received a lot of calls, texts and emails, inside and outside
>> of Cumberland North. I will do my best to get back to everyone
>> and appreciate everyone’s patience.
>>
>> In politics, you can’t imagine how hard it is to say no to the
>> party leader. Party leaders have a lot of power. If you
>> don’t do what they want, they can try to make you pay the
>> price. The people of Cumberland North didn’t elect me to
>> work for a party leader. They elected me to work for them.
>> The support of the people of Cumberland North this week has sustained
>> me – particularly with some of the hateful, sexist comments and
>> media depictions that targeted my mental health, my appearance or my
>> weight.
>>
>> This farm girl turned registered nurse turned businesswoman is not
>> going to be bullied out of politics. I will choose whether I run
>> in the next election. The people of Cumberland North will choose
>> the kind of MLA they want to serve them.
>>
>> Do they want an MLA who works for a party leader in Halifax or an MLA
>> who works for the people of Cumberland North?
>>
>> To the people of Cumberland North, you can count on me to serve you,
>> to work with you, to fight for you.
>>
>> No apologies. Although this has been extremely hard on my family and
>> true friends, it is so because of the worry they have of the toll this
>> may have on me. The love I have surrounding me is incredible, by them
>> but also from my local community and from across the province. And
>> yes, my caucus colleagues who supported the leader removing me from
>> caucus, I have heard from several of them privately with love and
>> support.
>>
>> Politics can bring out the worst in human nature as people compete for
>> an illusion of power. But like anything, it can also bring out the
>> best in human nature.
>>
>> I am discussing next steps with my husband and family. In the meantime
>> I am still the MLA for the people of Cumberland North, I am an
>> Independent and not affiliated with a political party although my
>> heart is with my progressive conservative family.
>>
>> My focus right now is on serving the people of Cumberland North.
>>
>> I have always believed that Good overcomes Evil, that Love is more
>> powerful than Hate and I will continue to believe this.
>>
>> I will continue to work with my colleague Tory Rushton for what is
>> needed for the people of Cumberland.
>>
>> I am seriously giving running as an independent consideration. There
>> are so many people that want me to run as an Independent that I owe it
>> to them to give it consideration.
>>
>> The only people that will decide if I will be a MLA are the people of
>> Cumberland North.
>>
>> I would like to send birthday and anniversary greetings to anyone who
>> is celebrating this week including
>>
>> Roger Bacon who turns 95 on Tuesday! Happy Birthday former Premier and
>> MLA
>>
>> Albert and Gladys Greeno celebrate their 66th wedding
>> anniversary.
>>
>> Sending my sympathies to the family and friends of:
>>
>> Laura Mary McArdle
>>
>> https://www.arbormemorial.ca/
>>
>>
>> Virginia Burke
>>
>> https://www.arbormemorial.ca/
>>
>>
>> Arthur Gerald Negus
>>
>> https://www.arbormemorial.ca/
>>
>>
>> Michael Robert Cooke
>>
>> https://www.arbormemorial.ca/
>>
>>
>> Wilhena Louise "Willie" Wright
>>
>> https://www.
>>
>> Take care everyone.
>> Please contact my office if I can assist you in any way.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin
>> MLA Cumberland North
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 6/25/21, David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>>> General Inquiries
>>>
>>> Tel: (902) 667-7227
>>> Fax: (902) 667-0268
>>> Police Chief - Dwayne Pike
>>>
>>> Email: dpike@amherst.ca
>>>
>>>
>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>> From: "Higgs, Premier Blaine (PO/CPM)" <Blaine.Higgs@gnb.ca>
>>> Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2021 10:55:42 +0000
>>> Subject: RE: MLA Weekly Update Cumberland North (Case Ref: ES3077)
>>> Methinks Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin will have to hire her own lawyer to
>>> agrue me now N'esy Pas?
>>> To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>>>
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> Thank you for taking the time to write.
>>>
>>> Due to the volume of incoming messages, this is an automated response
>>> to let you know that your email has been received and will be reviewed
>>> at the earliest opportunity.
>>>
>>> If your inquiry more appropriately falls within the mandate of a
>>> Ministry or other area of government, staff will refer your email for
>>> review and consideration.
>>>
>>>
>>> Merci d'avoir pris le temps de nous écrire.
>>>
>>> En raison du volume des messages reçus, cette réponse automatique vous
>>> informe que votre courriel a été reçu et sera examiné dans les
>>> meilleurs délais.
>>>
>>> Si votre demande relève plutôt du mandat d'un ministère ou d'un autre
>>> secteur du gouvernement, le personnel vous renverra votre courriel
>>> pour examen et considération.
