Nova Scotia political playbook: when in doubt, blame the reporter

When Alonzo Wright was appointed Director of Nova Scotia’s Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) in December 2022, he gave his first interview to Matthew Byard, the Examiner’s Local Initiatives Reporter. Wright’s appointment as SIRT’s first director of African descent came at a fraught moment in the decade-long existence of the civilian police oversight body, whose […]

Justice delayed, justice dismissed, justice denied… justice ignored

Nova Scotia Provincial Court Chief Judge Pamela Williams. Does the Houston government have it in for the province’s judicial system? And, if so, what impact is that having on the timely but carefully considered delivery of justice in Nova Scotia? There is much to discuss here. But let’s start with Chief Provincial Court Judge Pamela […]

Unfinished business: Donald Sobey, Derek Power and the ‘pardoned’ sexual assault

During his lifetime, Donald Sobey did his best to bury the truth of his 1991 sexual assault conviction with dismissive public statements, non-disclosure agreements, a federal pardon, philanthropy and many, many good deeds. None of that made the life of the young man he’d assaulted any easier. Now Derek Power is telling his story, finally […]

White lawyer Nash Brogan and Black lawyer Lyle Howe are each charged with professional misconduct, but the Barristers Society is treating Nash with kid gloves while throwing the book at Howe

What’s the difference between a 71-year-old white lawyer charged with professional misconduct and incompetence, and a 29-year-old Black lawyer accused of the same? Interesting question. The allegations against “Sydney’s senior lawyer,” 71-year-old Nash Terrance Brogan, seem, on the face of them, serious matters. According to a bill of particulars filed against him in August by […]

Time for a serious rethink of the Serious Incident Response Team?

A mentally disturbed man holding a pellet gun mistaken for a handgun was shot and killed by a police officer after the man responded to another officer firing a rubber bullet his way, so he raised his pellet gun in response… There must be a better way. On July 9, 2020, the RCMP responded to […]

Shrubsall: no guarantees

Serial sexual predator William Shrubsall was sentenced to more prison time in New York last week. How much more? That depends. Not on our parole board, which failed abysmally. But on the willingness of women like T. C., K. C. and Tracy Jesso who continue to make sure his past — and his potential for […]

Shelburne School for Boys: Good intentions gone wrong? Or…?

Was the government’s compensation program crafted out of a well-intentioned desire to allow victims to tell their story “without a public spectacle” that would re-victimize them? Or in a desperate attempt to keep the public from ever learning the real story behind the abuse of children in care? While pursuing something else entirely yesterday, I […]

Ka-ching. Ka-ching. Your tax dollars at work covering government butt

As Justice David Farrar summed up the appeal court ruling: “It would be manifestly unfair to allow the province to hide behind solicitor-client privilege while at the same time impugning the conduct of its solicitor.” But that didn’t stop the McNeil government from trying. And trying. Last week, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal instructed […]

What would Andrew do? Jagmeet?

The SNC-Lavalin affair offered a stark choice for our prime minister. We know which door he chose. But what about the opposition leaders. Shouldn’t we know what they would have done with the same choice? This column first appeared in the Halifax Examiner March 11, 2019. There is an unanswered, barely whispered question at the heart-attack centre […]

Gerald Regan and the legacy of our #MeToo moment

It isn’t the jury’s verdict from 1998 we should be remembering, 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 ‘me too’ before #MeToo. This column […]