Complainant not ready to drop assault allegation against New Glasgow mayor

Even though the Crown has withdrawn an assault charge against the mayor of New Glasgow, N.S., the woman who made the allegation said for her, that doesn't mean the case is closed.

"I don't think you can have an event that happens like this where a mayor assaults somebody and basically nothing happens, and I'm to wear that on the chin," Angela Bowden said in an interview.

"I still live in this community and I still try to work in this community.... There needs to be something further. There needs to be another step. It's just not acceptable."

Earlier this week, before Mayor Nancy Dicks entered a plea on the charge she was facing, the Crown dropped its case against her, saying there was no reasonable nor realistic prospect of conviction.

Bowden said she never had much hope Dicks would be convicted of the alleged assault, but she wanted it to at least be referred to the restorative justice system, or heard before the court. 

Bowden said she hasn't decided what her next step will be, but she's exploring other avenues to hold the mayor accountable.

Her allegation is that Dicks approached her at a Black Lives Matter event in New Glasgow on Sept. 27, 2020 and, as Bowden described it, the two had a brief verbal argument before Dicks grabbed Bowden by the leg while she was sitting at a table. 

Bowden said she jumped up and walked away and the encounter ended.

Bowden first tried to find a resolution outside the courts by speaking to town councillors and lodging a code of conduct complaint.

She eventually received a letter from Dicks in which she expressed regret for her part in the encounter, and a letter from the deputy mayor that said Dicks had taken responsibility for her actions.

Bowden said she didn't believe the mayor's contrition was sincere, given that the letters came a few hours after Bowden told council she would be taking her story public.

'Sad commentary on the state of affairs'

Bowden, who is Black, said this case is emblematic of a "two-tiered justice system" that discounts complaints from Black people. She said the case highlights the need for Nova Scotia's fledgling African Nova Scotian Justice Institute.

Robert Wright is the institute's interim executive director and a member of the African Nova Scotian Decade for People of African Descent Coalition, which has been supporting Bowden in this case.  

He said the Crown dropping the charge is, "a sad commentary on the state of affairs with our criminal justice system, and the criminal justice system's capacity to understand the nature of such incidents and the meaning of such incidents on the Black community."

Part of what the institute was billed to do, when the previous Liberal government announced funding for it earlier this year, is enhance public education of anti-Black racism and overrepresentation in the justice system. 

Wright said in Bowden's case, there was "more space" for enhancing public understanding of the circumstances.

"Part of the problem is that these kinds of things are perceived like such minor assaults that they are insignificant," said Wright.

"But I think that that reading of the scenario really doesn't truly understand the historical and the cultural impact of Black folk receiving this kind of treatment."

Wright said he sees it as a failure of the justice system that Bowden's allegation was not seen as something that could be prosecuted.

"We should be using every tool at our disposal to communicate very clearly to our society that these kinds of abuses against Black bodies will not be tolerated, and so this prosecution would be in the public interest in order to make this clear as a society," said Wright.

When the African Nova Scotian Justice Institute received provincial funding in July, it was expected to be fully operational within a year. Wright said staff are currently being hired.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.