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“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

The Randy Riley trial: how news media are falling down on the job

Dropping coverage of a court trial mid-trial is a disservice both for readers and for justice.

April 9, 2018 By Tim Bousquet 2 Comments

Last Tuesday, there was dramatic moment in Supreme Court, worthy of its own Law & Order episode. In the course of its prosecution of Randy Riley for the 2010 murder of Chad Smith, the crown called its witness Nathan Johnson. Johnson took the stand and — bam! — said that he, and he alone, killed […]

Filed Under: Commentary, Featured, Journalism Tagged With: Aly Thomson, Blair Rhodes, court coverage is inadequate, El Jones, Jennifer Stairs, Justice Chipman, Natasha Pace, Nathan Johnson confesses, Nicholas Butcher trial, Paul Smith, Randy Riley trial, Steve Bruce, Zane Woodford

Reporting While White: When “objectivity” and “neutrality” are inherently biased perspectives

Reading the News While Black: Two recent news stories raise questions about Black representation in the media.

April 1, 2018 By El Jones 1 Comment

I have never claimed to write “objectively.” That doesn’t mean I write things I believe to be untrue or that are factually wrong, but I am always openly writing from the standpoint of a Black woman. White people, however, believe and are taught that their practices are in fact objective, and that they neutrally present […]

Filed Under: Commentary, Featured, Journalism Tagged With: Black people speaking about racism, Black representation in the media, Darius Mirshahi, Deep Down Cleaning, El Jones, Founders Square, Joel Plaskett, Lynn Jones, Racism, Randy Riley trial, Rich Abbass, The Black janitors' strike

PRICED OUT

A collage of various housing options in HRM, including co-ops, apartment buildings, shelters, and tents
PRICED OUT is the Examiner’s investigative reporting project focused on the housing crisis.

You can learn about the project, including how we’re asking readers to direct our reporting, our published articles, and what we’re working on, on the PRICED OUT homepage.

2020 mass murders

Nine images illustrating the locations, maps, and memorials of the mass shootings

All of the Halifax Examiner’s reporting on the mass murders of April 18/19, 2020, and recent articles on the Mass Casualty Commission and newly-released documents.

Updated regularly.

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.

The Tideline, with Tara Thorne

Two young white women, one with dark hair and one blonde, smile at the camera on a sunny spring day.

Episode 79 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne, is published.

Grace McNutt and Linnea Swinimer are the Minute Women, two Haligonians who host a podcast of the same name about Canadian history as seen through a lens of Heritage Minutes (minutewomenpodcast.ca). In a lively celebration of the show’s second birthday, they stop by to reveal how curling brought them together in podcast — and now BFF — form, their favourite Minutes, that time they thought Jean Chretien was dead, and the impact their show has had. Plus music from brand-new ECMA winners Hillsburn and Zamani.

Listen to the episode here.

Check out some of the past episodes here.

Subscribe to the podcast to get episodes automatically downloaded to your device — there’s a great instructional article here. Email Suzanne for help.

You can reach Tara here.

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Recent posts

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  • NSTU president concerned about conflict as province announces end to mask mandate in schools May 19, 2022
  • Royal flush: the monarchy’s role in reconciliation and Canada today May 19, 2022
  • Dartmouth man charged with wilful promotion of hatred May 19, 2022
  • “Representation matters”: Vince Williams talks about the inaugural CFL Officiating Academy training camp May 18, 2022

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