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Prisoners, acting mostly on their own, are changing the legal landscape of Nova Scotia’s jails

August 7, 2020 By Tim Bousquet 1 Comment

Today, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Kevin Coady published a decision, saying that the way two prisoners at the Burnside Jail are being held in solitary confinement is unfair, and he wants the jail administrators to address the situation, and if they don’t within 14 days, he wants to see the prisoners in court, potentially […]

Filed Under: Featured, News Tagged With: Andre Gray, Burnside jail, Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility, Claire McNeil, Dylan Gogan, Dylan Roach, East Coast Prison Justice Society (ECPJS), El Jones, habeas corpus applications, Hanna Garson, Justice Elizabeth Van den Eynden, Justice Gerald Moir, Justice Kevin Coady, Justice Peter P. Rosinski, lockdown, Maurice Pratt, Rae’heem Downey, Richard Verge, segregation in prisons, Solitary confinement

Whose deaths matter?

The Nova Scotia government has brought in legislation to create expert review panels to look into the deaths of those who die as a result of domestic violence as well as children who die in provincial care. The goal is to "turn tragedy into lessons learned and lives saved into the future." But Justice Minister Mark Furey refuses to extend the new law to include another vulnerable group: adults who die in provincial custody. Why not?

November 3, 2019 By Stephen Kimber

Why do the Liberals continue to get it so wrong even when they seem to be trying to get it right? Early last month, for example, Justice Minister Mark Furey introduced legislation to have expert review committees examine deaths resulting from domestic violence as well as unexpected deaths involving children in the care of the...

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Filed Under: Commentary, Featured, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: Catherine Tully, Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility, East Coast Forensic Hospital, East Coast Prison Justice Society, Justice Minister Mark Furey, Prisoners' deaths, Sheila Wildeman

Ramadan in jail: prisoners in Burnside are being denied the right to practice their religion

May 13, 2019 By El Jones Leave a Comment

Malik is calling from the jail asking for the numbers of any Muslims he can contact just to talk to, maybe hear some Quran from. The last time he prayed with community was during Ramadan last year, and since then, his requests for spiritual services have been denied. Last year, Muslim prisoners at Burnside (Central […]

Filed Under: Commentary, Featured Tagged With: Asaf Rashid, Aya Al-Hakim, Burnside jail, Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility, Hanna Garson, Idil Abdillahi, Ramadan, Rana Zaman

Six public policy failures in one morning news recap

Morning File, Wednesday, November 14, 2018

November 14, 2018 By Tim Bousquet 14 Comments

November subscription drive Sorry to pester you again, but just a short note to say we’re in the middle of our annual subscription drive. The Halifax Examiner needs your money to make this work possible. Please subscribe. Subscription party details: Reserve Sunday, November 25 on your calendars. We have Bearly’s Tavern, 1269 Barrington Street, 4-7pm. The […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Aaron Beswick, Angela MacIvor, Brian Mersereau, Burnside jail, Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility, Clayton Cromwell, Costas Halavrezos, Councillor Tim Outhit, David Pugliese, Elmvale Strategies, Hill + Knowlton, Jean-Francois Guillot, Linden MacIntyre, lobbying, Mary Campbell, Naresh Raghubeer, Northern Pulp, old library, OpenHydro, Paul Withers, Scotian Basin Exploration Drilling Project, shipbuilding contract, subscription party 2018, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, Zane Woodford

Welcome to the new Halifax Convention Centre! Here’s your $100 fine for smoking on the sidewalk

Morning File, Wednesday, September 12, 2018

September 12, 2018 By Tim Bousquet 3 Comments

News 1. Burnside jail update The prisoners at the Burnside jail have ended their 20-day strike and have issued a statement, which reads in part: Dear supporters, You are commended for your work on our behalf. None of us thought that we would gain so much support by sharing our conditions with the public. The […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Burnside jail death, Burnside jail strike, Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility, Charles Koch Foundation, Councillor Sam Austin, death in custody, DeSmog Blog, dry communities, Events East, Grafton Street glory Hole, habeas corpus applications, HalifaxToday website, Liquor Control Act, Matthew Lambert, Minister Karen Casey, Peter Ziobrowski, Randy Riley, Robert Sanford, Smoking ban, storm cheat sheet, Supreme Court Justice James Chipman

