If this narrative is true - and Mr. Palango paints a chillingly plausible picture - this is vile at every level. There are almost no words to describe how messed up this is.
The RCMP repeatedly failed to protect the public and their own officers, then orchestrated a massive coverup that has been pretty much entirely successful. Our police and politicians lied to us over and over, and our disgustingly complicit media have been completely incurious about getting to the truth. The commentary about the move to a propaganda-based media environment is just so depressingly accurate. And yes, even at the time the whole narrative didn't make sense and a lot didn't add up.
Gallingly, this insane series of events was instantly hyper-politicized, despite its own facts, to ram through one of the most abusive and unjustified examples of government overreach in recent Canadian history in the form of the 2020 OIC firearms ban and subsequent prohibitions. Laws based on bullshit, which now appears to be based on even more bullshit.
And then we had the Mass Casualty Commission which produced the usual mealy-mouthed conclusion that mistakes were made but nobody is really at fault and we can't really know what happened. When none of that is accurate whatsoever.
And now none of this matters to voters even if all of this did come to light, because nothing is the Liberals' fault and if there were problems it was all Trudeau's problem and nothing bad would have happened on Saint Carney's watch.
I obviously haven't combed through the evidence as Paul has done, but I will say that Paul's proposed motive for the killings makes a hell of a lot more sense than domestic violence. JG
Especially seeing as Wortman left his common law partner alive. If I recall correctly she was beaten and tied up but usually that's not how it goes with rampage killers who start with their wife.
So, I think that Palango has uncovered a lot of interesting things. I think there are huge coverups and RCMP wrong doing. However, I've always reserved some caution here. While I think a lot of the "mainstream" reporting was often awful, there is one local media outlet that was on top of this story from the very beginning. One that Palango himself was initially publishing with and one that has a reputation of not taking government/police sources at face value and that is the Halifax Examiner.
Tim Bousquet was just coming off of his reporting on the wrongful conviction of Glen Assoun in Nova Scotia at the time. Where had been incredibly critical of Halifax police and the RCMP. Including uncovering and accusing police of destruction of evidence and cover ups to protect their reputation as having kept Assoun in prison for years longer.
The examiner did extensive reporting on Wortman (and yes, after initial news articles naming him they then stuck to the practice of just referring to him as GW). They talked about Jillian Banfield. They talked about the allegations that Wortman was a police informant. They talked about his smuggling especially of guns, two of which he used in his killing. They did deep dived into his history of sexual exploitation of vulnerable women, his history of abuse, arson, dealings with police, altercations with neighbours, etc. And as a subscriber dependant publication like the Line they also made all of that reporting free out from behind the paywall.
At some point clearly Palango and the Examiner had a difference of opinion on some key things and Palango parted ways.
But I wouldn't lump the Examiner in with everyone else. They were very critical of lots of aspects of the MCC and were also there everyday reporting. They were highly critical of the RCMP. Ultimately there were things that they felt had not been substantiated by sufficient ecidence.
Maybe there ultimate conclusions are bit more in line with the "mainstream" than Palango. I personally think the truth is probably somewhere in between. But they did really excellent on the ground heavy reporting on the topic. Everyone interested in the topic should read their reporting as part of informing themselves. And if you're in NS you should subscribe
And tonbe fair I don't either. May have just been some differences of opinion. I'm definitely going to pick up the book, just wanted to make sure some independent media got the attention they deserve for the dogged reporting they did on the subject.
It's a shame the NS government, after their policing review, seems determined to double down on the RCMP being some sort of gold standard in the province.
Looking forward to The Line doing a live show in Halifax!
Another reason for the micromanaging of the information is to support the Liberal civilian disarmament agenda. Anything that implies that the RCMP had a relationship with Mr Wortman would weaken the “guns are evil” thesis of the harping hoplophobic harridans - of all sexes- of the gun confiscation industry and cost ruling party votes. So it would definitely have to be suppressed. The ability of government bureaucrats to come up with an OIC list of 1500 different prohibited firearms within weeks of the killings without years of preparation is a miracle comparable to walking on water from Nova Scotia to PEI without even getting your ankles damp.
Yup. I remember when this incident happened and kept saying that things were not adding up. I remember the secrecy and the almost-instantaneous attempt to memory-hole it. And my strongest memory of the time was of Trudeau practically salivating over having such a fortuitous mass shooting fall into his lap, providing the perfect opportunity to call for more gun control. After all, a country that commemmorates the same mass shooting every December for 30 years is a country that does not have a firearm problem.
The only thing miraculous about that list was their ability to name the AR-15 950 times when once would have sufficed.
But "12 really popular rifles that have largely never been used in crime but not 20 more equivalent rifles we will leave legal for another 5 years without incident, AT missiles, SAM's, howitzers, and oops also some $10K safari rifles" doesn't have the same media-friendly ring to it.
