News 1. The Halifax police department has a crisis of legitimacy Is there an unusually large number of Halifax cops who are crooks? I suspect there is an institutional culture that looks the other way and avoids confronting official misconduct, and that institutional culture therefore actually encourages even more misconduct. But of course it’s a […]
Documenting police “malfeasance” in Glen Assoun’s wrongful conviction
Morning File, Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Yesterday, Glen Assoun’s lawyer Phil Campbell filed a brief with the Supreme Court in response to a media application to unseal court documents related to his wrongful conviction. The media coalition consists of the Halifax Examiner, the CBC, and the Canadian Press. Campbell’s brief wants a partial publication ban to be placed on three people […]
Telling the story of Glen Assoun’s wrongful conviction: we need your help
Morning File, Wednesday, April 17, 2019
1. Armoured vehicle This is a short Morning File today because I was busy at court most of the day yesterday (see below) and because I’m kind of riled up about the city’s purchase of an armoured vehicle for the police. I wrote a little Twitter rant about the latter while I was eating dinner […]
We’ve spent $15 million a year on the Yarmouth ferry; here’s a better and lots more fun idea for spending the money
Morning File, Thursday, March 21, 2019
News 1. Ferry funding The province announced funding for the Yarmouth ferry yesterday: The province is helping to renovate the Bar Harbor ferry terminal to accommodate the Nova Scotia-Maine ferry service. The expected cost is $8.5 million. … The renovation costs will be included in the province’s 2018-19 spending. The work is currently underway with […]
Electronic Frontier Foundation recognizes the Nova Scotia government and Halifax police for their role in tech transparency
Morning File, Monday, March 11, 2019
1. SNC-Lavalin “There is an unanswered, barely whispered question at the heart-attack centre of the SNC-Lavalin scandal now dumping buckets of freezing rain on Justin Trudeau’s sunny ways/sunny days parade,” writes Stephen Kimber: And that question is this: what would Andrew Scheer or Jagmeet Singh have done differently? Click here to read “What would Andrew […]
Horsing around with taxpayers’ money for some connected guy’s get-rich-quick scheme
Morning File, Monday, March 4, 2019
News 1. Glen Assoun In 1999, Glen Assoun was convicted of the murder of his former girlfriend, Brenda Way. He spent 16-and-a- half years in prison and four-and-a-half years under strict conditions of parole. Throughout, he maintained his innocence. The murder of Way and conviction of Assoun is the subject of the first three parts […]
We’re about to learn just how subservient Nova Scotia is to the forest industry
Morning File, Tuesday, December 4, 2018
1. Clearcutting “The McNeil government is promising less clearcutting on crown lands through new ‘interim’ harvesting guidelines introduced yesterday in response to a comprehensive report on forestry practices prepared by University of King’s College president Bill Lahey last August,” reports Jennifer Henderson: It’s unclear how much the controversial practice will be reduced until after permanent […]
Four items about journalism
Morning File, Thursday, November 22, 2018
1. Paying for journalism “The federal government is giving a tax break to digital news subscribers, a refundable tax credit to news outlets and will allow non-profit media organizations to give charitable receipts to donors, all to help journalism in Canada,” reports the Toronto Star: The measures were outlined in Wednesday’s economic update and will […]
Nova Scotia’s foolhardy use of public-private partnerships continues
Morning File, Friday, October 5, 2018
News 1. Jails lose crime investigation evidence “On Tuesday, I attended Dartmouth Provincial Court for the preliminary inquiry into the murder of Nadia Gonzalez,” writes El Jones: 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, […]
Who killed Robin Hartrick?
Morning File, Tuesday, September 11, 2018
News 1. “Culture of fear” “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,” reports El Jones: The former correctional officer contacted the Halifax Examiner and spoke about […]