Lawyers for families argue gunman's spouse must be witness in N.S. shooting inquiry

Lawyers representing families of 20 of the people killed during the April 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia say the public inquiry examining the violent rampage will not get a clear picture of what happened unless it hears directly from the gunman's spouse. 

The Mass Casualty Commission presented documents this week summarizing what it believes happened in Portapique, N.S. They state the gunman attacked his partner of 19 years, Lisa Banfield, and proceeded to kill 13 neighbours after she escaped and hid in the woods. 

Gabriel Wortman killed nine more people while disguised as a Mountie the following morning and drove nearly 200 kilometres through rural Nova Scotia, most of it in a decommissioned police cruiser he'd adapted to look like a real one. 

On Wednesday in Halifax, lawyers for participants in the inquiry weighed in on whether it's necessary for Banfield to speak to the commission about what happened. The commission has based its preliminary findings on lengthy interviews Banfield gave to the RCMP. 

Sandra McCulloch of Patterson Law said "it's plain and obvious that there is no witness more critical" than Banfield, particularly given she was with the gunman in days and hours leading up to the killings.

Banfield can shed light on "what preceded his change, countenance and behaviour," said McCulloch, whose firm is representing 23 participants in the inquiry, including the majority of the families of people killed. 

McCulloch said she has significant concerns about Banfield's account, saying it's based on "incomplete and untested statements given to the RCMP." 

Specifically, McCulloch said much has been left unsaid with regard to how the gunman's partner managed to escape from the shooter, given Banfield has said there were handcuffs involved and that she crawled through the glass divider between the front and back seat of a replica cruiser.

The lawyer also suggested Banfield did not appear to suffer injuries that might be expected if she was shot at and then spent a cold night outside in below freezing temperatures. 

Given where Banfield told police she hid, McCulloch said the location was  "critically located to potentially enable [Banfield] to observe a great deal of the activity that took place in Portapique overnight," including the movements of community members and RCMP officers. 

Joshua Bryson, who represents the family of victims Joy and Peter Bond, said while Banfield was hiding in the woods, 13 people were killed and she could shed light on the timeline. 

"What did she hear? What did she see?" said Bryson.

Linda Hupman, who represents the families of victims Lillian Campbell, Jolene Oliver, Emily and Aaron Tuck, echoed to the commission that it can't complete its work without Banfield. 

"Our belief and our submission to you, this proceeding can have no final report without hearing directly from Ms. Banfield," she said.