Yep I remember going over some of the list. And I’m sure each named item had to go to a professional firm to be translated in one or both official languages - and maybe some indigenous ones as well.
I wonder how long the RCMP had the list waiting for the next convenient “mass shooting”.
Just reserved Paul Palango's book "22 Murders" from the public library.
Excellent choice of interviewee.
OMG the shit that was buried or withheld by that Mass Casualities Commission.
Ugh, just ugh. Do these people really think that Canadians don't want to know the dirty details? Or do they believe we don't "deserve" to know? And I'm sure that any Liberal MP would be slammed down for raising any doubts at this point. Which leads me to ask, why are the Opposition not making something out of this? What's at stake for them?
What, we can't handle the truth that the RCMP are basically proving to be a flunk-fest?
I just bought both from Amazon. The first book is on sale today. I figure this is the kind of book you buy a hard copy of. I don't trust that our government won't try to alter a digital copy in the future.
The opposition would just get accused of spreading conspiracy theories to undermine trust in our institutions. Many highly concerned editorials by the interchangeable white haired dude squad at the Globe and Mail would ensue, lamenting this disturbing Trump-like and desperate move to the far right. Even if a lack of trust in our institutions is more than warranted.
Great interview Jen! As a Nova Scotian I'm aware of the very mixed messaging at that incredibly tragic time. Your interview answers some questions and raises others. The survivors, as well as officers on the ground, experienced trauma at the time and probably still do. It may not be in the memory of people from other provinces, but it will haunt people in Nova Scotia for years.
Mr. Palango seems very certain of his narrative, but this interview left me thinking that he’s perhaps not given sufficient attention to alternative explanations for what he’s uncovered, and may be a bit too credulous of sources confirming the story he thinks he’s got. At times, the vibe was similar to an internet conspiracy theorist, right down to when he talked about finding the truth not in the evidence that was there, but what wasn’t there. It’s actually quite reminiscent of Noam Chomsky, whom Palango cites positively.
A constant theme of The Line podcast is to refer to libel chill. I was amused to note that Mr. Palango and Ms. Gerson had very different opinions on the need to get quotes from both sides before publishing in order to avoid libel charges.
If this narrative is true - and Mr. Palango paints a chillingly plausible picture - this is vile at every level. There are almost no words to describe how messed up this is.
The RCMP repeatedly failed to protect the public and their own officers, then orchestrated a massive coverup that has been pretty much entirely successful. Our police and politicians lied to us over and over, and our disgustingly complicit media have been completely incurious about getting to the truth. The commentary about the move to a propaganda-based media environment is just so depressingly accurate. And yes, even at the time the whole narrative didn't make sense and a lot didn't add up.
Gallingly, this insane series of events was instantly hyper-politicized, despite its own facts, to ram through one of the most abusive and unjustified examples of government overreach in recent Canadian history in the form of the 2020 OIC firearms ban and subsequent prohibitions. Laws based on bullshit, which now appears to be based on even more bullshit.
And then we had the Mass Casualty Commission which produced the usual mealy-mouthed conclusion that mistakes were made but nobody is really at fault and we can't really know what happened. When none of that is accurate whatsoever.
And now none of this matters to voters even if all of this did come to light, because nothing is the Liberals' fault and if there were problems it was all Trudeau's problem and nothing bad would have happened on Saint Carney's watch.
I obviously haven't combed through the evidence as Paul has done, but I will say that Paul's proposed motive for the killings makes a hell of a lot more sense than domestic violence. JG
Especially seeing as Wortman left his common law partner alive. If I recall correctly she was beaten and tied up but usually that's not how it goes with rampage killers who start with their wife.
So, I think that Palango has uncovered a lot of interesting things. I think there are huge coverups and RCMP wrong doing. However, I've always reserved some caution here. While I think a lot of the "mainstream" reporting was often awful, there is one local media outlet that was on top of this story from the very beginning. One that Palango himself was initially publishing with and one that has a reputation of not taking government/police sources at face value and that is the Halifax Examiner.
Tim Bousquet was just coming off of his reporting on the wrongful conviction of Glen Assoun in Nova Scotia at the time. Where had been incredibly critical of Halifax police and the RCMP. Including uncovering and accusing police of destruction of evidence and cover ups to protect their reputation as having kept Assoun in prison for years longer.
The examiner did extensive reporting on Wortman (and yes, after initial news articles naming him they then stuck to the practice of just referring to him as GW). They talked about Jillian Banfield. They talked about the allegations that Wortman was a police informant. They talked about his smuggling especially of guns, two of which he used in his killing. They did deep dived into his history of sexual exploitation of vulnerable women, his history of abuse, arson, dealings with police, altercations with neighbours, etc. And as a subscriber dependant publication like the Line they also made all of that reporting free out from behind the paywall.
