Latest news with #ScotiaSupremeCourt
Global News
18-06-2025
- Global News
Woman who spent 16 days in ‘dry cell' confinement settles civil lawsuit
A woman who says she endured cruel and unusual punishment in a Nova Scotia prison has settled a civil lawsuit she filed against the federal attorney general almost five years ago. Lisa Adams filed the lawsuit after she was placed in solitary confinement in what is commonly referred to as a dry cell for 16 days. Dry cells have no toilet or running water. They are used to monitor inmates to determine if they have ingested contraband or hidden it inside a body cavity. Adams' lawyer issued a brief statement confirming the settlement, but Mike Dull said he could not disclose terms of the settlement or details about financial compensation. '(Adams') advocacy around the use of dry cells in Canadian correctional facilities — an invasive, degrading and ultimately unlawful practice — has resulted in a national shift,' Dull said Monday in a statement. 'Thanks to her bravery, this harmful practice has now been banned across Canada.' Story continues below advertisement In a statement of claim filed in November 2020 with Nova Scotia Supreme Court, Adams says she was locked in a dry cell after correctional officers at the Nova Institution for Women in Truro, N.S., wrongly accused her of hiding drugs in 'balloon-like packages' in her vagina. The statement says conditions in the cell were 'harsh, humiliating and harmful.' In a separate court case, a Nova Scotia Supreme Court justice ruled in November 2021 that Adams' constitutional rights had been violated, and he ordered Ottawa to reform provisions of corrections law that discriminate against women. Justice John Keith's decision determined the law did not take into account that a substance suspected to be hidden in a woman's vagina wouldn't necessarily be expelled during detention. He said that created a risk that women would be unjustly detained. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Though Adams won that case, it was a Charter challenge that answered a question of law. As a result, she was not awarded compensation. In the 2020 statement of claim for her civil lawsuit seeking damages, Adams says that she was sent to the prison in Truro after she was accused of using crystal meth at a community residential facility in Cape Breton on May 2, 2020. The statement says her well-documented history of mental health issues were exacerbated by her lengthy stay in the dry cell. Story continues below advertisement 'On the first day of her placement (on May 6, 2020), the acting chief of health services (at the prison) … expressed concern … that a prolonged stay in such an environment would likely result in a deterioration in mental stability,' the statement says, adding that Adams repeatedly denied possessing any contraband. Adams started having suicidal thoughts as her mental health declined, according to a health worker whose observations were ignored by prison staff, the statement of claim says. Six days into her stay in the dry cell, Adams was taken to a hospital for an X-ray, but a doctor turned down the request because it wasn't considered a medical procedure, the statement says. The next day, a doctor was summoned to the prison to conduct a pelvic exam on Adams, but the physician cancelled the exam because Adams was suffering from hallucinations and incoherent speech. On Day 14 of her incarceration, another doctor conducted a pelvic exam and found 'no foreign bodies' in her vaginal cavity or elsewhere on her body. Still, Adams was forced to stay another two days in the cell before she was released back into the prison's general population. The statement of claim says Adams was placed in the cell without lawful justification and was subjected to unacceptable conditions that included: constant exposure to bright lights; constant monitoring of all showers and toilet usage; denial of meaningful human contact; denial of outdoor privileges and constant observation from behind a glass wall. Story continues below advertisement The lawsuit says Correctional Service Canada owed Adams a duty of care, but instead it was negligent by failing to safeguard her physical and emotional needs, as well as 'permitting cruel, unusual and excessive punishments.' The lawsuit goes on to say prison officials also disregarded medical evidence of substantial harm. In a statement of defence, the attorney general of Canada said that a urine sample taken after Adams was placed in the dry cell indicated she had ingested methamphetamines after arriving at the prison. And the document says Adams had reasonable access to legal counsel and medical care. It also says Adams declined body cavity and X-ray searches on May 12-13, 2020. The statement, however, goes on to say the federal government 'acknowledges that the confinement of the plaintiff in a dry cell in the circumstance of this case was regrettable.' In April 2022, the federal government announced it would ban dry celling for inmates suspected of carrying contraband in their vaginas. And in October 2024, Ottawa introduced regulations to limit the duration of dry cell detentions, improve inmate monitoring and begin using body scanners to detect contraband. 'While the civil case has been resolved, the impact of (Adams') actions will be felt far beyond her own experience,' Dull said. 'She stood up not just for herself, but for the rights and dignity of women across the country.'
