Prisons and judges…

   May 6, 2014

 CBC News
Auditor general finds prison expansions aren’t keeping pace 

 The auditor general, Michael Ferguson, says that not only will Canada’s prisons be over-capacity again shortly after the present round of expansion is finished but that expansion is causing an increase in the need to transfer inmates from one institution to another.  Ferguson also has a report on the problems besetting the Aboriginal police.   http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/auditor-general-finds-prison-expansions-aren-t-keeping-pace-1.2633391   Auditor General’s Spring 2014 Report:  http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_oag_201405_e_39319.html   (Chapter four deals with prisons; summary available and well as full report; )  Related article: Toronto Star – Alex Boutilier and Les Whittington     Auditor general’s report finds lack of adequate prison space endangers inmates, staff  http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/05/06/auditor_generals_report_finds_lack_of_adequate_prison_space_endangers_inmates_staff.html   Related article:  CTV News – Jim Bronskill  More overcrowded prisons loom due to short-sighted planning: auditor general  http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/more-overcrowded-prisons-loom-due-to-shortsighted-planning-auditor-general-1.1808291#ixzz30wytRVsL

 Globe and Mail – Lawrence Martin
PM’s enemies list? Here comes the judge 

 The rebuff of the decisions of the SCC and its chief justice seem, in Martin’s opinion, to be retribution.  Further says Martin, the enemies list seems to grow every time Harper experiences a setback in disagreement with key federal personnel.  Says Martin:  “The combination – a wedge government driven by such a degree of animosity – makes for a potent mix. It’s why the enemies list has kept growing. It’s why a woman as honourable as the Chief Justice of our Supreme Court is now on it.”  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/pms-enemies-list-here-comes-the-judge/article18478032   Related article:  Globe and Mail – Sean Fine    MacKay repeats allegations against top court judge    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/mackay-repeats-allegations-against-top-court-judge-defies-calls-to-withdraw/article18476754   Related article: Canada.com – Postmedia News – Andrew Coyne     Stephen Harper’s reckless smear of Canada’s top judge   http://o.canada.com/news/harpers-reckless-smear-of-canadas-top-judge  Related article:  Toronto Star – Joan Bryden, Canadian Press    Peter MacKay escalates feud with Supreme Court’s Beverley McLachlin     http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/05    /05/peter_mackay_escalates_feud_with_supreme_courts_beverley_mclachlin.html   Related article:  Globe and Mail – Eleven former presidents of the Canadian Bar Association   Harper’s disrespect for the Supreme Court harms the workings of government   http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/harpers-disrespect-for-the-supreme-court-harms-the-workings-of-government/article18478269  

 Huffington Post (US) – Matthew Dowd
In Politics Today, Orphans Searching for Community Have Too Few Choices 

 Dowd’s article looks at a study of voters as Jungian types and in particular at how the voters tend to view themselves in that context.  The answer seems to be that most see themselves as ‘orphans,’ looking for “leaders who can bind us together, who can be trusted, and who offer hope of a promised land. And at each step in the search, many come away bitterly disappointed, frustrated, and with a greater feeling of disconnection when these leaders fall into an old style of leadership.”  A lesson for Canada as well? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-dowd/in-politics-today-orphans_b_5272657.html  

 Smart Justice (Australia) 
Vic jail beds won’t cut crime: legal group 

 Australians in Victoria are reacting to much the same perspective that we in Canada have been struggling with for the last few years: a reform of the parole system that requires additional available prison cells.  $447 million later there does not appear to any resolution.  http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2014/05/06/16/01/more-vic-prison-beds-in-parole-overhaul

 Imperial Valley News (CA)
Hundreds of Children Visit Incarcerated Moms for Mother’s Day 

 Thirty buses and over a thousand children will make the journey to visit incarcerated mothers and fathers for Mother’s day this May and later for Father’s Day in June.  A joint effort between the California Department of Corrections and the Centre for Restorative Justice Works, the children will gather from San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, the Central Valley, Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco and Santa Rosa for the trip to the different facilities.  http://www.imperialvalleynews.com/index.php/news/california-news/8553-hundreds-of-children-visit-incarcerated-moms-for-mother-s-day.html