Federal Crown attorneys in Nova Scotia have exercised their discretion to withdraw or refer simple possession charges to restorative justice programs. So why are police still charging people for possession of substances for personal use under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act?
On the evening of August 13, 2020, in my own neighbourhood, right outside of my children’s classroom, I witnessed a Halifax police officer accelerate his vehicle to make physical contact with a woman, temporarily throwing her off balance. Vehicular assault. From a block away I could hear her pleading with the officer to leave her alone up until that point. After stumbling momentarily she asked the officer why he’d done that and then used the phrase “Black Lives Matter”. My heart raced.
On August 28th at 2pm, community members will gather to demand justice for Kayla Borden, a local woman who one month ago was racially profiled and arrested by 6 Halifax Regional Police (HRP) Officers.
Join us on August 28th from 2-4pm to demand justice for our community member Kayla Borden. On July 28, 202 Kayla Borden was racially profiled and arrested by 6 Halifax Regional Police Officers.
Open letter: On behalf of the members of the Jamaican Cultural Association of Nova Scotia (JCANS), we wish to express our displeasure and outrage at the unfair arrest and treatment of KAYLA BORDEN by the Halifax Regional Police. She is a valued member of our Association. This was a blatant case of Anti-Black Racism manifested so egregiously in characteristic Racial Profiling in street checks by law enforcement agencies in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM).
In the early hours of Tuesday July 28, 2020 Kayla Borden was racially profiled, pulled over, and arrested without cause by the Halifax Regional Police. Women’s Wellness Within is demanding an end to anti-Black systemic racism inflicted by law enforcement in Halifax.
A motion at today’s Halifax Board of Police Commissioners meeting to appoint a community advisory committee to explore defunding the police was moved in camera. The question to ask is, who are the commissioners really working for?
On July 14, 2020, NS PPWG steering committee member El Jones was asked by Halifax Board of Police Commissioners (“HBPC,” “the Board”) Chair Natalie Borden to lead a committee for the purpose of recommending a definition of “defunding the police.”
n response, we proposed that we convene a committee to tender research and consultation on defunding the police in Halifax. We envision this process as being much broader than simply crafting a definition, as any definition that is not adequately supported by research and consultation will be of limited utility.
A complaint lodged by a Halifax couple who believe that they were racially profiled by Halifax Regional Police (HRP) hit a procedural hurdle at this morning’s Nova Scotia Police Review Board meeting. The issue had nothing to do with the complaints, and everything with HRP screwing up and not following due process. The disturbing part is that it may let the accused cops off the hook before the tribunal, scheduled to last two days, even gets started for real.
The current protests against police brutality and systemic racism are about more than individual misdeeds by racist cops. Calls for abolishing and defunding the police are entering the mainstream, indicating that people want the underlying systemic causes addressed. We talk with Errol Sharpe of Fernwood Publishing and Dr. Lynn Jones to understand what is new about the protests.