• City Hall
  • Province House
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Investigation
  • Journalism
  • Commentary
  • @Tim_Bousquet
  • Log In

Halifax Examiner

An independent, adversarial news site in Halifax, NS

  • Home
  • About
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Commenting policy
  • Archives
  • Contact us
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • Manage your account
  • Swag

“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.

November 8, 2020 By Tim Bousquet 2 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Featured, News Tagged With: Brian Church, Bruce Pitt-Payne, Chad Smith, Const. Steve Fairbairn, Ian Hutchison, Justice Cindy Bourgeois, Justice Duncan Beveridge, Justice Edward Scanlan, Justice James Chipman, Justice Patrick Duncan, Kaitlin Fuller, Lee Seshagiri, Melanie Perry, Nathan Johnson, Pat Atherton, Patrick MacEwen, Paul Smith, Randy Riley trial, RCMP Constable Benedict Chen, RCMP Inspector Martin Marin, Roger Burrill, Supreme Court of Canada (SCC), Trevor McGuigan, Vetrovec warning, wrongful convictions

Nova Scotia premier asks for criminal investigation of police in wrongful conviction case

September 17, 2020 By Tim Bousquet 4 Comments

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. SIRT is the province’s independent police oversight body; its mandate is “to investigate all matters that involve death, serious injury, sexual assault and domestic violence or other […]

Filed Under: Featured, Investigation, News, Province House Tagged With: Felix Cacchione, Glen Assoun wrongful conviction, Halifax Regional Police (HRP), Innocence Canada, Jerome Kennedy, Justice James Chipman, Justice Minister David Lametti, Premier Stephen McNeil, RCMP, Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT), Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System (ViCLAS)

Whale sanctuary coming to Port Hilford

Morning File, Wednesday, February 26, 2020

February 26, 2020 By Erica Butler 1 Comment

News 1. Nova Scotia budget The Nova Scotia government has announced a budget for spending a projected $11.6 billion in revenue, with plans for a $55 million surplus in the 2020-21 fiscal year. The CBC’s Michael Gorman outlines the government’s announced highlights, including spending increases (the Nova Scotia Health Authority budget increases by $77.7 million) […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Andre Veinotte, Andrew Rankin, Angela MacIvor, Anjuli Patil, Banc Investments, Blair Rhodes, Bry’n Ross, Charles Mills, Charles Vinick, El Jones, fraud, Gospel for Asia, Greg Zentner, Harold Dawson, highways, Justice James Chipman, Lori Marino, Michael Gorman, MLA Hugh MacKay, Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities (NSFM), Penny Lawless, Port Hilford, provincial budget, racism and gentrification, Sherbrooke, St. Pat's High School land, Stephen Archibald and corner buildings, Ted Rutland, urbanism, Vince Calderhead, Whale Sanctuary Project, white ignorance, Zane Woodford

Another loss for local journalism

Morning File, Tuesday, January 7, 2020

January 7, 2020 By Philip Moscovitch Leave a Comment

News 1. Blue Mountain–Birch Cove Lakes Tim Bousquet wrote this item. “Environmentalists who celebrated extra cash in last year’s municipal budget for park land protection are worried a reduced budget for next year means the city is again forgetting about Blue Mountain–Birch Cove Lakes,” reports Zane Woodford: Halifax regional council is working on the capital […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Advocate Media, Alex Cooke, André Valotaire, Annapolis Group, Archbishop Anthony Mancini, Blue Mountain – Birch Cove Lakes Wilderness, Bruce Frisko, Church Point, community paper closure, Councillor Jim Mustard, Église Sainte-Marie, Elmsdale Lumber, Enfield Weekly Press, hot idle, income assistance, Inverness Beach, Jim Vibert, Justice James Chipman, Katy Jean, Michael Gorman, Northern Pulp closure, Owls Head Park, Pat Healey, Pictou Landing First Nation (PLFN), Robin Wilbur, Shannon Proudfoot, the Laker, Tom Ayers, Zane Woodford

The Halifax police department is going to great lengths to prevent you from knowing how Glen Assoun was wrongfully convicted

October 17, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 5 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Featured, Investigation, Journalism, News Tagged With: Deputy Chief Bill Moore, Duncan Read, FOIPOP, Glen Assoun evidence, Halifax Police, Jennifer Stairs, Justice James Chipman, Justice Minister David Lametti, Open Court Principle, Patty McKelvey, Superintendent Colleen M. Kelly

