May 18, 2020
5:00 PM EDT
Nova Scotia mass shooting: New information about murder rampage delayed by government lawyers
Up to seven redacted RCMP documents were expected to be released Tuesday, but that number has now dropped sharply
Government lawyers admit they are already significantly behind the court’s schedule for releasing information about last month’s Nova Scotia shooting rampage, before they have even begun to do so.
In response to a
legal challenge by media organizations for information regarding the worst spree killing in Canada’s history — the murder of 22 victims by a gunman masquerading as an RCMP officer — up to seven redacted RCMP documents were expected to be released Tuesday, according to a timetable set in court.
On Friday, however, Mark Covan, representing the Public Prosecution Service of Canada,
notified a judge that only one warrant could be stripped of information that the Crown deems too sensitive in time for Tuesday’s hearing.
“The Crown has been working diligently on
vetting the ITOs,” a letter from Covan says, referencing “Information to Obtain” documents that police file when seeking judicial authorization to conduct a search of someone’s property.
“Unfortunately, because of the volume, the structure of the ITOs and the need to consult, that process is moving more slowly than expected. We have identified one ITO that, we believe, is the most comprehensive and have focused our efforts on that document. We anticipate having it ready on the 19th, but the others will take longer to complete.”
There are expected to eventually
be 20 applications for judicial authorizations of search warrants and production orders prepared by the RCMP in its investigation of the shootings, which began on April 18 and continued through the night and into the next day.
The warrants,
many to search property owned by the gunman, Gabriel Wortman, 51, who was shot and killed by the RCMP, were executed at different times and are in different stages of being processed.
Case law says search warrant information — once executed and if items are seized by police —
should be public information.
It is up to the government to
justify “
any ongoing secrecy” surrounding the contents of the warrants, David Coles, a lawyer representing the media consortium, which includes Postmedia, said at a hearing last week.
The Crown was expected to release on Tuesday redacted versions of the first batch of RCMP documents: four search warrants, two production orders and a more recently closed warrant, which Judge Laurie Halfpenny MacQuarrie collectively called “
the Group of Seven.”
The documents are expected to be
heavily redacted — censored of information the government wishes to keep secret — while lawyers continue to argue in court over what should ultimately be made public.
The judge called this the “first round of redactions” to be made.
The Crown’s slow progress significantly reduces the information set to be made available this week.
Covan said at the hearing on May 11 that the government needs to balance what’s to be released with “keeping investigative materials confidential.”
Mark Heerema, a lawyer representing the provincial prosecution service, said that even though Wortman is dead and can no longer face charges, prosecutors are “protecting that ongoing investigation,” as there is the “possibility that given this ongoing investigation,
there may be other prosecutions which can emerge.”
Shauna MacDonald, another lawyer with the Nova Scotia public prosecution service, said at the May 11 hearing: “Redactions take a tremendous amount of time. There’s consultation with investigating officers, there’s work done by the Crown agencies, and both Crown agencies, with investigating officers.”
The hearings are being held by teleconference because of COVID-19 restrictions. The media’s legal challenge seeking more information regarding the shootings comes amid growing calls for increased transparency in the case and its prelude.
On Friday, a group of law professors at Dalhousie University wrote a letter to Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil
calling for a public inquiry.
“In a modern democracy committed to state accountability, an internal investigation will not suffice. Independence, impartiality and transparency are essential components of maintaining public confidence in the administration of justice. Only a public inquiry can satisfy these requirements,” the letter says.
“The families of the victims, Nova Scotians and Canadians deserve a transparent, impartial and independent assessment
of why and how this incident occurred.”
The office of denturist Gabriel Wortman, who police say went on a shooting spree killing multiple people, is seen in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada April 19, 2020. REUTERS/Sean Dewitt
The Nova Scotia RCMP continues its investigation of the shootings in a probe designated Operation H-Strong. (All RCMP operational projects in Nova Scotia start with the letter H, the force’s designation for the province).
Over 13 hours, Wortman, a denturist, went on a terrifying mobile shooting spree across northern Nova Scotia, dressed in an authentic RCMP uniform and driving an exact replica of an RCMP cruiser.
The violent rampage started with a domestic assault, when Wortman assaulted and held captive a woman in Portapique, about 135 kilometres north of Halifax. She managed to escape and hid overnight in a wooded area.
Police received the first 911 call at 10:01 on April 18, reporting a shooting at a nearby residence, RCMP said.
Wortman then set out in an unearned uniform and fake cruiser, leaving an outrageous and tragic path of carnage: setting fires to homes and killing their occupants, shooting passersby and people coming to help, killing an RCMP constable trying to stop him, pulling over cars and killing the people inside.
He knew some of his victims and others were seemingly random encounters, police said.
His victims included a police officer, a teacher, two nurses, two prison guards, a fellow denturist, business owners, a family including a 17-year-old daughter, neighbours and others.
“There are many areas of investigation as we continue to piece together the gunman’s movements, possible motivation
and whether he received assistance leading up to the incidents,” the RCMP said in an investigation update last week.
The RCMP’s Behavioural Analysis Unit is conducting a
psychological autopsy of the gunman. The intent is to gather insights into the reasons for his violent spree, including an analysis of his personality, past behaviour and how he related to others, the RCMP said.
Investigators say that when Wortman left the area of his home on April 18, he had two semi-automatic handguns and two semi-automatic rifles with him, all of them now recovered by police.
Police believe three of those guns
were obtained in the United States and the RCMP is working with the Canada Border Services Agency
to probe their cross-border transit, the RCMP said. The other gun was traced to an origin within Canada. The calibre of the weapons was not released.
“Determining where and how the gunman obtained the firearms is a central part of the investigation and we use this detailed information to verify the credibility of some of the information we receive,” the RCMP said. Police said that after Wortman killed RCMP Const. Heidi Stevenson,
he took her gun with him.
Police have also identified the source of the RCMP decals on the gunman’s replica police cruiser.
The decals were created at a business without the permission of the business owner, and both the owner and the individual who made the decals are cooperating with police, the RCMP said.
Further, investigators believe Wortman used an accelerant to start the many fires he left behind. “We know the gunman had a significant supply of gasoline at his home in Portapique,” the RCMP said.
Investigators have spoken to 500 witnesses and are continuing to conduct interviews, the RCMP said. Surveillance video from businesses and homes has also been collected to track the gunman’s movements.
A Ford Police Interceptor sedan with no markings, is parked at the Atlantic Denture Clinic in Dartmouth, N.S. on Monday, April 20, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
Ground-penetrating radar was used to search under the ground at Wortman’s property in Portapique, but nothing of relevance was found.
Searches of 17 crime scenes from the rampage have now ended and all properties have been released to their owners.
Investigators still want to speak with anyone who “had a conflict with the gunman, whether professional or personal, at any time.” The RCMP said. Anyone with information is asked to call an RCMP tip line at 1-833-570-0121.
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