News 1. Mass Casualty Commission “The clock is ticking,” writes Stephen Kimber. “There are just 116 weekdays between now and the day that the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission is required — by the orders in council that created it — to report back to the rest of us… Neither the federal nor provincial government […]
Lisa McCully was ‘creeped out’ by a neighbour in Portapique; then he killed her
In the days before the mass murders of April 18/19, 2020, the killer was harassing Lisa McCully, who lived in Portapique, driving in front of her home and “creeping her out,” according to an RCMP officer who knew her. McCully was the killer’s third victim on Saturday night, April 18, when she left her two […]
“I didn’t know he was the devil”: women recall their experiences with the mass murderer
This article is sexually graphic. In 2008, a woman in her 30s bought a Victorian house in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Next door was a rooming house owned by Tom Evans, an older gay lawyer. In documents compiled by the Mass Casualty Commission, the woman is referred to as AA. She was interviewed by RCMP investigators […]
Dave Westlake doesn’t have malice towards the two RCMP cops who shot at him, but he wonders how they missed
“I’ve never had malice toward the two individuals that pulled the trigger. I still don’t to this day,” said Dave Westlake, coordinator for the Colchester Regional Emergency Management Organization. “I want to ask them how they missed — because I can’t hide behind telephone poles.” As “EMO Dave” reminded investigators with the Mass Casualty Commission, […]
Missteps, Mistakes, and Miscommunications
Morning File, Monday, April 4, 2022
News 1. How a series of failures likely led to murders on the morning of April 19, 2020 In the days following the murders of April 18 and 19, 2020, we saw people outraged at what seemed like police inaction or incompetence, and those who had no patience for that view, arguing that it was […]
Cruise ships are returning, but do we want them back?
Morning File, Thursday, March 10, 2022
News 1. Police board recommends 0.4% increase to HRP budget I did not think I would find myself laughing out loud at a story on the Board of Police Commissioners and the budget increase they proposed for the Halifax Regional Police. Of course, policing is not a laughing matter, and neither is the intractability of […]
The stickiness of harmful habits
Morning File, Tuesday, March 1, 2022
News 1. Portapique: 13 dead in 40 minutes, children left alone for hours This article includes graphic descriptions of intimate partner violence, multiple murders, and trauma to children. Tim Bousquet and Jennifer Henderson report on documents released by the Mass Casualty Commission, laying out just what happened in Portapique on the night of April 18, […]
Accidents don’t happen by accident
Morning File, Wednesday, February 23, 2022
News 1. Bullshitter of the week: Mass Casualty Commission “Effects on Wellness” panel Tim Bousquet reports on the first day of the Mass Casualty Commission hearings, which included an “inexcusably condescending” panel on “Human Impact — Broad Reach and Effects on Wellness.” Keith Dobson, a Psychology prof at the University of Calgary, gave us advice […]
The inquiry into the Nova Scotia mass murders begins today; here are some of the questions we have
Morning File, Tuesday, February 22, 2022
News 1. Mass murder inquiry The public inquiry into the mass murders of April 18/19, 2020 begins today. This week’s proceedings are preliminary: today there is a “Panel on Human Impact — Broad Reach and Effects on Wellness” and tomorrow a “Panel about life in rural Nova Scotia, including in the affected communities.” It won’t […]
What does the word crisis even mean anymore?
Morning File, Thursday, October 14, 2021
News 1. Woodford Report, Province House edition: fixed election dates, rent control, inclusionary zoning “Like the Olympic Games for political nerds, Nova Scotians can now count on an election every four summers,” writes Zane Woodford in his report from Province House Wednesday. In the first session of the 64th general assembly of the Nova Scotia […]