The department of justice is arguing against claims made by prisoners inside the Central Nova Correctional Facility who say they don’t have access to adequate health care, rehabilitative programs or healthy food. Justice spokesperson Sarah Gillis says everything is under control inside the infamous Burnside prison, where inmates have been engaged in a peaceful protest […]
Justice
Posted inNews + Opinion
Record of employment
Recounting the history of his involvement with the criminal justice system, Steve Deveau traces a line stretching nearly all the way across the country. First, in Yarmouth, where his mother was a single parent and “there was a lot of addiction around the house, lots of different forms of abuse from people who were hanging […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The weight
On August 7, 1993, Gregory Gerald Jodrey of Gaspereaux, Nova Scotia was murdered in Wolfville. Gregory was my best friend and I loved him dearly. Twenty-five years later, the hole remains in my heart and the anvil remains in my stomach. The bare facts are that Gregor was at the tavern in Wolfville, met a […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Restorative justice workers ready for a strike
A group of restorative justice caseworkers is in “full prep mode” for a strike within the next two weeks. The Community Justice Society has one more chance to reach a compromise, but unionized workers for the government-funded program say negotiations have broken down. With one more bargaining meeting scheduled for July 25 and no current […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
25 for 25: episode 1998
It was #MeToo moment decades before #MeToo even existed. Gerald Regan, former Nova Scotian premier and Liberal party statesman, brought to court on eight charges of sexual assault against victims as young as 14. Journalist Stephen Kimber was there watching the trial in 1998 when Regan was eventually acquitted. He wrote about the story for The Coast […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Graphic new details emerge about Shambhala sexual assault
Allegations of a sexual assault committed 16 years ago by spiritual leader Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is credible, say investigators, and there’s corroborating evidence the Shambhala leadership knew of the incident at the time. An update released this week by Project Sunshine investigators contains new details on an attempted rape that is alleged to have taken […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Racism, sexism and bullying will now be publicly reported to Halifax council
It’s not a public inquiry, says deputy mayor Waye Mason. It’s better than that. “A public inquiry would be a moment in time. This is an ongoing commitment.” In response to continuing outcry about the discrimination faced by HRM employees, Halifax Regional Council approved a motion Tuesday requiring CAO Jacques Dubé to provide quarterly public […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
SIRT director says more resources needed to police the police
The province’s police watchdog is being stretched thin investigating cases across Atlantic Canada. Felix Cacchione, director of the Serious Incident Response Team, explained the problem Tuesday during a presentation to the Halifax Board of Police Commissioners. Last month, Nova Scotia witnessed its first police shooting death since SIRT was formed in 2012. The next morning, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Maximum damages sought in Halifax Transit racism case
A Halifax Transit employee is asking for maximum damages after facing years of threats and racial harassment. The complainant is seeking the maximum allowable damages of $367,000 for psychological injuries sustained over a period of almost 20 years at Metro Transit (now Halifax Transit) and another $1 million in lost earnings and pension. The man’s […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Nightmare at Wood Street
Some young offenders hate the province’s only secure care facility so much, they’d rather be in juvie. Nova Scotia legal aid attorney Paul Sheppard says at a hearing last month, one of his clients being held at the Waterville youth jail was offered a deal: sign a form promising good behaviour and go free. But […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Lawyer slams HRM’s freedom of speech defence for racial abuse
The municipality apparently feels its employees have a Charter right to call each other racial epithets. It’s the bizarre defence that lawyers representing HRM used during an independent board of inquiry into complaints of racial discrimination at Halifax Transit’s Burnside warehouse. As exposed earlier this week in the board’s decision, Black and Indigenous employees in […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Nova Scotia’s prisons still awful
Hey great news everyone, over half the prisoners in the province are on remand and the guards watching them are improperly trained. This comes from auditor general Michael Pickup’s latest report, which lays out a stark portrayal of Nova Scotia’s correctional facilities and their deficiencies in safety, security and training. Policies for the use of solitary […]