There is no doubt Lisa Banfield was an early and frequent victim of the physical and emotional tyranny of her long-time common-law spouse, the mass murderer Gabriel Wortman. Abuse victims deserve our compassion and support.
But tragically, Ms. Banfield is but one of his many, many victims -- living and dead.
The rampage of April 2020 ended the lives of close to two dozen victims in Nova Scotia and traumatized the loved ones of those left to mourn. And beyond those directly involved, entire communities -- perhaps an entire province -- were indirectly victimized as citizens were left to question long-held assumptions about their peaceful way of life and their personal safety. Wortman’s carnage was very much a brutal assault on a way of life.
Which is why the commission investigating his evil ways, his behaviour before and during the killing spree, was wrong to not allow direct questioning of Ms. Banfield by lawyers representing the families of his murder victims. The desire to protect her from the trauma of cross-examination, while noble in its intent, disrespects the other victims’ need for, and right to, the closure that can only begin when their questions are answered.
The commission’s decision implies there is something wrong with even asking questions. If the concern was about the way the questions would be asked -- the tone or the implication -- the commission could have and should taken upon itself to referee the questioning, rather than preventing it. The chair is, after all, a jurist of considerable experience.
Lisa Banfield was a victim, but she was also a first-person witness to Wortman’s actions, moods and behaviours. That does not necessarily make her complicit or liable for what he did, but it does put her in a unique position to help explain it to the satisfaction of the other victims.
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