On November 16, Nicole Munro writing for the Chronicle Herald investigated how suicide victims were turned away at Nova Scotia ERs. The story raised questions about gaps in Nova Scotia’s mental health supports. On the Remembrance Day long weekend, I advised a young person in crisis to call the Mental Health Mobile Crisis Telephone Line. The […]
Image at NSCC Early Childhood Education classroom reflects centuries of negative stereotypes of Black women
Vanessa Fells is the programming and outreach co-ordinator for the Black Loyalist Heritage Society. This weekend, Fells was at a Black Educators Association professional development event when a young African Nova Scotian student shared with her the following picture from the Early Childhood Education class at the Nova Scotia Community College Burridge campus in Yarmouth: […]
Phillip’s story: “They told me it could be a lifelong job. And instead I got a lifelong addiction.”
Phillip Izzard has been trying to get someone to listen for 37 years. I interview Phillip in his home in Uniacke Square. The day I meet him, I have just come from an event at the Black Cultural Centre exploring the impact of the city’s apology for Africville. “Africville is still happening,” residents at the […]
Corrections officials came to Province House for questioning; here’s how they answered
On Wednesday morning, I attended the Public Accounts committee meeting at Province House. Deputy Minister of Justice Karen Hudson, Chris Collett Executive Director of Correctional Services, and provincial Director of Correctional Services Sean Kelly were answering questions about the Auditor General report from May, 2018. Among other concerns, the report revealed jails were not following the rules […]
Black and Indigenous: prisoners of mixed heritage face institutional ignorance
Prisoners who are of both Black and Indigenous background report that they face discrimination in jail based on their mixed heritage. There have recently been a number of stories about white people falsely claiming Indigenous ancestry. Jorge Barrera’s investigation for APTN established that author Joseph Boyden has no traceable Indigenous ancestors. Elizabeth Warren’s claims of being […]
Our lunch with Angela
by Martha Paynter, El Jones, and Emma Halpern We sat down with Angela Davis for one hour over lunch when she was in town this week to receive an honourary Doctor of Laws from Dalhousie University and deliver the inaugural lecture in the Viola Desmond series. She asked us about prison abolition, sexual violence, racism, […]
Jails lose crime investigation evidence
The sensitive information has been missing for over a month, and no one has any idea where it is. The documents include crime scene photos, names of witnesses, video of statements to the police, and other evidence. The privacy of every person named in those files has been compromised.
On Tuesday, I attended Dartmouth Provincial Court for the preliminary inquiry into the murder of Nadia Gonzalez. Samanda Ritch and Calvin Sparks are charged with first degree murder. But before the inquiry could start, there were two issues. The first was that Sparks’ lawyer, James Giacomantonio, had to remove himself from the case due to […]
“Culture of fear”: a former guard relates his experience at the Burnside jail
"The moment you walk in the door at Burnside you are stripped of your dignity and humanity. No matter your sex, religion, or creed. No matter if you are an inmate or staff member."
A former correctional officer who worked at Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility (the Burnside jail) is concerned that the lack of attention to conditions in the jail will lead to violence and to people getting hurt. The former officer contacted the Halifax Examiner and spoke about his experience working at the jail on the condition […]
A prisoner in the Burnside jail responds to Justice Minister Mark Furey
On Thursday, 17 days into the protest at Burnside, Minister of Justice Mark Furey released an op-ed piece publicly addressing the issues raised by the prisoners for the first time. Unfortunately, prisoners cannot access his comments, and there seem to be no plans to circulate his piece in the facility so they can read and respond […]
The Burnside powder keg: Broken promises, dehumanizing body scans, unfair solitary confinement, non-working toilets, lockdowns, and more
"We have 40 guys living together in the same room, without any physical equipment, no physical outlets. It’s very hard, and it’s gonna lead to violence."
The Halifax Examiner is covering the prisoner protest at the Burnside jail: • The statement released by the prisoners can be read here. • An interview with Jason MacLean, NSGEU President and correctional officer is here. • A prisoner account about the staffing shortage, the lockdown, and the problems with the change to a direct supervision […]
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