N.S. shooting inquiry bans sharing video, audio in testimony of RCMP officer

The inquiry into the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting will hear from an RCMP officer who made repeated visits to the gunman’s home next week, but media will not be allowed to broadcast any video or audio from that appearance.

The Mass Casualty Commission has granted an accommodation to Const. Greg Wiley, stationed in Bible Hill, N.S., who had repeated contact with the gunman in the years leading up to the massacre in April 2020.

The inquiry has previously heard that Const. Wiley was a friend of Gabriel Wortman, and had investigated him after police received a report that he was threatening to kill his parents. Wiley told commission investigators he had a good rapport with the killer and visited his residence around 15 times, but never noticed anything unusual.

Wiley is also among three officers named in a 2018 police review of the gaps in the RCMP’s response to the murder case of Susie Butlin.

Now, Wiley has been granted special arrangements to facilitate his testimony, allowing him to appear virtually, but the testimony will not be streamed on the commission website.

The commission has also agreed that video and audio can’t be shared or published in any way, including by the media.

This is the first accommodation of this type for the inquiry.

“Accommodations are granted to ensure the commission receives the best information from witnesses,” said Emily Hill, the senior commission counsel Friday evening.

“Because accommodation requests contain personal health information, we cannot discuss the specifics of these requests.”

Violations of the ban could result in a charge under Section 127 of the Criminal Code, the commission said.

However, the testimony will be available for media and the public to watch in real time.

The public can request a Zoom link to view Wiley’s testimony by emailing heather.decoste@masscasualtycommission.ca.