CBC
31-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Former cop sues police chief and town of Amherst
A former Amherst, N.S., police officer is suing the town and the chief of police for defamation. Mark Rushton, who filed his suit in Nova Scotia Supreme Court earlier this month, alleges accusations last year that he misrepresented his qualifications for his job have ruined his reputation and career and caused personal hardships. Rushton resigned on June 6, 2024, just 10 days after being told a complaint had been made against him under the Nova Scotia Police Act. He worked for the Amherst Police Department for about a year as a constable and says in his lawsuit that his resignation was not related to the complaint, but rather was the result of a decision to move to the Annapolis Valley to be closer to his family. According to his lawsuit, Rushton was served with the complaint on May 27, 2024, and it accused him of acting "in a disorderly manner" and having "willfully [made] a false or misleading statement in an official record." When Amherst police announced the following month that they were conducting an internal investigation of one of their own officers, police Chief Dwayne Pike never identified Rushton by name in his public statements when he said they were investigating questions about an officer's credentials and qualifications. But the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service and court documents did identify him. The prosecution service launched a review of all cases Rushton handled during his time on the Amherst force, resulting in nine charges against seven people being dropped. In his lawsuit, Rushton contends Pike's comments "tend to lower the reputation of the Plaintiff by right thinking members of society" and were "libellous and defamatory." In an email, Laura Neilan, the lawyer who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Rushton, said she "looked forward to vindicating his reputation during the litigation process." "We have not seen a shred of evidence to suggest that Mr. Rushton was dishonest during the interview process, or that he lacks the necessary qualifications to work as a police officer in Amherst," the email said. Rushton worked as a military police officer in 2017 and served as a special constable with a town in Alberta before taking the job in Amherst. Reputation, career 'have been destroyed' Rushton said the Amherst department had his resumé and a full record of his training, which includes graduation from the Canadian Forces Military Police Academy and Dalhousie University's police leadership program. His suit says there's nothing in the Police Act to suggest his military police training was inadequate and asserts that "his reputation and career have been destroyed as a result of Chief Pike's libellous statements." Rushton says he's been unable to get a job with a municipal police force because any background check invariably leads to stories about his problems with the Amherst force. He says he tried to resume work as a military police officer, but the force wouldn't accept him until after it conducted its own investigation into his credentials. He was able to land a short-term contract with them that expires this month. Rushton says in the suit that he has lost custody of his children and been forced into bankruptcy because of his lack of steady employment. "Chief Pike's statements were made with a reckless disregard for the consequences to the Plaintiff's reputation and livelihood and as such, they amount to bad faith, warranting both aggravated and punitive damages," the lawsuit says. While no specific monetary amount is referenced in the suit, Rushton's lawyer said in its preamble that the case falls within a rule that limits damages to under $150,000.
