The Federal Government has introduced its budget, with major new spending commitments and no path to fiscal balance. I discuss the highlights, and the irony of a budget, aimed at younger voters, relying on deficits and increasing debt to the extent this government is planning.

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Outside the Mulroney Centre at St FX with other local Conservatives. We will be going to the Causeway shortly.

There will be a #RodgersBrief video later today, discussing the Foreign Interference Inquiry, the Online Harms Act and more!

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There will not be a Rodgers Brief this weekend. I am away at the Engage Nova Scotia board retreat. I include comments here on our seemingly incurious Prime Minister testimony at the Foreign Interference Inquiry, the budget announcements to date, the lack of reaction to the Desmond Inquiry findings in the Defense Department funding announcement, and a preview of the Sunday Night Show

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This week, the Foreign Interference Inquiry heard interesting testimony from Han Dong and Erin O'Toole. I discuss that testimony, the benefits of the inquiry process versus the Special Rappatour option the government wanted, and reforms needed to the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force.
The Justice Minister was interviewed by Althia Raj regarding the proposed Online Harms Act. The Minister was on the defensive throughout, and did little to ease fears that this government is overreaching on the restrictions to free speech contained in the Bill.
A case out of Calgary is showing how courts will handle Medical Assistance in Dying cases on the margins. Here, the person asking to die is 27 years old, has Autism, and evidence from her father raises questions as to whether she is indeed suffering significant physical ailments.
Finally, I look to the Mass Casualty Commission report one year on. The RCMP have provided an update on their efforts to implement the report recommendations, and the Province of Nova Scotia has provided a brief update as well.

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Lots to cover this week after no show last weekend.

The big, but underreported, story is the Federal Government appealing a decision of the Federal Court on the country-wide shortage of judges. The Chief Justice wrote to the Prime Minister about the issue, which generated a declaration from the Federal Court that the government should speed up the appointment process. Now, the government is saying that the letter from the Chief Justice is heresay, and not evidence that should have been relied upon. Quite a thing to say about the CJ.

I also cover the lack of a Charter statement on the new Online Harms Act, an attempt to restructure how junior hockey players are assigned to teams, the closing of the elver fishery, a Michigan father convicted of manslaughter for his son's school shooting, a not guilty plea in the Shelburne forest fire, the failed attempt to keep the Alehouse Liquor Control Act hearing secret, and the Bedford teen who was charged with attempted murder in a school stabbing incident at C.P. Allen High School.

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As we get into March Break, there are some important legal stories to cover. This week, I start with some celebrity legal news from the US - the armorer on the set of the Alec Baldwin movie, Rust, has been convicted by a jury of mishandling the ammunition that lead to the death of the cinemetographer of that movie. There was controversy in the Iditarod, when a moose encounter lead to a two hour penalty to one of the top drivers. Also, the US Supreme Court has ruled that former President Trump cannot be barred from being on the ballot by individual States.
The big Canadian legal news this week was the introduction of the Online Harms Act, the latest attempt by this government to regulate the internet. This legislation has some good elements when it comes to child protection, but goes too far in creating a new bureaucracy to monitor online speech.
I also review the news that the government has not made changes to the Emergencies Act, as recommended by the Rouleau Commission Report.
In Nova Scotia legal news, Cassandra Desmond has been found not guilty of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon in an incident that took place on the fifth anniversary of the Desmond family tragedy. There was video of the entire incident, which Justice Hoskins said clearly showed Ms. Desmond was acting defensively the entire time. She should never have been charged.
There is a class action coming regarding jail lockdowns in NS, which seems likely to be certified.
Finally, there are two developing areas of law that emerged this week. One is a magic mushroom dispensary in Vancouver which has been granted a license to operate. This is similar to how cannabis legalization began to take root. Also, in Quebec, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association is helping on an appeal regarding suspicionless police stops ... which happen every day all over Canada, but which are also at risk of engendering racial profiling.

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If you are in Cheticamp this weekend, stop by and say hello. I am here with the Louisdale Tigers, playing at 7pm tonight, then 8:30 and 3 tomorrow. Playoffs are Sunday, if we make it through. There will not be a Rodgers Brief this weekend, but I will be on the Sunday Night Show live at 9:15pm

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This week I start with some Nova Scotia news - four judges have been named to new positions within the NS judiciary, the Bar Society issued a "clarification" on media coverage of Lyle Howe's Court of Appeal victory, and former Better Business Bureau President Peter Moorehouse was sentenced for child pornography offences.
Nationally, several stories caught my attention. Cameron Ortis has appealed his conviction for sharing secrets with targets of Canadian intelligence investigations, Nathanial Veltman's sentencing concluded with a declaration that he engaged in "terrorism" in killing four members of a Muslim family with his truck in 2021, Trucker Convoy personality Chris Barber is suing the federal government over his accounts being frozen, and two human rights groups have dropped out of the Foreign Interference Inquiry over fears that other participants' access to information may put them in danger.
I conclude with a story about pets rights in separations or divorce. British Columbia has enacted a law describing how such matters should be decided by courts when called upon to do so. This is the first law of its kind in Canada, and one that I can see being replicated in other jurisdictions.

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