Halifax’s board of police commissioners voted Monday to appoint El Jones to propose a committee to define defunding the police, and Jones hopes to turn that into an opportunity for more public input at the board. It’s the culmination of months of debate at the board over how to approach the issue of defunding the […]
The criminal destruction of evidence in the Assoun case by cops should scare the hell out of all of us
Morning File, Friday, September 18, 2020
News 1. Premier calls for criminal investigation of cops “Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil wants police acts in the Glen Assoun wrongful conviction case referred to the Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) for a possible criminal investigation,” I reported yesterday: At a post-cabinet meeting scrum with reporters [Thursday], I had the following exchange with McNeil: […]
Halifax refuses to reveal source of mysterious motion defining defunding police
Halifax is refusing to reveal the source of a controversial motion around defunding the police that was added to a Board of Police Commissioners agenda at the 11th hour this summer. At the board’s July 9 meeting, municipal staff brought forward a motion aimed at defining the concept of defunding the police: That the Halifax […]
Not satire: Halifax police board to consider appointing committee to define defunding
At a meeting where it was expected to debate defunding the police, Halifax’s police board voted to debate appointing a committee to define defunding the police — at its next meeting. The board of police commissioners had a lengthy agenda for its meeting on Thursday, but after starting more than half an hour later due […]
Halifax police board to discuss defunding, body cameras, making policies public
For the first time since the movement to defund police took hold across North America, Halifax’s board of police commissioners has scheduled a meeting. The city previously cancelled all the board’s meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, aside from those dealing with the budget in early May. El Jones reported last month that that the […]
Halifax to measure ‘citizen satisfaction and public confidence’ in police
The municipality is hoping to find out what citizens think of the cops with a new survey, and it’s looking for a polling firm to do the work. Halifax posted a request for proposals (RFP) Tuesday looking for a contractor for a standing offer to “allow HRP and Halifax District RCMP to establish an ongoing […]
We need to keep talking about racism
Morning File, Tuesday, June 16, 2020
News 1. Board of police commissioners’ meeting cancelled and other tales of non-transparency and lack of accountability El Jones writes about the cancellation of today’s Board of Police Commissioners meeting, ostensibly because — three months into the pandemic — they can’t figure out how to use Microsoft Teams. Jones writes: As the movement to defund […]
In the midst of a crisis over policing, Halifax’s police commission has cancelled its scheduled meetings and is declining to accept public input
I've got 99 problems; Microsoft Teams ain’t one of them.
In the midst of sustained protests about policing, and facing increasing questioning about their role and responsibilities, the Board of Police Commissioners cancelled their meeting planned for today. Members of the Board indicated to Harry Critchley that the reason for the cancellation was that not everybody on the Board was set up to use Microsoft […]
Street check apology misses the point: Black people continue to be profiled and surveilled
Before and after Friday, the community and media will be caught up in the wording of the apology, whether we are happy with the apology, and whether we accept the apology or not. All of this is happening on the terms of the police. Let us not forget that they refused to apologize, then changed their minds, and yet we are expected to show up when they finally feel like it.
On Friday, November 29, Halifax Police Chief Dan Kinsella will apologize to the African Nova Scotian community for street checks. The apology comes after the police initially rejected calls to apologize. The Halifax Board of Police Commissioners prepared a statement at their April 15th meeting asking both the RCMP and the Halifax Regional Police to […]
The provincial government is thinking about using bogus “carbon offsets”
Morning File, Monday, September 16, 2019
News 1. Dorian “On Sept. 3, 2019, as deadly, destructive Dorian zeroed in on southeastern US coastal states, the four biggest American wireless carriers — Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint — all pre-emptively announced plans to help their customers stay connected,” writes Stephen Kimber: Verizon, for example offered unlimited calling, texting and data from Sept. […]