Today’s session began with David Neave unexpectedly arriving and introducing himself as the lawyer for former VPD Insp. Biddlecombe and advising he intended to cross-examine witnesses and would need time to prepare. Biddlecombe’s role in the investigation of Canada’s worst serial killing was well-documented by VPD Deputy Chief LePard’s August 2010 report, but Biddlecombe did not apply for standing when the Commission sought applications a few months later.   An updated list of the lawyers for the various police interests is set out below:

RCMP: Cheryl Tobias, Q.C., Jan Brongers, Judith Hoffman and Andrew Majawa

Vancouver Police Department and Vancouver Police Board: Sean Hern and Tim Dickson

Vancouver Police Union: David Crossin, Q.C.

Dr. Kim Rossmo (ex-VPD): Mark Skwarok

Doug Fell (VPD): Kevin Woodall and Claire Hatcher

Don Adam (ex RCMP): Janet Winteringham, Q.C.

Gary Bass (ex RCMP): Richard Peck, Q.C. and Tony Paisana

Earl Moulton (RCMP): Ravi Hira, Q.C.

Brian McGuiness (VPD): Greg DelBigio, Q.C.

Terry Blythe and John Unger (ex VPD): Edward Greenspan, Q.C. and Vanessa Christie

Brock Giles (VPD): David Butcher, Q.C. and Anila Srivastava

Gary Greer (VPD): Rick Henderson

Fred Biddlecombe (VPD): David Neave

Peel Regional Police: Linda Bordeleau

This morning, there were five new lawyers in the room as the Commission anticipated hearing the testimony of Peel Regional Police Deputy Chief Jennifer Evans.  This was another surprise for Mr. Chantler and myself.  Rick Peck, Q.C. appeared as counsel for Gary Bass, David Butcher appeared for Brock Giles, Rick Henderson appeared for Gary Greer, Ravi Hira, Q.C. appeared for Earl Moulton and Linda Bordeleau appeared for the Peel Regional Police.  Toronto lawyer Edward Greenspan, Q.C. is apparently still planning to attend and cross-examine DC Evans, but we still do not know who he represents.

At the end of the day, Greg DelBigio stood up and introduced himself as counsel for “a client”.  We don’t know who he represents either.  We’ve asked Commission Counsel Art Vertlieb to shed some light on these mysteries, but he has declined to do so thus far.

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Update: Greg DelBigio has advised he represents Brian McGuiness.

Further update: Edward Greenspan, Q.C. has advised he is representing Terry Blythe and John Unger.

Today, Janet L. Winteringham, Q.C. appeared at the hearing to cross-examine RCMP Superintendent Robert Williams.  Ms. Winteringham indicated that she represents Don Adam, who is not a participant with standing, but a witness expected to testify at some later date.  She proceeded with her questions for the witness after the Commissioner overruled our objection that it would be inappropriate and time-consuming to permit every interested witness or their counsel to cross-examine other witnesses.  A few minutes later we learned for the first time that Kim Rossmo will be taking the stand a week Monday, January 23, 2012.  The next of the day’s surprises arrived in the form of an email circulated at 1:46 p.m. today by Edward L. Greenspan, Q.C. advising that he planned to cross-examine the next witness, Peel Deputy Chief Evans, for two hours.  This was my first inkling that the eminent Toronto lawyer is involved in this matter at all, and I immediately sent all counsel an email asking who he is representing.  I am awaiting somebody’s response, but if I don’t get one, I guess I’ll find out next week.

As counsel representing the families of 25 murdered women before the Commission, it would be helpful if we were kept informed of developments like these in a more timely way, rather than continually being taken by surprise by unexpected procedural developments.

I earlier blogged about my concern that BC Place’s new roof, built at a cost of over half a billion dollars of public money, was leaking just before the Grey Cup game.  Now I am hearing that its managers are so concerned that the new roof cannot handle a snowfall that they are frantically pumping hot air and steam into the stadium building in the hopes that the snow expected Monday will melt before it accumulates and causes the roof to collapse.  Apparently the expensive new roof wasn’t engineered to accept the load generated by a snowfall and, unlike the old roof, it lacks a built-in heating system that can be switched on to melt the snow as it falls.  I guess we will soon see if these band-aid measures work.

On December 14, 2011, we made oral submissions in support of an application, on behalf of the the 25 families of missing and murdered  women we represent, to have additional witnesses appear at the hearings.  The Commission directed that we make submissions in writing and the hearing adjourned for the day at 11:37 a.m.  The transcript of the morning’s proceedings is here.

On December 23, 2011, we delivered our written submissions and are awaiting a ruling.  The witnesses we are seeking to add to the witness list includes civilians like informants Bill Hiscox, Ross Caldwell and Lynn Ellingsen, who told the police as early as July 1998 that Robert William Pickton was responsible for the disappearances and deaths of the women, Pickton’s brother David, who lived on the property where the women’s remains and DNA was found, Bev Hyacinthe, a long time Pickton family friend who worked in the RCMP’s Coquitlam detachment.  It includes police officers like RCMP Cst. Ted vanOverbeek, a key member of “Project Evenhanded” who received information about Pickton’s complicity a years before he was apprehended, and RCMP Cst. Nathan Wells, who executed the search warrant on February 5, 2002 that led to Pickton’s arrest and subsequent conviction of six of the murders.  There are also a couple of senior officials on the list, then Attorney General Ujjal Dosanjh and current RCMP Commissioner Robert Paulson, who worked on the missing women investigations while a sergeant in British Columbia.

The Commission is currently hearing the testimony of Supt. Robert Williams from Alberta, the second of three police “armchair quarterbacks” who weren’t involved in the investigations, but merely reviewed them later.  Next week, Peel Deputy Police Chief Jennifer Evans is scheduled to testify.

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The Missing Women Commission of Inquiry was established by Attorney General Mike de Jong on September 29, 2010 and its terms of reference oblige it to inquire into the Crown’s January 27, 1998 decision to stay serious criminal charges against Pickton and the conduct of the police missing women investigations prior to February 5, 2002.  It was directed to submit its report by December 31, 2011.  The Commission commenced evidentiary hearings on October 11, 2011 and was subsequently granted a deadline extension to June 30, 2012.  The Commission has not yet called any police or Crown witnesses who were involved in the matters under review.