Dave Moore’s work could have cleared Glen Assoun of murder; here’s how and why the RCMP destroyed it

July 21, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 6 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Featured, Investigation, News Tagged With: Cpl. Desrosiers, Cpl. Tom Aucoin, Cst. Debbie Burstall, Cst. Mike Waghorn, Dave Moore, Gilles Blinn, Glen Assoun, Glen Assoun documents, Justice James Chipman, Karen Broydell, Mark Green, Michael McGray, RCMP Inspector Larry Wilson, Sgt. Dick Hutchings, Sgt. Ken Bradley, Sgt. Kevin Tellenback, Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System (ViCLAS)

A victory for open courts: Justice James Chipman finds in favour of the media and unseals the Assoun file

July 12, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 1 Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Featured, Investigation, Journalism, News Tagged With: Glen Assoun documents, Justice James Chipman, Justice Minister David Lametti

The Assoun wrongful conviction: the McNeil connection

Morning File, Monday, July 8, 2019

July 8, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 2 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: acting Chief of Police Robin McNeil, Anthony McNeil, Centre Plan, Chris Blanchard, Chris Cline, climate change, deputy police chief Chris McNeil, Don Blankenship, Donkin coal mine, Donkin Mine safety violations, Fred Fitzsimmons, Glen Assoun documents, Innocence Canada, Irving Shipyard, Jerome Kennedy, Justice James Chipman, Mainland Moose, Matthew Moore, Phil Campbell, police malfeasance, Premier Stephen McNeil, Ryan MacDonald, Sean MacDonald, Trevor O'Neil, Victoria Road development, Wellington Street development

Pandora’s Box

Morning File, Friday, July 5, 2019

July 5, 2019 By Philip Moscovitch 4 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Akala Point, Alex Cameron, Aly Thomson, Amy Bennett, Andrew Rankin, Anne Derrick, Asa Kachan, Barbara Jannasch, Barbara M Freeman, Bayview Community School, Bethan Lloyd, Cheryl Tatjaoa Nicol, cocaine, conquered people, Craig Burnett, Education Minister Zach Churchill, Halifax Library, Julia-Simone Rutgers, Justice Duncan Beveridge, Justice James Chipman, Karen Hudson, Lisa Bennett, news story survey, Pandora, Paul Withers, Radical Imagination Film and Discussion Series, Sipekne’katik First Nation (Indian Brook)

An astonishing display of cowardice: city councillors are ignoring police misconduct in the Assoun case

July 4, 2019 By Tim Bousquet 8 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: City Hall, Commentary, Featured, News Tagged With: CAO Jacques Dubé, Councillor Lindell Smith, councillor Tony Mancini, Duncan Read, Glen Assoun documents, Halifax Board of Police Commissioners, Justice James Chipman, Mayor Mike Savage, police malfeasance, police misconduct, RCMP Corporal Roger Robbins

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • Next Page »

The Tideline, with Tara Thorne

Phyllis Rising — Rebecca Falvey (left) and Meg Hubley. Photo submitted

Episode #19 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne is published.

Meg Hubley and Rebecca Falvey met as theatre kids at Neptune and have been friends ever since. As Phyllis Rising — that’s right, Mary Tyler Moore hive — they’re making films, plays, and are in production on The Crevice, a three-part sitcom streaming live from the Bus Stop in March. They stop by to talk with Tara about its development, their shared love of classic SNL and 90s sitcoms, and the power of close friendship. Plus: A new song from a new band.

This episode is available today only for premium subscribers; to become a premium subscriber, click here, and join the select group of arts and entertainment supporters for just $5/month. Everyone else will have to wait until tomorrow to listen to it.

Please subscribe to 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.

Sign up for email notification

Sign up to receive email notification of new posts on the Halifax Examiner. Note: signing up for email notification of new posts is NOT subscribing to the Halifax Examiner. To subscribe, click here.

Recent posts

  • Six cases of COVID-19 announced in Nova Scotia on Saturday, March 6 March 6, 2021
  • The vaccine landscape has shifted dramatically in Nova Scotia; two new cases of COVID-19 found in Halifax area March 5, 2021
  • Halifax staff channels Alice’s Restaurant to propose crackdown on illegal dumping March 5, 2021
  • How a Halifax native is restoring looted art to Afghanistan March 5, 2021
  • Sacrificing wild Atlantic salmon for gold March 4, 2021

Commenting policy

All comments on the Halifax Examiner are subject to our commenting policy. You can view our commenting policy here.

Copyright © 2021