RCMP are looking for Shaun Clarence Cunningham (RCMP Nova Scotia)
Queens District RCMP are asking for the public’s help in finding a man wanted on a province-wide arrest warrant on sexual assault charges.
Police are looking for Shaun Clarence Cunningham, 46, whom police say is known to travel between Shelburne and Queens County.
He faces charges of sexual assault, sexual interference, two counts of invitation to sexual touching and failure to appear in court.
He’s described as five-foot-nine, 175 pounds. He has brown hair and blue eyes.
RCMP say they’ve made several attempts to find him. They’re asking anyone with information to call the Queens District detachment at 902-354-5721 or their local police department. Anonymous tips can be phone into Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submitted online at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca, or by using the P3 Tips app.
The Nova Scotia government wants to put illegal cannabis dispensaries out of business. (The Province of Nova Scotia)
The Nova Scotia government wants police to crack down on illegal cannabis sales.
Justice Minister Scott Armstrong recently asked all police agencies in the province to step up their enforcement efforts.
“Illegal dispensaries pose a real threat to consumers, to youth, and to the integrity of our regulated system,” Armstrong said.
“We have already taken steps to confront these risks, but the challenge is evolving, and so must our response. Protecting Nova Scotians means strengthening our efforts, advancing new measures, and shutting down this shadow market before it can cause more harm to public health and safety.”
The Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. is the only legal retailer of recreational cannabis in the province.
A recent government review found at least 118 illegal outlets across Nova Scotia, compared with 51 legal NSLC cannabis stores.
The province says it’s concerned that because illegal sales are unregulated, they pose threats to public health. Provincial officials are also worried about the involvement of organized crime in the cannabis trade.
RCMP charged 21 people with 50 offences in February after raids on Mi’kmaw-owned cannabis businesses in Queens, Kings, Lunenburg and Annapolis counties.
Southwest Nova RCMP’s Project Highfield began in October 2024 and involved 13 dispensaries throughout southwestern Nova Scotia.
Three people from Queens County were among those charged.
Supt. Jason Popik told QCCR at the time that organized crime is using indigenous communities to undercut the legal cannabis market, with unregulated product.
“I see (organized crime) infiltrating the legal cannabis market and they’re really exploiting the indigenous communities,” he said.
“They’re trying to utilize the treaties to find a rational way for them to sell their drugs. And they’re doing it through the people running the different dispensaries. Organized crime will exploit any opportunity they have. … They’re making a lot of money, the dispensaries are the ones taking the risk and the dispensary owners are the ones being arrested.”
In addition to asking police to step up their enforcement, the government is also asking radio stations across the province to turn down advertising from illegal dispensaries.
In a letter to advertising sales managers, Armstrong said that even though promotion of cannabis is illegal, some non-NSLC operators are advertising on credible media outlets.
“By choosing not to air or publish promotional messages for illegal cannabis operators, you will be helping to protect public health and support community safety,” Armstrong writes.
“I would urge you to support public health and safety in Nova Scotia by ensuring your outlet does not accept advertising that promotes illegal cannabis sales.”
The Micmac Rights Association, which protested the RCMP action earlier this year, said that the province has no jurisdiction over indigenous and treaty rights. They say the 1752 treaty gives them the right to sell cannabis.
The group said the province is just upset that Mi’kmaw dispensaries are undercutting the government’s “cannabis monopoly”.
In second-quarter financial results released Dec. 2, the NSLC said local cannabis sales were up by 3.8 per cent to $9.6 million.
RCMP have charged a 60-year-old Mill Village man with attempted murder.
Queens District RCMP were called to a house on Hwy. 3 in Mill Village on March 28 at about 3:30 a.m.
Officers and ambulance personnel found an 84-year-old man with life-threatening injuries after being stabbed.
Another man had fled the scene before police arrived, according to an RCMP news release late Wednesday afternoon.
Both men knew each other, and no one else was in the home at the time of the assault.
Police arrested a suspect at a home in Voglers Cove at 7:45 p.m.
Derek Dominix, 60, has been charged with attempted murder and taken into custody. He’s scheduled to appear in Bridgewater provincial court on April 10 at 9:30 a.m.
Queens District RCMP plan to step up patrols in North Queens after complaints of underage off-highway vehicle use. (RCMP NS Facebook page)
RCMP in Queens County are cracking down on underage ATV operators in North Queens.
Queens District RCMP officers will be stepping up patrols in the area after getting numerous reports from residents over the past several weeks of minors illegally operating off-highway vehicles at high speeds and often late at night.
RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Carlie McCann says it’s all about safety.
“Members are making sure that there are police officers who are out there in order to enforce these laws, but also to ensure that people are being safe,” McCann said in an interview Monday.
“The big reason that laws like this exist is to make sure that people are safe when they’re out operating their off-highway vehicles and using the trails in our communities. So the biggest reason is to make sure that we aren’t seeing peple doing things that are unsafe on their OHVs.”
McCann did not know how many calls the RCMP received or in which specific areas of North Queens this is happening.
“Any type of report like this is too many when it’s unsafe behaviour, like driving too fast and at night. The number of calls that have been received have been enough to promote some concern.”
RCMP say that Queens County has no designated roads or highways yet listed under the Nova Scotia Off-Highway Vehicles Act. And operators must have a valid driver’s licence and wear helmets. Children between the ages of 6 and 15 must be supervised by a parent or guardian.
“I think the biggest thing to remember is that you have to be thinking about safety all the time on things like this,” McCann said.
“It’s really important to use common sense, so making sure that all riders have helmets, making sure that people are using (the vehicles) safely and know how to use them properly, making sure that your vehicles are well maintained and making sure that you are having common sense when you’re picking areas you’re riding in and picking who’s going to be driving the vehicles.”
Under the Off-Highway Vehicles Act, offenders can be fined up to $2,000 and have their vehicle seized by RCMP.
