Since Darrell Dexter has not yet decided to fire his Minister of Community Services, he is stuck having to defend her, and defending Denise Peterson-Rafuse these days requires saying some pretty silly things. That's just what Dexter did yesterday when he claimed Peterson-Rafuse was doing an "excellent job," adding, "The only people to release private information in this House are the members of the Conservative caucus." The tortured logic behind this argument, which Peterson-Rafuse has also used in her own defence, is that because the DCS report on Talbot House didn't use Fr. Paul Abbass's name, but only his job title,...

At the legislature Thursday, two key developments in the scandal enveloping the Department of Community Services and its minister, Denise Peterson-Rafuse. The Progressive Conservatives demanded the minister's resignation, arguing she had breached Nova Scotia's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPOP) Act by allowing the department to publish a report that violated Fr. Paul Abbass's privacy by repeating false innuendo against him even after the CBRM police looked into allegations advanced by DCS and found no grounds to open a criminal investigation. In a scrum with reporters from the Cape Breton Post and Halifax Metro, Peterson-Rafuse made a string of statements about...

In a piece of exquisite timing, the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness today released the report and recommendations of its Advisory Committee on Mental Health and Addictions Strategy (along with a 24-page summary). I haven't had time to read the 80-page report, which doesn't mention Talbot House of any of the province's five community-based addiction recovery centres. But I was struck by recommendation 2.6-1: Addictions inpatient beds for withdrawal management, opiate stabilization and structured treatment should be reconfigured according to evidence and best practice, utilizing alternative community-based approaches where possible. [Emphasis: Contrarian's.] Imagine that. H/T: John Percy, Leader, Green Party of Nova Scotia...

A reader writes: That was a very heartfelt letter from the former client of Talbot House and he definitely has hit the nail on the head. I work in health care and have seen just what he speaks of. It is a testament to Fr Abbass and the staff and programs at Talbot House, and needs to be acknowledged. We tend to put numbers and policy ahead of compassion, care, and genuine concern for the client. I am so impressed with this letter and how this person has turned his life around; to hear him express exactly the "way it is," and...

A recovering addict who asked not to be identified has sent Contrarian a 1,200-word analysis of the dispute that shut down Talbot house, the recovery center he credits with saving his life after many rounds of government-run therapy failed him. His account is noteworthy, not only as a moving testimony from inside Talbot House, but also because it suggests the real reason for the provincial government's hostility to the recovery centre. The unspoken issue, which the Department of Community Services report failed even to mention, is the refusal of Fr. Paul Abbass and his predecessors to support methadone treatment. The drug is a mainstay...

In response to this post, Stan Jones of Yarmouth writes: You said: "I truly believe Darrell Dexter and Denise Peterson-Rafuse are better people than they have shown themselves to be in the last three days." You are wrong. Actually, I think I'm right, but neither politician is giving me much ammunition to make the case for them. They should apologize to Abbass and the Talbot board, remove Lathem and her supervisors from any future involvement with the recovery centre, and name a knowledgable, skeptical authority to take a long, hard look at this badly run department....

I have a flood of reader mail on the scandal enveloping the Department of Community Service—too much to publish more than a sample for now. I do hope readers are not tiring of this subject. Officials of the department committed serious errors with terrible consequences—for the priest whose character they so carelessly assassinated; for the volunteer members of a board serving the community in good faith; and for the addicted men in treatment at Talbot House, who could be there now had the department's cavalier actions not forced the closure of this community-built institution. For decades, the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party...

Fr. Paul Abbass, the priest and former executive director of Talbot House Recovery Centre who was subjected to false accusations of sexual misconduct promoted behind the scenes by an official of the Department of Community Services, and whose reputation continues to suffer due to the Dexter Government's apparent determination to defend the Department's behaviour, has issued his first statement on the matter: At the end of last week I was informed by the Cape Breton Regional Police Service that they had concluded their investigation and will not be laying any criminal charges. Obviously I was pleased and relieved that this matter...

In a sign the Dexter government plans to tough out criticism of its handling of the Talbot House fiasco, the Department of Community Services (DCS) has posted the report of its controversial organizational review of the much admired Cape Breton addiction recovery centre. In response, the Talbot House Society's board of directors released a detailed, point-by-point response to the DCS report. You can read the DCS report here; the response of the Talbot House board here. I have only had a few minutes to scan both of these documents. I am struck by how much the DCS report relies on third-party hearsay that the...

Liberal MLA Kelly Regan put two questions to Community Services Minister Denise Peterson-Rafuse in the House of Assembly yesterday: MS. KELLY REGAN:  Mr. Speaker, for 53 years Talbot House provided residential addiction treatment for men in Cape Breton. Talbot House recently, abruptly closed its doors and left the people of Cape Breton with a whole lot of questions. Will the Minister of Community Services lift the shroud of secrecy and tell the men and their families who rely on these services why the minister closed the doors and removed this vital service from this community? HON. DENISE PETERSON-RAFUSE:  Mr. Speaker, we know...