>>>
>>>
>>> If this is a Media Request, please contact the Premier’s office at
>>> (506) 453-2144 or by email
>>> media-medias@gnb.ca<mailto:med
>>>
>>> S’il s’agit d’une demande des médias, veuillez communiquer avec le
>>> Cabinet du premier ministre au 506-453-2144.
>>>
>>>
>>> General Information
>>> For general information and answers to common questions on novel
>>> coronavirus please visit:
>>> GNB/COVID-19<https://na01.
>>> or
>>> Canada.ca/coronavirus<https://
>>> information line 1-833-784-4397.
>>>
>>>
>>> Safety Issues
>>> For safety issues regarding place of employment/employer please call
>>> WorkSafe NB 1-800-999-9775.
>>>
>>> Compassionate requests
>>> Please call the Canadian Red Cross 1-800-863-6582.
>>>
>>> Non-health questions
>>> Please call 1-844-462-8387. The email address is
>>> helpaide@gnb.ca<mailto:helpaid
>>> For questions related to travel restrictions during COVID-19
>>> Please call 1-833-948-2800.
>>>
>>>
>>> MENTAL HEALTH
>>> CHIMO Helpline 1-800-667-5005
>>> Hope for Wellness Helpline 1-855-242-3310
>>>
>>> Canadian Border Services Agency
>>> CBSA has instituted a COVID-19 hotline regarding border crossing
>>> concerns/questions at
>>> 1-800-461-9999.
>>>
>>> Employment Insurance Hotline
>>> Please call 1-833-381-2725.
>>>
>>>
>>> Renseignements généraux
>>> Pour obtenir des renseignements généraux et des réponses aux questions
>>> les plus fréquentes sur la COVID-19, veuillez consulter le site
>>> GNB/COVID-19<https://na01.
>>> ou
>>> Canada.ca/coronavirus<https://
>>> ou composer le 1-833-784-4397.
>>>
>>> questions de sécurité
>>> Pour les questions de sécurité concernant les lieux de travail ou les
>>> employeurs, communiquez avec Travail sécuritaire NB au 1-800-999-9775.
>>>
>>> DEMANDES POUR RAISONS DE COMPASSION
>>> Veuillez téléphoner à la Croix-Rouge canadienne au 1-800-863-6582.
>>>
>>> Questions non liées à la santé
>>> Veuillez composer le 1-844-462-8387 ou envoyer un courriel à l’adresse
>>> helpaide@gnb.ca<mailto:helpaid
>>>
>>> Questions liées aux restrictions de voyage pendant la pandémie de
>>> COVID-19
>>> :
>>> Composez le 1-833-948-2800.
>>>
>>> SANTÉ MENTALE
>>> Ligne d'aide CHIMO : 1-800-667-5005
>>> Ligne d’écoute d’espoir : 1-855-242-3310
>>>
>>> Agence des services frontaliers du Canada
>>> L’Agence a mis en place une ligne d’information sur la COVID-19 pour
>>> les questions concernant la traversée de la frontière, le
>>> 1-800-461-9999.
>>>
>>> LIGNE D’INFORMATION SUR l'assurance-emploi
>>> Composez le 1-833-381-2725.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Office of the Premier/Cabinet du premier ministre
>>> P.O Box/C. P. 6000 Fredericton New-Brunswick/Nouveau-
>>> Canada
>>> Tel./Tel. : (506) 453-2144
>>> Email/Courriel:
>>> premier@gnb.ca/premier.
>>>
>>>
>>> https://novascotia.ca/news/
>>>
>>> News release
>>> Province Monitoring Issues Related to Highway Blockade
>>> Inclusive Economic Growth / Emergency Management Office
>>> June 23, 2021 - 3:13 PM
>>>
>>> Media Contact:
>>> Gary Andrea
>>> Cell: 902-456-6196
>>> Email: Gary.Andrea@novascotia.ca
>>>
>>>
>>> Department of Intergovernmental Affairs
>>> Elizabeth MacDonald
>>> elizabeth.macdonald@
>>>
>>> Department of Justice
>>> Heather Fairbairn
>>> heather.fairbairn@novascotia.
>>>
>>>
>>> Executive Council Office
>>> Michelle Stevens
>>> michelle.stevens@novascotia.ca
>>>
>>>
>>> Deja Vu Ayone???
>>>
>>> http://davidraymondamos3.
>>>
>>> Wednesday, 29 July 2020
>>> Federal and provincial governments to hold public inquiry into Nova
>>> Scotia mass shootings
>>>
>>>
>>>
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