This article includes descriptions of sexual assault and murder. On the night of September 17, 2017, Ernest Ross (Junior) Duggan was alone at his Clarks Road home in Bayhead, drinking a pint of rum. Mid-pint, Duggan left his house, walked over to the yard of his next door neighbour Susie Butlin’s house, and called out her […]
Let conservation officers carry shotguns
Morning File, Tuesday, August 30, 2022
News 1. Police kill Dartmouth man “Nova Scotia’s Serious Incident Response Team is investigating after a Halifax Regional Police officer shot and killed a man in Dartmouth,” reports Zane Woodford: In a news release, police said they went to Carleton Street in Dartmouth for a “weapons call involving a male armed with a firearm” on […]
Don’t call the cops on people simply because they don’t meet your standards of social behaviour
Morning File, Friday, August 26, 2022
News 1. COVID Nova Scotia has reported eight new deaths from COVID, for the latest reporting period, August 16-22. I won’t have the age or vaccination status of the deceased until Sept. 15. Additionally, for the same reporting period, 34 people were hospitalized because of COVID; this is down from 40 the previous week. Due […]
The view from 10,000 feet: RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki must go
RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki began her second day of testimony before the Mass Casualty Commission with the stark acknowledgement that she has no understanding of the police response to the events unfolding in Portapique the night of April 18, 2020, as a mass murderer began a killing spree that left 22 people dead. Lawyer Josh […]
Quiet quitting: the new “no one wants to work anymore”
Morning File, Wednesday, August 24, 2022
News 1. Brenda Lucki This item is written by Tim Bousquet. Yesterday, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki testified at the proceedings of the Mass Casualty Commission. Much of Lucki’s testimony revolved around the failures of the RCMP to implement recommendations that came from previous tragedies, like those spelled out in the MacNeil Report after the Moncton […]
Those darn kids today. And yesterday. And decades ago
Morning File, Tuesday, August 23, 2022
News 1. RCMP response to mass murders was “awesome” retired assistant commissioner says This item is written by Tim Bousquet. Yesterday, RCMP Assistant Commissioner (retired) Lee Bergerman testified at the proceedings of the Mass Casualty Commission. Bergerman was the highest ranking RCMP officer in Nova Scotia at the time of the mass murders of April […]
Nova Scotia has had two recent mass murders. Are we failing to recognize the warning signs of a third?
Morning File, Monday, August 22, 2022
News 1. Mass Casualty Commission The public proceedings of the Mass Casualty Commission resume this week. Today, RCMP Assistant Commissioner (Retired) Lee Bergerman will testify. If needed, her testimony will continue tomorrow, but when that is complete, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki will take the stand, and testify into Wednesday or Thursday, as needed. Much of […]
Assessing mass murder: How to think about the unthinkable
Vacation File, Friday, August 19, 2022
News 1. Eleven new COVID deaths Yesterday, the province announced 11 new deaths from COVID for the most recent reporting week, August 9-15. This is the highest weekly reported death count since June 8 (when there were 20). I won’t have demographic data for, or the vaccination status of, the newly reported deaths until September […]
Starry with a chance of showers
Morning File, Friday, August 12, 2022
News 1. HRP tell police review board their officer made ‘unlawful arrest’ in 2019 tasing You may remember an incident back in December 2019, when a Halifax Regional Police officer tased a Black man on Quinpool Road after issuing him a ticket. The officer in question, Const. Nicole Green, was found in disciplinary default after […]
For the first time this year, Nova Scotia has gone a week without any reported COVID deaths
Morning File, Friday, August 5, 2022
News 1. COVID For the first time in 2022, the province is reporting zero new deaths from COVID for the most recent reporting period, July 25-August 1. During the same reporting period, 54 people were hospitalized because of COVID. Nova Scotia Health provided the status of COVID hospitalizations as of yesterday: • in hospital for […]