Premier Tim Houston said his government won’t fight a Nova Scotia Court of Appeal decision that found the province systemically discriminated against people with disabilities. Three people with mental disabilities — Beth MacLean, Joey Delaney, and Sheila Livingstone — filed a human rights complaint in 2014 against the provincial government regarding their institutionalization in the […]
“When I was in, on the stand or statements that I wrote, I guess that there was some stuff that was, was false”
After police gave him $17,550, Paul Smith became the main Crown witness in Randy Riley's 2018 murder trial. Riley was convicted. But last year, Smith came forward to say he had lied on the stand, and that his testimony against Riley was false. Moreover, it appears the Crown knew Smith lied on the stand, and did nothing about it. Now, Smith has disappeared.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) ordered a new trial for Randy Riley, the man convicted in 2018 for the 2010 murder of Chad Smith, a pizza delivery driver. The Supreme Court came in response to an application from Riley’s lawyer concerning something called a Vetrovec warning. A Vetrovec warning is a warning given […]
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 […]
Court of Appeal hears taxi driver sex assault case
"A drunk can consent," ruled judge Greg Lenehan in lower court decision dismissing charges against Bassam Al-Rawi.
“A reluctant acquittal.” That’s how defence lawyer Luke Craggs characterized a decision by Nova Scotia judge Greg Lenehan last March, when Lenehan found taxi driver Bassam Al-Rawi not guilty of sexually assaulting an intoxicated 26-year-old female passenger. Craggs noted that in his written decision, Lenehan admitted he “struggled to understand what this evidence proves.” His...
Man with history of domestic assault awarded custody of five-year-old boy
Justice Lawrence O'Neil has had a long and controversial career, first as an MP railing against women's right to abortion, then as a judge overly protective of the rights of fathers. Now, the Associate Chief Justice has awarded custody of a small child to a father with a history of domestic assault, downplayed another allegation of domestic assault against the father, implied that the mother was lying, and accused the police of misleading the court.
In August, Lawrence O’Neil, the Associate Chief Justice of the Family Court, awarded custody of a five-year-old boy to the child’s father, who has a history of domestic violence, even though the father had previously signed away his right to custody. A troubled relationship The names of the parents and child in this story are […]