Probe moves to a ‘less-adversarial’ panel approach

Goal is to be more inclusive but not everyone is happy with change in format

Missing women commissioner Wally Oppal announced Tuesday that after 52 days of hearings in which two dozen witnesses took the stand, he will switch to a “less-adversarial” panel approach as soon as next week.

Oppal hopes community and First Nations people will be “more willing to come forward and participate” in a “more co-operative” approach.

The announcement came just as the ranks of top criminal lawyers swelled to more than 21, all paid out of the public purse, and rising often at the inquiry to defend VPD officers, the police union and police board, as well as the RCMP.

Robert Pickton, who confessed to killing 49 women, is thought to have started his killing spree in 1991 but wasn’t arrested until February 2002.

Oppal said it is “critical” he assess “the magnitude of harms caused to families and community beyond the crime[s] of Robert Pickton.”

“My commitment to the safety and security of women, especially marginalized ones, has never wavered,” Oppal said. “I am determined to ensure that these women did not die in vain and that positive change resulting in the saving of lives will be the lasting memorial for the missing and murdered women.”

Panel members will speak under oath and some witnesses will still take the stand, said commission counsel Art Vertlieb.

“The commissioner wants to write a report that won’t stay on a shelf, but will actually help save the lives of marginalized women at risk right now in the Downtown Eastside,” Vertlieb said.

The inquiry’s new format came as a “shock” to some victims’ families.

“Mr. Oppal is just trying to save time and money by getting a lot of witnesses on at once. We came for a public inquiry and we’re not getting one,” said Lilliane Beaudoin, the sister of Pickton victim Dianne Rock.

The inquiry released four major reports Tuesday, including a report into municipal policing in the Lower Mainland and one on the protection of vulnerable women. They can be found at missingwomeninquiry.ca. A final report is due in June.