Commissioned Work

Like many writers, I undertake commissioned projects from time to time. For me, these have ranged from corporate and government assignments to work for individuals.

Some examples:

  • Royal Commission on the Wrongful Conviction of Donald Marshall, Jr. I was General Editor for this 1989 report into the case of a young Native who spent 11 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. The Commissioners also examined the province’s two-tiered justice system—one law for the powerful and another for the powerless—and made many far-reaching recommendations that have resulted in legislative changes in Canada. You can read a Digest of the Commission’s Final Report here.
  • Our Province, Our Future, Our Choice: An Economic Strategy for Nova Scotia (Voluntary Planning, 1991);
  • Fishing for a Future (St. Francis Xavier University Extension Department, June 9, 1991);
  • Report of the Working Group on Mental Health of the Nova Scotia Department of Health (Government of Nova Scotia, June 1992);
  • Report on the Treatment of Sexual Offenders (Department of the Solicitor General, October 1992);
  • Provincial Task Force on Fiscal Management (Voluntary Planning, 2000)
  • IWK: A Century of Caring for Families. This history of Atlantic Canada’s largest and most important hospital for women and children was written to mark the 100th anniversary of the original Halifax Children’s Hospital in 1909. For more information on the book, which was commissioned by the IWK Health Centre Foundation, click here.
  • McInnes Cooper: 150 Years in the Life of a Law Firm. This commissioned history of one of Atlantic Canada’s most storied and successful law firms was written in 2009 to mark the firm’s first 150 years. In the opening chapter, the firm makes a key strategic movement in wooing former New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna to join Mcinnes Cooper.