Final Appeal by Colin Thatcher

Author:Colin Thatcher [Thatcher, Colin]
Format: epub
Publisher: ECW Press
Published: 2010-10-05T17:14:10.828000+00:00

It was at this juncture that we learned about the hatchet and the accompanying letter. Dunne's interest was piqued. Although Smoker was the focus of his trip to Regina, he made several phone calls to senior management at the Leader-Post. Only one person vaguely recalled the incident. Dunne phoned Garrett Wilson, who was emphatic that such a note and hatchet had indeed been received and referred him to Al Roseker at the paper. Roseker was uncooperative. Dunne tried to see him at the office, but Roseker ignored his presence in the waiting room.

I knew Roseker from my MLA days. He struck me as a bit of a rebel then and certainly not lacking the courage to tackle something sensitive; however, his attitude was consistent with the total uncooperativeness of the Leader-Post in our attempts to confirm the existence of the letter and hatchet. The paper stonewalled every request for information. As noted earlier, Ann Kyle, the reporter who turned the package over to the Regina Police, sought legal advice when contacted by Allbright and refused to cooperate, apparently on that advice.

From a supposed guardian of the truth, this was a truly remarkable attitude. We had no interest in drawing them into anything; rather, we merely wanted to confirm the existence of the letter and hatchet before we requested disclosure from the Department of Justice. In charitable terminology, a news outlet bent on suppressing news is unique. In fact, it was a gutless paper, staffed largely by personnel doomed to the journalistic obscurity of Regina.

The cover-up was under way before Dunne arrived in Regina with the Leader-Post front and centre. A story by Ann Kyle quoted several Regina policemen and a retired RCMP inspector as being unaware of any associations between Calvin Smoker and biker gangs. The story stated that neither the RCMP National Criminal Index nor the local Regina City Police Criminal Intelligence Unit had any information connecting Smoker to biker gangs. The police officials dismissed the possibility of a Smoker connection to biker groups. Attorney General Bob Andrews rejected Smoker's claimed involvement in the JoAnn Wilson murder prior to Dunne's arrival in Regina. However, Dunne soon found that other investigators were interviewing the same people whom he had come to see. At times, Dunne felt as if he was under surveillance.

Ron Rosebluff was Calvin Smoker's uncle and a respected elder on the reserve. Rosebluff agreed to a taped conversation with Dunne.

B.D. All right, this is in regards to comments he made about a car in the JoAnn Wilson murder that happened in January 1983. Ah, what, what do you know about the matter?

R.R. I don't know too much about what happened, but I just happened to drop in on my sister when she lived on Broder Street. I just forgot the number of the house.

B.D. Your sister?

R.R. Nancy. Nancy Smoker.

B.D. That's Calvin's mother?

R.R. Yes.

B.D. All right.

R.R. And, ah, I know from time to time she was having a hard time, so I'd bring her groceries and so on. Help her with things like that.

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