Today was the first day of testimony from the families of the missing and murdered women.  Jan Brongers, one of the Department of Justice lawyers representing the interests of the RCMP , opened proceedings by magnanimously stating that RCMP lawyers would not be subjecting the relatives of the missing and murdered women to cross-examination.  Any relief that the families may have felt as a result of that announcement must have dissipated later in the day, when David Crossin and Sean Hern, two different lawyers representing Vancouver police interests, spent most of the afternoon questioning Lynn Frey about the accuracy of her recollection of events occurring some 13 years ago.   Mr. Crossin is one of the lawyers representing the Vancouver Police Union and some of its members, while Mr. Hern is one of the lawyers representing the Vancouver Police Department, the Vancouver Police Board and most of their members or former members.  Both suggested that VPD Detective Lori Shenher would have a different recollection when she testifies.  It is not yet clear when, or even if, Det. Shenher will take the stand.

We expressed a concern about what had unfolded, stating that the interests of these police participants “seem to be indistinguishable” and that we would object if their lawyers’ cross-examinations became repetitive.  This caused a stir in the gallery and Commissioner Oppal encouraged spectators to remain quiet.

The Inquiry continues tomorrow with more testimony from Lori-Ann Ellis, a relative of Cara Ellis.  Ernie Crey, brother of Dawn Crey and a well-known First Nations activist, is expected to testify Wednesday.

Marnie Frey

Lynn Frey, the stepmother of Marnie Frey, testified today that the search for her missing daughter led her to Willie Pickton’s pig farm in September of 1998, years before Marnie’s remains were eventually found there.  Ms. Frey described how she would travel from Campbell River to Vancouver’s downtown east side after Marnie vanished in 1997 and show Marnie’s photograph to people she encountered there.  These inquiries led to information about “Willie’s pig farm” in Port Coquitlam and she drove out there, only to be turned back by two dogs as she tried to scale a fence.  Ms. Frey immediately reported this information to Det. Shenher of the Vancouver Police Department.  It would be February 5, 2002 before evidence of the missing women would be found at the Pickton farm, while a junior Coquitlam RCMP member was executing a search warrant there on an unrelated firearms complaint.  Pickton was convicted of Marnie’s murder, and the murders of five other women, in 2007.  Twenty more first degree murder charges against him were stayed by the Crown last year.

The Missing Women Commission of Inquiry enters its third week tomorrow with testimony expected from the families of many of the missing and murdered women.  It is expected that the families will describe their efforts to locate their lost loved ones and the difficulties they had in getting the police to take their concerns seriously.  No police investigators have testified yet.  Since the Commission has indicated that there will be five more weeks (20 days) of hearings before the Christmas break, it is expected that most of the public officials and police officers who can shed some light on why the disappearances and murders went unsolved for so long will be testifying in the new year.

Yesterday afternoon, Cheryl Tobias and Sean Hern, counsel for the RCMP and VPD respectively, joined in a prolonged submission seeking an order from Commissioner Oppal that “there be no publication or broadcast by any means, including on the internet or through social media, of…any information that could reveal the identity of any living person identified as an actual or potential victim, witness, suspect or accused.”  The only exception would be thirteen people on a list they submitted.  We have been assured that an order will not be made until we have a chance to respond.

To put this matter into context, the RCMP and VPD have already vetted all the documents that they have produced to the Commission and heavily redacted them pursuant to a protocol reached between their counsel and Commission Counsel, without any prior consultation with us.  In order for us to access the redacted documents, we were obliged to sign an “Undertaking of Counsel” preventing us from discussing or disclosing the material except under strict conditions.  Yesterday morning we learned that counsel for the RCMP intends to vet the redacted documents again and redact them further before they are disclosed to the public in the inquiry process. 

The police are clearly intending to keep a tight lid on any information that is disclosed not only to us as counsel, but to the public. They seem to want to manage and package this story, and disclose only what they want the public to hear.  We perceive that such an approach is contrary to the purpose and intent of a public inquiry and intend to resist any measure that unduly restricts free expression rights or that prevents our clients from learning the truth.  We will use every means at our disposal to pry the lid off this case and help the Commission to ferret out all facts relating to the investigations of the disappearances and murders of Vancouver women. 

On another related front, we have repeatedly expressed our concerns about the adequacy of police document disclosure to date.  We feel that they have barely scratched the surface and that many pertinent records remain undisclosed.  Our application for further and better disclosure is pending.