This week marks five years since Gabriel Wortman murdered 22 Nova Scotians over the course of 13 hours. Paul Palango and Adam Rodgers are joined this week by Scott MacLeod, brother of Sean MacLeod, one of Wortman's victims. Scott was present for much of the Mass Casualty Commission hearing process, and is a part of the Progress Monitoring Committee that was established to track the implementation of the recommendations. Scott's shares his reflections on all of that, along with his still unanswered questions that remain after five years.
Before Scott joins the discussion, Paul and Adam discuss the parts of the federal leaders' debates where justice issues were raised, as well as Paul's week of meetings with publishers in Toronto (and what that says about public attitudes towards policing in Canada).

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This Easter weekend marks the 5th anniversary of the NS mass shooting. I look at the changes since that time, focusing on the recommendations on the treatment of domestic violence. I preview this weekend's Dispersing the Fog episode, which will feature special guest, Scott MacLeod.
In the Supreme Court of Canada, arguments were made on an interprovincial travel case that arose during the pandemic. Kim Taylor was looking to travel from NS to St. John's NL for her mother's funeral in May of 2020, but was denied entry. The SCC heard arguments on section six of the Charter, which deals with movement between provinces. I analyze the arguments, and predict how the Court will decide the case.
Finally, I review the justice portions of the leadership debates from the past two nights, and observe how Mr. Poilievre reminded me of Eric Lindros' MVP speech from the 1995 NHL awards.

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This week, Paul Palango and Adam Rodgers discuss the Conservative and Liberal justice proposals released this week in the Canadian federal election campaign. The Conservatives say “three strikes and you’re out”, while the Liberals look to tackle gun crimes.
Related, this week the National Post published an excerpt of Tristin Hopper’s new book, Don’t Be Canada. The excerpt we analyse deals with Hopper’s critiques of the Canadian justice system, particularly as it deals with bail matters, and indigenous offenders.
Also, there is a case unfolding in BC, involving former officer Bill Majcher, who has been accused of espionage against Canada. Two other officers allege that they have been subjected to a spyware attack from the RCMP on their police-issued phones.
The show starts out with Paul describing an unusual invitation to join with retired police officers, ostensibly to join in their efforts to reform policing in Canada. It did not go as (they) planned.

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This week, Paul Palango and Adam Rodgers discuss stories from Ottawa, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, as well as a school shooting report from Nashville.
Some US lawyers are reacting to being targeted by the Trump administration by refusing to take on cases against the government. The implications for the justice system are discussed.
PM Carney delayed dropping candidate Paul Chiang despite his advocating for his opponent to be turned in to Chinese officials. Paul explains how politicians are enamored with police officers, even as candidates.
In NS, the government is trying to regulate on-reserve cannabis sales.
An RCMP officer in New Brunswick has been cleared of wrongdoing in a shooting on a First Nations reserve.
A school shooting report out of Nashville has cleared the shooters parents and care providers of responsibility. There are lessons for parents in the case.
Finally, a case out of Ontario has been tossed due to delay. The accused had been found with over 8kg of cocaine.

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This week, Paul Palango and Adam Rodgers discuss the Federal election, which was called the day this podcast was recorded, and what to expect over the next few weeks of campaigning.
The hit Netflix show, Adolescence, has been drawing interest for its portrayal of what might cause a young boy to commit serious violent offences. That same theme has been covered by the Fifth Estate in a story in Canada about online luring and the harms that result. We discuss the RCMP's capacity and willingness to confront these new types of crimes in Canada.
We then welcome Frank Magazine's Andrew Douglas to fill us in on some stories that he has been covering (and often breaking), including the recent drug-related murder in Sydney, NS. Andrew also brings his perspective on the state of local media in Nova Scotia, how Frank Magazine NS has been able to thrive, and why the public is underserved by the current model.

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This week, the governments of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick reached an agreement on funding the protective infrastructure between NS and NB. This followed a Court of Appeal reference hearing, and is in advance of a federal election call. I discuss the legal issues, and how the appeal hearing may have lead to the funding announcement.
Also this week, the National Judicial Institute visited the Court in Wagmatcook, to see the Gladue/Wellness/Trial/Bail court in action and learn what they might bring to their judicial education programs. I was there, and discuss what took place.
Finally, with the new Prime Minister taking office, questions of his wealth and potential conflicts of interest have arisen. I review what is involved in a blind trust, and whether that is sufficient for political leaders.

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This week, on his final day in office, Prime Minister Trudeau released a brief position paper on the future direction of the RCMP. This unexpected announcement called for a narrower mandate for the Force, with Provinces taking over responsibility for community policing when current contracts with the RCMP expire in 2032.
Author Paul Palango and lawyer Adam Rodgers discuss the White Paper, its timing, whether the new Prime Minister is likely to adopt the recommendations, and what the report gets right and wrong.
Also discussed - St. Patrick's Day, the Ides of March, the five year anniversary of the pandemic, and the Gretzky-Ovechkin dynamic.

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This week, Paul and Adam discuss the CBC story of the Black Hawk helicopters the RCMP has been renting to patrol the border, which have resulted in one non-fentynal arrest. Also, there have been two recent in-custody deaths in Halifax involving police tasering. Why is that happening? Also discussed, NY Police are targeting crime hotspots. Is that racial profiling, or good policing? Finally, Paul has more thoughts on Wayne Gretzky having others defending him, and we chat about sports gambling commercials.

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