Prisoners at the Burnside jail end 20-day strike, issue statement

September 12, 2018 By Tim Bousquet 4 Comments

Editor’s note: the prisoners at the Burnside jail have ended their 20-day strike. They have issued this statement to the Halifax Examiner. Dear supporters, You are commended for your work on our behalf. None of us thought that we would gain so much support by sharing our conditions with the public. The negative perception of […]

Filed Under: Featured, News, Province House Tagged With: Burnside jail protest, Burnside jail strike, Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility

“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."

September 11, 2018 By El Jones Leave a Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Featured, News, Province House Tagged With: Burnside jail, Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility, Correctional Services Act, El Jones, Shane Martinez

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."

August 25, 2018 By El Jones 9 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Asaf Rashid, Burnside jail, Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility, David Burke, prisoners protest, X-ray body scanners

Guards refuse to work in the new day room at the Burnside jail; prisoners have been on lockdown since the weekend

August 24, 2018 By El Jones 1 Comment

On Sunday (August 19), the Examiner published a statement by prisoners at the Burnside jail outlining the conditions in the jail and presenting 10 demands. Jason MacLean, NSGEU President and correctional officer responds here. The protest is in part sparked by the move to the direct supervision model. Both staff and prisoners say that the change […]

Filed Under: Featured, News, Province House Tagged With: Burnside jail, Burnside jail renovations, Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility, prisoners protest

The prisoners at the Burnside jail are engaged in a non-violent protest; here is their statement

August 19, 2018 By El Jones 51 Comments

Today’s column has been provided to the Halifax Examiner by organizers of the protest in Burnside.  We, the prisoners of Burnside, have united to fight for change. We are unified across the population in non-violent, peaceful protest. We are calling for support from the outside in solidarity with us. We believe that it is only […]

Filed Under: Featured, News, Province House Tagged With: Burnside jail, Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility, El Jones, Prisoner Justice Day, prisoners protest

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The Tideline, with Tara Thorne

Brian Borcherdt. Photo: Anna Edwards-Borcherdt

Brian Borcherdt came of age in Yarmouth in the 1990s. When he arrived in Halifax, the city’s famous music scene was already waning, and worse, the music he made was rejected by the cool kids anyway. After decades away from Nova Scotia, he and his young family have settled in the Annapolis Valley, where he’ll zoom in to chat with Tara about his band Holy Fuck’s endlessly delayed tour, creating the Dependent Music collective, and the freedom and excitement of the improvised music he’s making now. Plus: Bringing events back in 2021.

The Tideline is advertising-free and subscriber-supported. It’s also a very good deal at just $5 a month. Click here to support The Tideline.

Uncover: Dead Wrong

In 1995, Brenda Way was brutally murdered behind a Dartmouth apartment building. In 1999, Glen Assoun was found guilty of the murder. He served 17 years in prison, but steadfastly maintained his innocence. In 2019, Glen Assoun was fully exonerated.

Halifax Examiner founder and investigative journalist Tim Bousquet has followed the story of Glen Assoun's wrongful conviction for over five years. Now, Bousquet tells that story as host of Season 7 of the CBC podcast series Uncover: Dead Wrong.

Click here to go to listen to the podcast, or search for CBC Uncover on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast aggregator.

About the Halifax Examiner

Examiner folk The Halifax Examiner was founded by investigative reporter Tim Bousquet, and now includes a growing collection of writers, contributors, and staff. Left to right: Joan Baxter, Stephen Kimber, Linda Pannozzo, Erica Butler, Jennifer Henderson, Iris the Amazing, Tim Bousquet, Evelyn C. White, El Jones, Philip Moscovitch More about the Examiner.

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