March 15 -- Notice of Involuntary Transfer

On March 15, Gary Weaver received a Notice of Involuntary Transfer Recommendation for Kent maximum security, signed by Unit Manager Callahan. The Notice stated:

As a result of this incident there has been an extensive investigation and information gathered from various sources. While the information does vary somewhat, there is no doubt that from every source of information Weaver is identified as having had some part in the assault. We may never know the extent of Mr. Weaver's involvement in this assault but I sincerely believe he played some part. (Notice of Involuntary Transfer Recommendation, , William Head Institution, March 15, 1999)

Quite apart from the inaccuracy of Mr. Callahan's statement that every source of information identified Gary Weaver as being involved with the assault -- this completely disregarded both the information from the RCMP and the results of the handwriting investigation and the monitoring of tapes -- this notice clearly revealed that Mr. Callahan had already considered Mr. Weaver to be guilty at the time he chaired the thirty-day review. The initiation of Gary Weaver's involuntary transfer to Kent required my immediate attention. Under CCR Regulations, prisoners have two days to prepare a written rebuttal to a recommendation for transfer. Because of the complexity of the case, and because Mr. Weaver was scheduled for a polygraph examination on March 25, I requested and received an extension until the end of March for the preparation of the rebuttal. I also requested further written information regarding the various "reliable" sources identified in the IPSO's memo of February 15, which were also referred to in the transfer recommendation. In response, I received a Security Intelligence Report, dated February 26, 1999, in which the names of prisoner informants were blanked out to protect their identity.

On March 25, Gary Weaver was taken under escort to the Victoria RCMP detachment, where he was interviewed and tested by Sergeant Hunter of the Vancouver RCMP Polygraph Section. Sergeant Hunter later reported to Sergeant Brown and Corporal Gavin that, although the results of the test itself were "inconclusive," his intensive questioning of Mr. Weaver and Weaver's demeanour during and after the test led him to agree that Mr. Weaver was not involved in the assault on Curtis Caziere. The results of the test and Sergeant Hunter's opinion were relayed to the IPSOs' office at William Head.

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