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