CBC
12-03-2025
- CBC
N.S. woman ordered to pay $60K to former nurse for online defamation
The mother of a severely disabled Nova Scotia man has been ordered to pay a former nurse $60,000 in damages for defamatory online posts that a judge says were aimed at destroying the nurse's reputation. In the same ruling, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Denise Boudreau was highly critical of a government investigation and report that was the basis of the Facebook posts, calling it devoid of methodology or procedural fairness to the extent of being "entirely inconclusive." "The plaintiff is a nurse, she was defamed by the defendant and labelled an 'abuser' of a vulnerable person in her care," wrote Boudreau in her ruling, released earlier this month. "There is no evidence before me that the plaintiff mistreated MM or anyone else. The suggestion that she did was untrue and unfair. These events caused harm to the plaintiff's reputation and caused her a great deal of upset, suffering and anguish. The defendant, even today, refuses to apologize or even acknowledge that her actions were unfair and harmed the plaintiff." The ruling stems from a September 2016 incident and involves a patient at Emerald Hall at the Nova Scotia Hospital in Dartmouth, N.S. The court ruling also paints a grim picture of conditions at the hall at the time of the incident. Matthew Meisner is autistic and has a mood disorder and, according to court records, could be violent and unpredictable. On the evening of Sept. 2, 2016, he became disruptive. There was only one nurse working in the hall that night, with one other employee. There were 15 patients. At one point, Meisner flung feces at the nurse, hitting her in the head. With the help of the other employee and two security guards, Meisner was placed in a restraint chair, where he remained until the morning shift arrived at the hospital. According to Boudreau's decision, Meisner began spitting on people at that point so a hand towel was draped over the helmet that Meisner wore to protect him from self-harm. A write-up of the incident mistakenly identified the hand towel as a pillowcase, and a manager who spoke to Meisner's mother the day after the incident provided her with that incorrect information. Social media campaign against nurse Tracey Meisner repeated that claim in media interviews over the following days and weeks. "While the plaintiff knew this allegation was untrue, as a nurse she was forbidden from discussing the care of any patient with third parties," wrote Boudreau. "As a result, she was unable to publicly defend herself." Meisner also repeated the assertion that the nurse was overheard questioning whether Matthew Meisner's excrement was "retarded." The nurse testified that she actually questioned whether it was "infected," given that she'd been struck in the side of the head. She also denied she made the comment where the patient could hear her. In November, the plaintiff saw pictures of herself on Meisner's Facebook page, accompanied by captions naming her as an abuser and comparing her to a child molester. The posts were seen by "numerous people," according to the ruling, and the plaintiff was repeatedly contacted by media for a response to the allegations. She was "extremely upset," contacted police and took a stress-related leave from work. Boudreau wrote that it's understandable that Tracey Meisner was upset by what she had been told, even though it was incorrect. "None of this gave the defendant licence to unfairly and harshly single out the plaintiff, identify her in a public forum, and undertake a campaign to destroy her reputation," the judge wrote. "The defendant's Facebook postings were not, and could not, be described as 'fair comment'." Flawed investigation Nova Scotia Health won't comment on this specific case, citing patient confidentiality. But the authority says when it receives a complaint about possible patient abuse, it is obliged to report it to the Department of Health and Wellness, which assigned one of its own investigators. That investigator was Joanne Blight. Boudreau was highly critical of her work, which led to both a preliminary and final report into the incident. "The report provided minimal (or even a total absence of) 'fact-checking'; to be blunt, one wonders if some of the identified 'facts' were actually only rumours about the event," wrote the judge. "No source individuals or materials were identified in the report; it contained no identified methodology which could be assessed … in my view, the Blight Report is entirely inconclusive." Boudreau noted that despite testifying in defence of the report, Blight "had great difficulty justifying" it and became quite defensive. "Perhaps she herself recognized, while being questioned, that her 'report' was seriously lacking," wrote the judge. Tracey Meisner based her social media attacks on the nurse on the findings in Blight's report. 'Truly unfortunate' case Testifying at the trial, the nurse described the toll this took on her as people would point at her and whisper about her when she went out in public. She developed PTSD as a result. Boudreau noted that the Nova Scotia College of Nursing conducted its own investigation into the incident and exonerated her. No one from Nova Scotia Health was available for an interview about the case. However, in a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson said the organization had conducted its own extensive review of practices at Emerald Hall prior to the 2016 incident and changes were introduced in 2019. Now, only those who truly need it are admitted to the facility. If a client is not in an acute phase of their illness, the policy is to provide their care in the community. The number of beds has been reduced from 19 to nine and staffing levels have been increased. Emerald Hall is now known as the adult neurodevelopmental stabilization unit. Boudreau summarized the case as "truly unfortunate." "The events of September 3, 2016, at Emerald Hall were unpleasant and upsetting. Subsequently, the defendant was given incomplete and inaccurate information about the situation. Given what she was told, coupled with her other concerns, she was understandably upset," wrote the judge. "It is truly unfortunate that the defendant has refused to accept that her earlier assumptions or beliefs about the events of September 3 may have been based on inaccurate or incomplete information. Most unfortunate of all, the defendant seems entirely unable to understand or acknowledge that her actions have been the cause of harm to the plaintiff."
