VANCOUVER — The conclusions that stem from the public inquiry into the Robert Pickton serial-murder case will be viewed with skepticism because of controversies that have dogged the hearings, a First Nations group told the commissioner overseeing the process.
Grand Chief Edward John of the First Nations Summit said the provincial government’s decision to deny a number of advocacy groups legal funding, the appointment of a former politician as commissioner and the inquiry’s narrow terms of reference will cast doubt on its eventual findings.
“Any report and recommendations of the commission will be received and considered with a large degree of skepticism, perhaps protecting and advancing the interests of only those who are able to afford legal counsel,” John told commissioner Wally Oppal during his group’s opening statement.
Oppal was appointed last year to investigate why police and prosecutors failed to stop Pickton as he murdered sex workers from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. The hearings opened this week and are expected to last months.
Oppal granted participant status to more than a dozen non-profit advocacy groups representing drug users, sex workers and aboriginals. He recommended they receive funding to pay for lawyers, but the provincial government refused, only providing funding for the families of Pickton’s victims.
That decision prompted most of those participant groups to withdraw from the process, leaving only the First Nations Summit, the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, and the Crab Water for Life Society. The inquiry has appointed two independent lawyers to advance the interests of Downtown Eastside residents and aboriginals, but some groups are boycotting them.
John questioned the province’s motives and the inquiry’s ability to appear impartial and effective.
“Full and effective participation is absolutely critical and we’re not there yet,” said John.
“It’s one of the most astonishing things that we’ve seen in this inquiry on behalf of the government. Do they really believe in this commission and what it has set out to do, or did they just put it out there to placate the public?”
As John spoke, the sounds of protesters chanting and banging drums on the street below could be heard inside the courtroom, which sits in Federal Court building just a few blocks away from the Downtown Eastside.
Oppal said he was confident the inquiry will uncover what went wrong during the Pickton investigation and make recommendations for change.
“There are no sacred cows here and we’re quite prepared to hear all of the comments and all of the criticisms,” said Oppal. “We intend to have a fully independent comprehensive report at the end of the day. We’re very much committed to that.”