The Rodgers Brief

This week we welcome Nicole Gnazdowsky back to continue the discussion of her brother's fatal accident at a Nova Scotia Power dam site, and her efforts to get accountability for the errors made throughout the investigation. Also, can she sue the RCMP for negligent investigation after so much time has passed.Also this week;- former RCMP Assistant Commissioner, David Teboul, has plead guilty to a charge of assaulting an opposing lacrosse player at his son's game. A special prosecutor was brought in for the case, which shows signs of Teboul getting favourable treatment- Charlottetown's interim Police Chief, Darren MacDougall, has plead guilty and paid a $200 fine after being charged by the RCMP with buying cannabis from a non-government dispensary- McGill Law School is under fire for allowing murderer Jeffery Ewert to be part of their law program. Ewart had his parole suspended for unknown reasons this week, which was the first anyone knew that he was a student at McGill- new information emerging about the fire at CFB Wainwright calls into question the decision to hold training exercises on the day of the fatal fire there- the Halifax RCMP is going back on its promise to set up satellite offices, despite committing to doing so- reporters kicked out of NS data centre announcement

This week we welcome Nicole Gnazdowsky to discuss the apology she received from the RCMP over their handling of her brother Andrew's death at a Nova Scotia Power dam six years ago. Nicole discusses how she pushed back against the government (including then-Premier Iain Rankin), labour investigators, NSP, and the police. Also this week;- an announcement on a proposed data centre in Point Tupper, NS has generated considerable political waves in NS, after the government announced their support for a proposal from Everwind's billionaire owner, Trent Vichie, to build a data centre to support American company Anthropic. Among other fall-outs politically was the former interim leader of the governing PC's announcing that she was now supporting Liberal leadership candidate (and former PC Justice Minister) Becky Druhan- the Steven Galloway defamation trial continued. Paul suggests some reading- the family of PEI murder victim, Brendan Carr, has asked for an independent review of how evidence was lost by police. The Justice Minister this week agreed to such a review- the NS Crown dropped its appeal of the acquittal of RCMP officer William McNutt- the BC election results match Adam's predictions- Paul reads a letter about the OPP and looks for help uncovering what is happening in Ontario- the Supreme Court of Canada has granted leave to the government on the Emergencies Act invocation from 2022, which the Federal Court has declared to have been illegal

This week, we welcome back Paul McNamara for an inside look at the Bill Macher acquittal and lawsuit, and the competency deficit at CSIS, the Canadian spy agency.Also covered in this episode;- Margaret Atwood defends due process again in speaking out on the Steven Galloway case, where the author, and former UBC professor was falsely accused of sexual misconduct- the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Diggs, reviewed the law on habeus corpus, and whether systemic issues at jails justify the urgency involved in a writ of habeus application. Adam reviews the arguments before the SCC, and predicts how the case will be decided- a Cape Breton police officer who stole a sign off the wall of a suspect during a search was the subject of an application for records related to that search, after being the exhibit custodian on another drug bust- the RCMP in PEI has lost key evidence in a murder trial involving a gay teacher, after an arrest had been made and DNA evidence seemed to point to the perpetrator- two Yellowknife RCMP officers have been charged after a person died in custody- former finance minister Christia Freeland has written a book - don't call it 'crazy'- OJ Simpson may have had an accomplice

This week, the Supreme Court of Canada released it's long-anticipated decision in R. v. Cope, dealing with sentencing of indigenous offenders, and specifically with the use of sentencing circles in the course of a sentencing.Guest Anita Stewart is the head of the Antigonish Women's Centre, where last week students at St. F.X. University unfurled a banner with a controversial message. Anita also shares her thoughts on the state of intimate partner violence services in the wake of the Mass Casualty Commission report.Adam and Paul also discuss the new Malcolm Gladwell book on policing and gun violence in the US.

This week we welcome back Tammy Oliver-McCurdie and Scott McLeod to discuss the announcement that more RCMP members would be receiving awards for their actions from the NS mass shooting, and the inquiry which followed, but that the names of those awarded would not be made public.Also this week;- the Cornell 7 sexual assault case has similarities to the London, ON junior hockey player case. We discuss how.- Mike Smith, the Trailer Park Boys' 'Bubbles', had sexual assault charges dismissed, after the complainant refused to testify- Lindsay Clancy lawyer Kevin Reddington has been building a reputation for his work on the case, but Adam thinks he made some key errors- the Supreme Court of Canada will be hearing a record number of cases this fall, and the one with the most intervenors is from a NS prison situation, where prisoners claimed the frequent lockdowns violated their rights- the Whitby Minor Hockey Association tried to ban a player's father who had been a teacher in the area and was convicted of sexual assault on eight students. - Douglas Smith was sentenced to six years in prison for killing his wife, who had asked him to help her die