'New' Mass Casualty Commission Doc re: Cross Border Gun Smuggling, NS DOJ Budget, National Citizens Covid Inq., SCC DUI Case, C.P. Allen School Knife Incident
This week in Canadian and Nova Scotian law stories involves a range of issues from the Mass Casualty Commission to treason allegations, a DUI Charter breach analyzed by the Supreme Court, and problems with the reaction to the knife incident this week at the C.P. Allen high school in Bedford. The Mass Casualty Commission may be trolling us. Their final report is being released next Thursday, and yet they are still releasing 'new' material, and being coy about how long their final report will be. A report on what should have been a major area of analysis of the MCC, cross border gun smuggling, was released yesterday - and the report was dated July 23, 2020. Also, the Commissioners are telling us that their final report will be between 2000-3000 pages. They may know the actual number by this time, but for some reason are still giving a very wide range. The NS Department of Justice has released it's business plan, as part of the Provincial budget. There is no mention of the MCC in the list of priority areas, or of police reform. The National Citizens Inquiry, which is a privately funded initiative looking into the government handling of the pandemic, was in Truro last week. This inquiry has been flying under the radar, though has big ambitions. Hopefully, a credible final report will emerge from the process. Liberal MP Han Dong has resigned from caucus after allegations emerged that he was undermining efforts to free Canadian hostages Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. Journalist Stephen Mahar wondered on twitter whether this could be considered Treason under our Criminal Code, and I examine that question. The Supreme Court of Canada rendered a decision this week on an impaired driving case. They ruled that, despite the accused being arbitrarily detained, the evidence against him should be admitted, and a conviction entered. In their Year in Review, the Supreme Court highlighted their independence from government, and included as their featured decision the Bissonette mosque shooter case where they determined the accused could not have consecutive periods of parole ineligibility. Finally, I look at this week's knife incident that shut down the C.P. Allen High School in Bedford. The Teacher's Union seems to be hinting they need more money for hallway supervision, and the Crown has (prematurely, and problematically) announced that they will be seeking an adult sentence for the 15-year old accused.
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