With very limited exceptions (national security, for instance), we do not have secret court evidence in Canada. We have the exact opposite: an Open Court Principle. I wrote about the Open Court Principle after the Halifax Examiner, the CBC, and the Canadian Press prevailed in our effort to get court documents unsealed in the Glen […]
Dave Moore’s work could have cleared Glen Assoun of murder; here’s how and why the RCMP destroyed it
The RCMP’s spin on the Glen Assoun wrongful conviction makes no sense. That is the view of two former RCMP officers who are familiar with the case. It is now established that in 2004, the RCMP deleted information on a computer database that would have made the case that serial killer Michael McGray — not […]
A victory for open courts: Justice James Chipman finds in favour of the media and unseals the Assoun file
Justice James Chipman today ruled for the Halifax Examiner, the CBC, and the Canadian Press in our application to unseal documents in the Glen Assoun case. Assoun is the man who was wrongfully convicted of the 1995 murder of Brenda Way and spent over 16 years in prison. Assoun was released on an extraordinary court-ordered […]
The Assoun wrongful conviction: the McNeil connection
Morning File, Monday, July 8, 2019
News 1. Northern Pulp Mill’s missing environmental data “If Premier Stephen McNeil is wavering on the Northern Pulp / Paper Excellence file, entertaining notions on amending the Boat Harbour Act so that effluent from the Pictou County pulp mill can continue to flow into the lagoon after January 31, 2020, he would do well to […]
Pandora’s Box
Morning File, Friday, July 5, 2019
News 1. “Conquered people” files to be released The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal has ordered the provincial government to release the “conquered people” files. The case centres on an infamous brief written by Justice Department lawyer Alex Cameron in the Alton Gas case. Stephen Kimber recapped the story for the Examiner about six weeks […]
An astonishing display of cowardice: city councillors are ignoring police misconduct in the Assoun case
As we are learning that the Halifax police willfully acted to keep an innocent man in prison, the politicians responsible for civilian oversight of the police department are deafeningly silent. Meanwhile, unelected bureaucrats and lawyers at City Hall have attempted to keep the police misconduct hidden by a publication ban. According to his lawyers, police […]
If a tree in the Public Gardens could talk, what would it say? Text it and find out
Morning File, Wednesday, July 3, 2019
News 1. Media victory in Assoun case “Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice James Chipman has indicated that he will grant a media request to gain access to sealed court documents in the Glen Assoun case,” Tim Bousquet wrote yesterday. Click here for all the details (Tim is updating the story this morning.) Tim’s worked a […]
UPDATED: Supreme Court Justice James Chipman rules for media group in Assoun document case
Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice James Chipman has indicated that he will grant a media request to gain access to sealed court documents in the Glen Assoun case. Assoun is the man who was wrongly convicted for the 1995 murder of his former girlfriend Brenda Way. That murder and Assoun’s conviction were the subjects of […]
The Halifax police department has a crisis of legitimacy
Morning File, Monday, June 17, 2019
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 […]