PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "In a Supreme Court of Nova Scotia decision two weeks ago, Justice Theresa Forgeron ruled the Halifax lab could not offer expertise in a child protection case because the lab was not designated as a forensic lab or subjected to external oversight, and it's not clear to what extent the lab adheres to international standards. Based on that, Forgeron ruled Nassar could not be considered an expert witness and concluded Nassar's results were not reliable."
-------------------------------------------------
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Aucoin said the decision could have impact on any case involving child custody or criminal drug testing. "Oh, absolutely. Until the court of appeal decides this case, it affects all of their cases," he said. "It's an important case because we need to know if this lab can provide results in legal settings, that's the ultimate question."
Lawyer Réjean Aucoin: Father's lawyer;
-------------------------------------------------
STORY: "Province should investigate whether faulty drug tests tore families apart, lawyer," by reporter/editor Cassie Williams, published by CBC News on March 4, 2018.
SUB-HEADING: "N.S. Supreme Court decision questions work of Halifax toxicology lab."
PHOTO CAPTION: "As many as 380 people from Nova Scotia received a positive hair-strand drug or alcohol test at Motherisk between 1997 and 2015, results that are now considered unreliable."
GIST: "Like Ontario, Nova Scotia stopped using the hair-based drug and alcohol testing in 2016 and went back to testing urine instead.......... However, there are still problems with how Nova Scotia currently tests for drugs, as a recent court case outlines. Unlike Ontario, Nova Scotia does not have a forensic laboratory. Samples are sent to the Halifax toxicology lab of the Nova Scotia Health Authority overseen by Dr. Bassam Nassar. "There's a big difference between just doing drug testing and doing it in a forensic manner," said Franklin. "There are extra safeguards in place to make sure the testing is proper and you don't get negative results when you have positive results and vice versa." Franklin said even something like unknowingly touching a surface that had cocaine on it, like at a bar, could trigger a positive drug result. "I mean, you could take 10 people off the street who had been out clubbing the night before, test them and I guarantee you some of them will test positive," she said. "So if you don't have a forensic standard that will eliminate the casual contact that you probably don't even know about then you're going to have all kinds of positive tests when people are not actually, knowingly, engaging in using drugs or even being around them." Court concludes results not reliable: In a Supreme Court of Nova Scotia decision two weeks ago, Justice Theresa Forgeron ruled the Halifax lab could not offer expertise in a child protection case because the lab was not designated as a forensic lab or subjected to external oversight, and it's not clear to what extent the lab adheres to international standards. Based on that, Forgeron ruled Nassar could not be considered an expert witness and concluded Nassar's results were not reliable. Réjean Aucoin, the lawyer for the father in the child custody case, said the decision raises many questions. "My concern is, do we have the highest level of monitoring and do we have the best testing facility, and ultimately are the tests 100 per cent reliable? That's the question that we all have to answer and that we all have to know." The case centred around a custody battle of a nine-year-old girl. According to the decision, the province's child services division had been involved with the family since 2006 because of concerns over "domestic violence, drug and alcohol use, criminal activity and inappropriate parenting." The girl was sent to live with her maternal grandfather last May and both parents were required to take drug tests and were allowed supervised visits. The child's mother regained custody Nov. 3, but the father was still required to have supervision during visits. The Department of Community Services objected to the father's request for unsupervised access, saying he had tested positive for cocaine in three urine samples taken in April and July. The father challenged the reliability of the test results and the judge in the case agreed. Ruling could have significant repercussions: The Community Services Department has the option to appeal the decision but refused to tell CBC News whether it intended to do so, saying it would not comment on a case before the courts and it was still reviewing the decision. Aucoin said the decision could have impact on any case involving child custody or criminal drug testing. "Oh, absolutely. Until the court of appeal decides this case, it affects all of their cases," he said. "It's an important case because we need to know if this lab can provide results in legal settings, that's the ultimate question.""
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/motherisk-nova-scotia-investigation-1.4553531
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/c
