I shouldn’t be surprised. Not after Me-too. But I am. Still. It happens more often than you might suppose. I’ll be attending a public event, and someone will come up to me. “Aren’t you the guy who wrote that book, the one about…?” Yes, I am, but it was published 20 years ago. “My sister…...
Here’s the stadium lie: it will pay for itself
Morning File, Wednesday, February 6, 2019
News 1. Here’s the stadium lie: it will pay for itself There’s a big long Canadian Press article written by reporter Dan Ralph that quotes Anthony Leblanc at length about all things Atlantic Schooners, but mostly about his plans to play in Moncton while he strong-arms Halifax into building him a stadium. Then Ralph gets […]
Gerald Regan and the legacy of our #MeToo moment
It isn't the jury's verdict from 1998 we should be remembering today, but the fact the RCMP and prosecutors finally chose to believe women over one of the country's most powerful political men. And, more important, that women — lots of them — stood up for other women, and said #MeToo.
“Members of the jury, have you agreed upon your verdicts?” The court clerk asked her rote question with a wavering, tell-me-don’t-tell-me tone that seemed to capture perfectly the nervous, nerve-wracked mood among the more than three dozen men and women sitting in the Halifax Law Court’s Courtroom 3-1 on the blustery afternoon of December 18,...
Former Halifax cop Chris Mosher has received a cash payout and a new job from the city
After he was charged with sexual assault and then for repeatedly violating the conditions of his release, Halifax cop Chris Mosher was fired last year by the Halifax police department. But Mosher has successfully appealed his firing, and has received a cash payout from the city and a new job working with either the city’s […]
The judge and the complaints: finding the balance between judicial independence and public confidence
As the review committee’s decision demonstrates, we need to know more than can be communicated in a 140-character tweet before leaping off the ledge to firing-offence conclusions. The problem, too often, is that’s all reasonably informed people have to go on.
“In the Matter of Complaints Against Judge Gregory Lenehan, made pursuant to the Provincial Court Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 238 …” If nothing else, last week’s decision by the review committee looking into allegations of “misogynistic reasoning” and “gender bias” by Nova Scotia Provincial Court Justice Gregory Lenehan inadvertently made a compelling argument for cameras...
Halifax man suspected of sexually abusing dozens of boys in the 1980s and 1990s
This article contains accounts of sexual abuse of children. A Halifax man who has been convicted of sexually abusing three boys was sued yesterday by three other men who say they were also his victims. Another two alleged victims have already filed suit against the man, and an active police investigation is looking at the […]
Man Up: Men must speak out against sexual assault
The young man who, in 2011, reputedly gave a thumbs up sign while sodomizing an inebriated Rehteah Parsons has gone on with his life. Ditto the fellow who took a photo of the assault that was then circulated online and unleashed a barrage of “slut-shaming” attacks against the once cheery Dartmouth teenager. No longer able […]
Court Watch: Jimmy Melvin Jr, a 132-pound five-year-old, and Paul Tingley’s crap car
In Court This week I watched the first day of the jury trial of Meaghan MacDonald. There’s a publication ban in place but hopefully when the trial has ended I can share some thoughts on jury selection. Another jury trial in a sexual assault case begins Wednesday, and is expected to go for 10 days. Watching...
Court Watch: sexual assault and the law
In Court Hubley trial continues This week saw the Crown close its case in the trial of George Edward Hubley for accessory to murder after the fact and interfering with human remains, following the 2014 murder of Catherine “Catie” Miller. Defence lawyer Brian Church chose to call his client as a witness on Monday. I...
The Ghomeshi verdict isn’t Marie Henein’s fault
The danger in having conversations about sexual assault and how it should be dealt with in the criminal justice system without someone like Henein involved is that such a discussion becomes insular and circular, and gets us nowhere.
Get it out of the way first. I do believe those women who came forward to accuse former CBC host Jian Ghomeshi of sexually assaulting them. And I salute their courage in doing so. That said, I don’t agree with those who want to silence Ghomeshi’s lawyer, Marie Henein, for the crime of having done...