First African Nova Scotian Chief Judge of Provincial, Family Courts Appointed: Perry Borden

New Chief Judge of Provincial, Family Courts, Perry Borden.

Judge Perry F. Borden will be the new chief judge of the Nova Scotia provincial and family courts.

Judge Borden was appointed to the bench in 2020 after serving as a Crown attorney with the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service. His time there included five years in the special prosecutions service, focusing on cybercrime, child pornography, child-luring and sexual assault offences.

1st Miss Black Canada crowned 25 years ago this week

Tamara Tynes after being crowned the inaugural Miss Black Canada, Aug. 30, 1998. Photo: Tamara Tynes Powell.

25 years ago on this date in Toronto I became the 1st Miss Black Canada. At age 18 no one expected this Scotian girl would take home the crown but I got the judges with my public speaking. Contestants would ask me where I was from as they were from the islands or African countries. Had to give them a history lesson about African Nova Scotians (We Been Here 400 +). Scotian for the win! ?✊?

Police lay charges in homicide of Davelle Rodney Vance Desmond

Davelle Desmond is seen in a family photo. The 26-year-old's death on Aug. 6 has been ruled a homicide. (Kevin Desmond)

Police have laid charges in the homicide of Davelle Rodney Vance Desmond that occurred earlier this month in Halifax.

On August 6 at approximately 9:40 p.m., police received a report of a disturbance that had occurred on the Halifax waterfront in the area of the 1500 block of Lower Water Street. Officers located an unresponsive man on the boardwalk. The victim was transported to hospital where he later died.

Halifax police release use of force policy, three years after request from oversight board [VIDEO]

Halifax police release use of force policy, three years after request from oversight board

Two years after a confrontation with protesters ended with angry shoving, pepper spray and almost two dozen arrests, Halifax Regional Police finally released its policy on use of force.

It comes as an external review by a Toronto law firm is underway into police action during a protest on Spring Garden Road in August 2021, when hundreds of people tried to stop police and city workers from removing shelters used by homeless people.

Open Letter – Anti-Black Racism at Public Prosecution Service (July 2023)

Corey Wright, Denise Smith (PPS), Robert Wright (ANSJI), Karen Dudson (PPS), Kate MacDonald

“The African Nova Scotian Justice Institute has serious concerns about systemic racism at the Public Prosecution Service.  Our recent correspondence with government officials and PPS leadership have not left us with great confidence that our concerns are being heard and addressed.  We are releasing the most recent correspondence to the public to initiate broader discussions on this problem to better educate all Nova Scotians about these concerns. “

Weymouth Falls receives community spirit award alongside reunion celebration [VIDEO]

Dr. Henry Bishop

On Aug. 5, 2023, the historic African Nova Scotian community of Weymouth Falls is receiving the Lieutenant Governor’s Community Spirit Award.

Weymouth Falls was selected for the award in 2022, but the ceremony was delayed so it could happen alongside the community’s biennial reunion celebrations — the first since the COVID-19 pandemic began. 

‘Dream big’: NBA pro Lindell Wigginton hosts basketball camp in Halifax

Madden Ross (right) participated in an inaugural weekend-long basketball camp in Halifax hosted by Milwaukee Bucks guard, Lindell Wigginton (left).

Dozens of young basketball players from the Halifax area gathered in the Saint Mary’s University gym on Saturday morning to watch as a National Basketball Association (NBA) star stepped onto the court to offer some words of inspiration.

Lindell Wigginton, 25, who grew up nearby in the city’s Uniacke Square area, launched his inaugural weekend-long basketball camp at the university’s Homburg Centre in hopes of developing the next generation of talent.

The Milwaukee Bucks point guard said through his skills academy, he aims to offer resources and insight that weren’t available to him when he first started out.

Jamaican migrant worker granted federal health care after being fired from N.S. farm [VIDEO]

Kerian Burnett, left, and Stacey Gomez, right, speak to reporters in Halifax on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. Burnett arrived in Nova Scotia from Jamaica to work on a strawberry farm, but says she was fired after her cancer diagnosis, leaving her without medical coverage. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Marlo Glass

A migrant worker who was diagnosed with cervical cancer shortly after arriving in Nova Scotia has been granted health insurance under a federal program.

Kerian Burnett arrived from Jamaica in April 2022 to work on a strawberry farm, and says she was fired after her cancer diagnosis and left without medical coverage.

Her lawyer, Thiago Buchert, says that after nearly eight months Burnett has been admitted to the interim federal health program.