Retired justice appointed to police review board

A retired Cape Breton Supreme Court justice has been appointed vice-chair of the Nova Scotia Police Review Board.

Simon MacDonald retired in June after a legal career spanning 51 years that included time in private practice, as a Crown attorney, a County Court judge and Supreme Court justice.

The vice-chair position has been vacant since October 2016 when former vice-chair Judith McPhee MacDonald was appointed as police complaints commissioner.

In Nova Scotia, civilian oversight of police conduct is shared by the Serious Incident Response Team which investigates serious incidents that may result in criminal charges, and the Office of Police Complaints Commissioner which handles all other allegations of police misconduct.

The police complaints commissioner receives and monitors public complaints of police misconduct against municipal police officers.

The public complaint process first involves an internal investigation by the individual department and can be reviewed by the police complaints commissioner and referred to the Police Review Board for a further hearing.

MacDonald, 76, was born in Sydney and graduated from law school in 1966.

He began his legal career with the federal Justice department before establishing a private practice in Glace Bay.

He was later appointed Crown prosecutor before being appointed to the County Court in 1982 and the Supreme Court, trial division, in 1993 when both courts were amalgamated.

The appointment is for a three-year term.