The Rodgers Brief

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 implementat...

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 pande...

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 Hop...

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 h...

This week, Paul and Adam discuss the revelations that a reporter for The Atlantic was invited to join a high level group chat on Signal, which involved attack plans for Yemen. Also discussed, the case of Turkish national Rumeysa Ozturk, a student on a study visa in the US being abducted by ICA agents and transferred out of state contrary to a court order. Paul has some sources telling him about op...

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 Cana...

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...

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 timi...

This week, Paul and Adam discuss the CBC story of the BlackHawk helicopters the RCMP has been renting to patrol the border, which have resulted in one non-fentanyl 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 ha...

This week, the Chief Justice of the Federal Court releasedhis decision on PM Trudeau's request to the Governor General to prorogueParliament. I discuss the case, and the intersection of law and politics it describes. Also, in Nova Scotia cases, a registered nurse at the NS Hospital wins adefamation case against the mother of a patient who slandered her on Facebook(Terris v. Meisner), elementar...

We unveil the name of the show, discuss Trump/border/fentanyl, Portapique civil suit update, Wayne Gretzky, Truro Police racism accusations, The Oscars, and more!

Paul Palango and I are back in action, with a new version of our analysis of stories dealing with policing and our courts. Join us live on YouTube at 8:30pm Sunday evenings, and the show will be posted to YouTube and be available on Apple and Spotify.

Here are some of the more significant stories that I have covered over the course of 2024. I hope you enjoy the recap, and I look forward to bringing you more content in the new year! 1. NS Mass Casualty Commission 'Progress' Monitoring Committee 2. Foreign Interference Inquiry (with final report expected early next week) 3. Eastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Federal Electoral Boundaries Federal...

This week, I review the first annual report of the Progress Monitoring Committee of the Mass Casualty Commission, along with some critiques from a member of the Committee, and my thoughts on how the lack of change can be traced back to the MCC itself. I also cover two appeals from the Supreme Court of Canada, on police use of an accused's cell phone and instructions on unsavory witnesses. I discus...

This week, I start with an analysis of the Federal Court's affirmation of the new Federal electoral boundaries for Cape Breton's two seats. The First Nation of Eskasoni is switching ridings, and challenged the change in court after the Boundaries Commission rejected the appeal of MP Jaime Battiste. The judge hearing the case is an indigenous law expert, and rejected every single point raised by Es...

This week, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court declared that Chéticamp should have it's own provincial riding. The decision from Justice Pierre Muise is critical of the 2019 Dodds Report, and relies on the Supreme Court of Canada's interpretation of voting rights under section 3 of the Charter. One of the lawyers for the Fédération Acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse is now-Senator Rejean Aucoin. One of the...

With the provincial election campaign underway, I examined the party platforms and publications to see what is being presented in the justice sphere. The answer is very little, despite the efforts made to give good advice through the Desmond Inquiry and Mass Casualty Commission. I attended the Antigonish candidates forum on Wednesday, and saw a candidate do something that I have not seen before. T...

I am back after a hiatus with a new Rodgers Brief. This week, the long awaited Ruck Report on racism in the NS Barristers Society was released, with some interesting comments on the Lyle Howe prosecution. Also, I review (the very few) justice issues being mentioned by the main parties in the Nova Scotia election campaign. Nationally, there were two stories - one is the release of the report by Spe...

I am going to be taking a summer break from recording the Rodgers Brief. Legislatures are not sitting, and Courts tend to slow down some over the summer. Also, I am focusing my time on seeking the federal Conservative nomination in the newly configured riding of Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish. In this video, I describe the riding, and discuss my connections to each region of this vast geographical a...

This week, I review the controversy around the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians report on foreign interference, and the allegation that some MP's are witting participants in such interference. Also, I examine the government's Charter Statement on the proposed Online Harms Act, the Supreme Court's view on 'secret trials' in Canada, the NS justice...

This week I focus on two NS Court of Appeal decisions. One relates to the delay in Judge Rickola Brinton's decision in the sexual interference and exploitation trial of Brandon McNeil (who now goes by the name Brynn Milner), and the plentiful blame that can be laid at the feet of Judge Brinton, as well as former Provincial Court Chief Judge Pam Williams. The other is the successful appeal of a...

This week, I start with a look down south to the charges against world #1 golfer, Scott Scheffler, before the second round of the PGA Championship. I also examine the cross examination of former personal lawyer to Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, in the trial against the former President. In Canadian stories, I discuss the McGill University injunction application, seeking to end the student protests....

This week, I review two major reports, the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission Progress Monitoring Committee report and the Foreign Interference Commission interim report. Before that, I discuss the lack of a Charter Statement for the new Online Harms Act, the irony of the government critiquing the opposition for alluding to the Notwithstanding Clause, the rejected injunction application for the...

This week, I cover the appointment of the new NS Justice Minister and SiRT Director, the Toronto Police Chief's Comments in the Zameer acquittal, former President Trump's claim to criminal immunity at the US Supreme Court, and how Harvey Weinstein's successful appeal would have played out in Canada. Before that, I discuss the Pierre Poilievre well-received visit to eastern Nova Scotia...

This week, I examine several cases involving juries, Jeremy MacKenzie's efforts to have his NS charges dismissed, the expanding scope of video testimony, and justice spending in the new federal budget. First, on the 4th anniversary of the Portapique shootings, the NS Minister of Justice has resigned after his comments on domestic violence not being an 'epidemic'. I discuss those commen...