During the discussion, I mentioned that I had been very upset over the meeting with TSB on 00-12-01 in which I was attacked.  I mentioned my conversation with Pat CAHILL and the fact that she had known nothing of the magnesium, and that I had learned about the Montreal fire from her, something that the TSB had kept from us.  He made a comment that is most interesting.  He said that he would not have the RCMP coming between the TSB & the FAA.  I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but putting it in context with occurrences, it makes sense.  Pat CAHILL (FAA) had not been told of the magnesium, iron, & zinc, even though they obviously have been working together with the TSB on the safety proposals for the aircraft.  But suppose the TSB has not mentioned (certainly not recently) that there could have been a possibility of an incendiary device, however remote they may think it might be.  Now the FAA finds out from me that the TSB has been keeping quite about that bit of information.  What does that do to the argument for the safety proposals?  One could suppose that the need for their proposals are weakened if there was a chance of a criminal act, because the companies would question the ability to protect against such an incident, especially if such an ensuing fire is only a rarity. 

            This brings to mind the comments of FOOT on 00 DEC 01 during the meeting.  He made the comment that instead of worrying about magnesium, we should be more concerned with the amount of iron present.  I have always bundled all three elements (magnesium, iron, & zinc) together as one when I speak of magnesium.  But I don’t know what he was driving at when he made the comment.  Certainly, iron is even less prevalent on the aircraft, especially in the fire area.

            This also reminds me of the conversation I had with Vic GERDEN on his last day in the hangar, 00-12-05.  His comments were that the report from Dr. BROWN was only going to contain facts and figures, and that there was no need for any speculation.  He then went on to reiterate that the magnesium problem wasn’t really such a problem because it was present in such small amounts.  When I told him that we would be able to say in court that we had at least tried to find the source of the questionable elements, he gave me such a look of shock and was lost for words for a moment.  Now it makes sense.

            I also had a chance to bring up the matter of the fire test report that was forwarded to TSB for comment.  I told him that I did not agree that it should have gone to them in this manner, that what he had done was to burn John GARSTANG as my source, and to burn me.  I told him that no one will tell me anything now, thanks to his actions.  He commented by asking what he should have done, and to whom I would have had him forward the report.  I told him that I expected him to contact me on the matter and discuss it instead of going off to the TSB with it.  I also suggested that he was the GIS investigator, and that I was the Ident member and that I had identified the potential matter and it was not my position to tell him how to investigate such matters, but that I expected not to have my sources or myself burnt.  I also told him that there had been a failure to communicate, that I had been forced to go through other people with my reports, and had never been able to approach him directly, and I have the paperwork to show it.  This is not the way to conduct business! 

            I mentioned GORMAN’s notes to LATHEM, and material in those notes that are disciplinary and have no business being there.  I also told him that GORMAN and I had discussions over various so-called problems, and that they had been ironed out, so I thought.  They then turned up as further problems listed in his notes.  He said that he would check into this matter and get back to me.  It seems that I caught him by surprise, but then I would not expect him to say anything else.  I also mentioned about GORMAN’s problems with my expenses, and that it had been impossible to carry KERR around with me every time I needed something, and that MASON had told me to buy the items myself.  His response was that he knew and that was why I still had the credit card.  Then it makes one wonder why GORMAN made such a point over it?

            On the form 1004 he orders me to meet with our Force Psychologist (Gilles CHAISSON) to discuss “anger management”.  He commented that this should have been undertaken previously.  I asked him if he thought that this would have solved the problems around here, and he said that he thought it would have.  I then suggested that he had no idea what the problems were if he felt that anger management counselling would have solved them.  Too much work with no time and no help are problems not solved by those methods.  As an Ident member, I am required to meet with Gilles once every year or two as part of my annual medical because of the work that we perform dealing with homicides and sudden deaths.  I haven’t had a talk with him since early 96, so I am well overdue.  And I certainly have had my share of sudden deaths with this file.  I just don’t want him to tell me to take time off until I get John GARSTANG’s list of work done, then he can give me as much time off as he likes.

            What is ironic is the fact that when LATHEM gets upset, he presents a very offensive and intimidating character who demands control of the situation without seeming to allow input from the person he is confronting.  I have seen it several times, and it is not something that one would look forward to seeing very often.  One could suggest that if anyone needs anger management, he certainly presents himself as such a candidate, evidence his actions on 00 DEC 01.

            What also is ironic is the fact that I had to put up with such a barrage of criticism over my inappropriate and incorrect actions, yet the only thing the 1004 mentions is the fact that I walked out of the meeting.  Not one of all the things I was criticized for are mentioned.  This really makes one wonder. 

            By the time we were finished, it was 1500 hrs, so I locked up and left.

(Clarification:)    Another topic that was discussed centred on my future work in the hangar.  Lathem wanted to know some of the things that had to be done.  One thing that I mentioned was that I would be putting in a concluding hangar report that would cover all the various techniques that we had used, especially the new methods of photography and AES examinations.  Lathem's comment to me was that he thought that this would soon be covered in a face-to-face meeting with Lee Fraser.  I didn't think much of it because that idea would serve no purpose, merely describing it to him.  It would have to be on paper so others could read it.  For that reason, I didn't mention it in these notes, as it was a non-starter, or so I thought.  Little did I know that there would be a face-to-face, but not for this purpose.  (See notes for 01 FEB 13)

            One other area dealt with overtime that I had worked during my time in the hangar.  Lathem told me to contact Gorman as he had technically been my Force supervisor during the period in question.