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Justice Minister Mark Furey says his department is working on an early financial settlement for Glen Assoun who was wrongly imprisoned for almost 17 years in Nova Scotia.

Furey said his department is working closely with the federal Justice Department and Minister David Lametti on appropriate compensation. He told reporters in Halifax on Thursday that it remains a priority for him and Lametti, but Furey did not offer a timeline for when Assoun might receive the money or the approximate amount of money being considered.

The money would be only part of the total compensation Assoun would receive, said Furey. Assoun’s lawyer Sean MacDonald is seeking compensation from Halifax Regional Municipality, and the provincial and federal governments. MacDonald told The Chronicle Herald last month that he was after an immediate sum of money for Assoun who at the time had been living in near poverty conditions. MacDonald said Assoun was also looking for an apology from the province.

Furey has yet to offer one and declined again after a reporter broached the subject on Thursday.

Furey said both departments are currently working through the legalities of deciding on an early settlement sum for Assoun. He also said there will be longer term discussions around the total compensation amount.

Federal documents released last month showed Assoun was wrongly convicted in the 1995 murder of his former partner Brenda Way and the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

The criminal conviction review group’s investigation includes details of RCMP investigators destroying evidence in 2004 that could have exonerated Assoun long before his eventual release from prison in 2014. Out on bail, Assoun endured five years of stifling restrictions on his freedom before his eventual acquittal.

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