It seems that I may have ruffled a few feathers with my statement the other day that “I’m afraid that this Commission may be enabling a cover up”.  It also seems that people are interested.  I just received a copy of the following email from a member of the public to the Commission:

“I have been following the news on the inquiry, and at first I thought Mr. Ward was bit of a dramatist, referring to a cover-up, and suggesting the inquiry was enabling it, but the more I read, the more it appears he is more than correct.  It stinks, and missing notes, missing files, excluded witnesses, evasive answers by police, and overall lack of disclosure are just the tip of the iceberg.  This is going to be a political disaster, and completely undermine the credibility of, and trust in, our judicial system and current liberal government–remember HST?  Unless the entire record pertaining to the investigation of police, politician [sic] and any other professionals involved is disclosed, this with [sic] be a bigger disaster than HST and the BC Rail combined.  You cannot allow a coverup, or even the appearance of one–the fallout from the public will be far worse for a coverup, than the ugly truth of this fiasco seeing the light of day, or the money and time it takes to thoroughly investigate. 

Why does it appear that Pickton was protected for years from investigation, from the kind of surveillance that would have caught him?  There were competent officers who knew he was beyond a strong suspect, and there is no doubt that the investigation was bungled.  But was it bungled because of a police and legal system who just didn’t care, and who thought the lives of these vulnerable women mattered so little that they couldn’t be bothered, or was there a connection with Pickton specifically that those some people in charge were trying to cover up.   There have been rumours for years that high level police and political figures were connected to the Pickton [sic]  (maybe attended his parties?), it would be very nice to put an end to the speculation with an open and honest investigation and allow all materials in.”

…..

I don’t use words like “cover up” and “whitewash” lightly, but I do try to call a spade a spade.  I recognise police cover ups when I see them, and I see them frequently, especially in the most serious cases.  The police are masterful at seizing control of an issue and deciding what is available for public consumption.  They do this by first investigating the matter themselves and making sure the documentary record is sanitized.  Those documents they decide to release for third party scrutiny are jumbled into a disorganized mess and dumped on their adversaries, in the hope that by the time they are reorganised, it’s too late to force the delivery of the critical missing information.

I hope to publish a book on this subject one day, outlining the attempted investigative cover ups of the 1998 “Riot at the Hyatt”, David Bruce-Thomas’ savage fatal beating of Jeffrey Berg, Russ Sherematta’s fatal shooting of Kevin St. Arnaud…and others.

Before that day comes, I’ll keep trying my best to ensure that this is a bona fide public inquiry.