Poet, author Angela Bowden responds after assault charges dropped against New Glasgow mayor Nancy Dicks

Last week, criminal assault charges were dropped against New Glasgow mayor Nancy Dicks.
In an interview with the Examiner, Chris Hansen, a spokesperson for the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service, said senior New Glasgow prosecutor, Bill Gorman, decided there was no realistic prospect of conviction.
The charge against Dicks stemmed from a Black Lives Matter event in New Glasgow in September 2020. African Nova Scotian author and poet Angela Bowden said that while sitting down after the event, Dicks approached her, became verbally aggressive before physically grabbing her leg, squeezing it, and saying “Now, you listen here.”
Borden’s lawyer, board chair debate line of questioning around systemic racism during constable’s testimony

Andrew Gough, the lawyer representing the Halifax Regional Police, openly scoffed and laughed at the notion that the denial of systemic racism within the HRP by one of its officers would be evidence, in of itself, of systemic racism within the force.
Kirk Johnson recounts legal battle with Mike Sanford and Halifax Regional Police

“I said in order for me to help my peers, to help people that been racially profiled while driving, this has to be out there and everybody has to know about it,” Johnson recalled in Equity Watch webinar.
Justice minister issues directive to close loophole in street checks ban

The term “suspicious activity” will be replaced with “reasonable suspicion.”
Councillor responds to claims that East Preston is underserved by transit system

“There was weekend service in the past when the bus route was operated under the former ‘Halifax County Beaver Bank Transit Service’; a holdover service prior to HRM Amalgamation,” Hendsbee said in an e-mail. “The weekend service was running initially during the summer months to have transportation options available for youth for summer job opportunities.”
But that weekend service was cut due to low ridership.
Closed-door meeting on Black women in leadership raises concerns for province’s only Black female political science professor

“It is not the role of the Liberal Party to reach into other people’s communities and determine what leadership looks like,” writes El Jones in letter to Andy Fillmore about meeting hosted by MP Marci Ien.
Lionel Desmond was a victim of racism, cousin testifies at inquiry

It was two years ago this month that Raymond Sheppard first wrote in the former Nova Scotia Advocate about the role racism played in the case of his younger cousin, Lionel Desmond, who, in 2017, killed his wife, Shanna, mother, Brenda, and 10-year-old daughter, Aaliyah, before killing himself.
Desmond who served in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in the war in Afghanistan suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). An inquiry into deaths is now underway.
Lionel Desmond was a victim of racism, cousin testifies at inquiry

“Three guys that had been harassing him jumped Lionel in the men’s locker room and used racial slurs such as “chocolate milk” in reference to his wife (my sister Shanna). Lionel ended up successfully defending himself against the aggressors and ended up going to summary trial in response to the attack. There would definitely be records of that summary trial if we looked into it.”
Black mother accuses Halifax police of racial bias after her child was bitten by a neighbour’s dog

A Black mother is accusing Halifax Regional Police of racial bias in the mishandling of a case involving her 12-year-old daughter Taizanah’zian, who was bitten by a neighbour’s dog.
Brandon Rolle speaks about impact of Race and Culture Assessments

“We’ve gotten some judges who just considered the information but didn’t apply it to sentence, and so I think the Crown, in this case, recognized the need for that guidance from our highest court and they came back with a very clear message saying … you, first of all, should be ordering these any time an African Nova Scotian is sentenced.”