At some point clearly Palango and the Examiner had a difference of opinion on some key things and Palango parted ways.
But I wouldn't lump the Examiner in with everyone else. They were very critical of lots of aspects of the MCC and were also there everyday reporting. They were highly critical of the RCMP. Ultimately there were things that they felt had not been substantiated by sufficient ecidence.
Maybe there ultimate conclusions are bit more in line with the "mainstream" than Palango. I personally think the truth is probably somewhere in between. But they did really excellent on the ground heavy reporting on the topic. Everyone interested in the topic should read their reporting as part of informing themselves. And if you're in NS you should subscribe
Very valid, and I second your call to subscribe to the Examiner. I don't know the history between the Examiner and Paul. JG
And tonbe fair I don't either. May have just been some differences of opinion. I'm definitely going to pick up the book, just wanted to make sure some independent media got the attention they deserve for the dogged reporting they did on the subject.
It's a shame the NS government, after their policing review, seems determined to double down on the RCMP being some sort of gold standard in the province.
Looking forward to The Line doing a live show in Halifax!
Another reason for the micromanaging of the information is to support the Liberal civilian disarmament agenda. Anything that implies that the RCMP had a relationship with Mr Wortman would weaken the “guns are evil” thesis of the harping hoplophobic harridans - of all sexes- of the gun confiscation industry and cost ruling party votes. So it would definitely have to be suppressed. The ability of government bureaucrats to come up with an OIC list of 1500 different prohibited firearms within weeks of the killings without years of preparation is a miracle comparable to walking on water from Nova Scotia to PEI without even getting your ankles damp.
Yup. I remember when this incident happened and kept saying that things were not adding up. I remember the secrecy and the almost-instantaneous attempt to memory-hole it. And my strongest memory of the time was of Trudeau practically salivating over having such a fortuitous mass shooting fall into his lap, providing the perfect opportunity to call for more gun control. After all, a country that commemmorates the same mass shooting every December for 30 years is a country that does not have a firearm problem.
Love your last point! Never thought of it from that perspective!
The only thing miraculous about that list was their ability to name the AR-15 950 times when once would have sufficed.
But "12 really popular rifles that have largely never been used in crime but not 20 more equivalent rifles we will leave legal for another 5 years without incident, AT missiles, SAM's, howitzers, and oops also some $10K safari rifles" doesn't have the same media-friendly ring to it.
Yep I remember going over some of the list. And I’m sure each named item had to go to a professional firm to be translated in one or both official languages - and maybe some indigenous ones as well.
I wonder how long the RCMP had the list waiting for the next convenient “mass shooting”.
Just reserved Paul Palango's book "22 Murders" from the public library.
Excellent choice of interviewee.
OMG the shit that was buried or withheld by that Mass Casualities Commission.
Ugh, just ugh. Do these people really think that Canadians don't want to know the dirty details? Or do they believe we don't "deserve" to know? And I'm sure that any Liberal MP would be slammed down for raising any doubts at this point. Which leads me to ask, why are the Opposition not making something out of this? What's at stake for them?
What, we can't handle the truth that the RCMP are basically proving to be a flunk-fest?
I just bought both from Amazon. The first book is on sale today. I figure this is the kind of book you buy a hard copy of. I don't trust that our government won't try to alter a digital copy in the future.
The opposition would just get accused of spreading conspiracy theories to undermine trust in our institutions. Many highly concerned editorials by the interchangeable white haired dude squad at the Globe and Mail would ensue, lamenting this disturbing Trump-like and desperate move to the far right. Even if a lack of trust in our institutions is more than warranted.
Great interview Jen! As a Nova Scotian I'm aware of the very mixed messaging at that incredibly tragic time. Your interview answers some questions and raises others. The survivors, as well as officers on the ground, experienced trauma at the time and probably still do. It may not be in the memory of people from other provinces, but it will haunt people in Nova Scotia for years.
V Knight
Nova Svotia
Mr. Palango seems very certain of his narrative, but this interview left me thinking that he’s perhaps not given sufficient attention to alternative explanations for what he’s uncovered, and may be a bit too credulous of sources confirming the story he thinks he’s got. At times, the vibe was similar to an internet conspiracy theorist, right down to when he talked about finding the truth not in the evidence that was there, but what wasn’t there. It’s actually quite reminiscent of Noam Chomsky, whom Palango cites positively.
A constant theme of The Line podcast is to refer to libel chill. I was amused to note that Mr. Palango and Ms. Gerson had very different opinions on the need to get quotes from both sides before publishing in order to avoid libel charges.
Getting quotes from both sides prevents libel charges?