Two key habeas corpus decisions were made on January 12 at the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia for the advance of the rights of prisoners: Diggs & Nova Scotia (Attorney General) and Wilband v. Nova Scotia (Attorney General). Lead counsel Hanna Garson and Emma Arnold with PATH Legal recognized the horrendous conditions of prisoners at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility (Burnside) and skillfully advanced this law in this area for the better. I am just going to comment on […]
Contending with the substanceless “human shields” argument by Israeli war crimes apologists
Apologists of Israel’s war crimes and genocidal acts against Palestinian people disingenuously throw down the term “human shields” as a justification for Israel’s mass killing of civilians. They provide no factual qualification or definition of human shields because they lack the substance to do so. It’s a distraction and a logical fallacy – a conclusion without a premise based on facts. They are fully aware that they cannot legally justify Israel’s blatant, indiscriminate killing of civilians, so they seek to […]
Press conference:Intention to prosecute Canadian officials for aiding & abetting Israel’s war crimes
November 16, 2023 LISTEN to the press conference Liberal cabinet members have been notified that they & other Canadian officials may be individually criminally liable for their role in aiding & abetting war crimes & crimes against humanity. The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) Legal Working Group for Canadian Accountability have issued a notice to the Government of Canada of its intention to prosecute Canadian officials for their role in aiding and abetting Israel’s perpetration of war crimes. […]
Notice of Intention to Seek Prosecution of Canadian Officials Complicit in War Crimes…
The Government of Canada is hereby provided with notice that we intend to seek the commencement of legal proceedings against Canadian officials where there is evidence that they have aided, abetted or in any other way supported, encouraged or provided material assistance in the commission of a war crime. This letter is sent by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) – an independent organization of lawyers, academics and politicians that works to protect the rights of Palestinians. […]
COMMENTARY: Detention is not a humane way to treat migrants in need of a home
COMMENTARY: Detention is not a humane way to treat migrants in need of a home
Trial of person arrested on August 18, 2021 protest against homeless evictions to begin May 2nd
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 1, 2023 On May 2, 2023, the trial of Natasha Danais, who was arrested in Halifax at the Old Memorial Library park during a protest against the August 18, 2021 forced evictions of homeless encampments, will begin at the Halifax Provincial Court at 9:30am. Hundreds showed up to the Old Memorial Library park on August 18, 2021 to peacefully express concern and outrage at the eviction of homeless people during an increasingly worsening homelessness crisis. The […]
Drawing the line on racial profiling in traffic stops: R v Sparks
This is an important decision, from May 2022, but just recently published, and you can find the link here. I was defence counsel in this matter. My client, who is Black, was stopped while driving. The arresting officer saw a “black man” driving and had a hunch that it was someone who had a no contact release condition to prevent contact with the woman in the passenger seat. Even though he was the person the officer was looking for, the […]
Solidarity beyond Bars
The new book by Jordan House and myself is out: Prisons don’t work, but prisoners do. Prisons are often critiqued as unjust, but we hear little about the daily labour of incarcerated workers — what they do, how they do it, who they do it for and under which conditions. Unions protect workers fighting for better pay and against discrimination and occupational health and safety concerns, but prisoners are denied this protection despite being the lowest paid workers with the […]
Forced Eviction of Peoples Park?
On August 12, 2022, People’s Park was fenced off, with remaining tents and shelter structures left within, creating a gloomy scene of dead space where once there was a community. (photo by Asaf Rashid) This enclosure, particularly during the time of the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis, should give reason to ponder the enclosures of commons lands from the 12th to 17th centuries in England – whereby the ruling class forcibly separated those who needed the lands for survival from […]
End Immigration detention
On June 8, 2022, the Vancouver City Council voted on a historic motion calling on the government of British Columbia to end its immigration detention contract with the Canada Border Services Agency and stop incarcerating immigration detainees in provincial jails. See video