Aug. 6, 2014
Toronto Star – Colin Kenny
Are taxpayers ready to pay for more humane policing?
Kenny looks at the report from Supreme Court Judge Frank Iacobucci who tabled 84 recommendations about police incidents with the mentally ill or people in crisis. But Kenny says that the time and cost of processing a case by police makes more inroads into a service already short of personnel and money. Police budgets are tight and getting tighter as the demands grow. http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/08/04/are_taxpayers_ready_to_pay_for_more_humane_policing.html
Edmonton Journal – Scott Newark
Opinion: Be honest about crime, so we can be smart about it
Newark wants greater accuracy in the crime stats from both the Association of the Chiefs of Police and Statistics Canada on the grounds that only very accurate stats can allow us to be smart about response to crime. “We really don’t need to be “tough” or “soft” on crime, but we should be honest — and smart — about crime.” http://www.edmontonjournal.com/opinion/Opinion+honest+about+crime+smart+about/10091922/story.html
Canadian Law Times – Yamri Taddese
Reliance on sureties boosting Ontario remand numbers
Heavy reliance on bail sureties is problematic in Ontario especially but has implications across the country. Taddese is commenting on the fact that people arrested often have considerable difficulty raising the bail required and consequently spend greater time in custody and drive the provincial jail costs unnecessarily. http://www.lawtimesnews.com/201407284106/headline-news/reliance-on-sureties-boosting-ontario-remand-numbers?utm_source=responsys&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CLNewswire_20140728
Toronto Star – Editorial
Tories strike another blow to Canada’s once-humane immigration policy
The editorial decries the federal government decision to reduce from 21 to 18 the definition of a dependent in matters around immigration and refugee decisions. It has also eliminated all exceptions at a time when 43% of 20-somethings still live at home. The implications for a family seeking to immigrate to Canada are more than sufficient to re-enforce the federal provision for purely economic rationale in immigration applications. Family does not appear to be a factor anymore. http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2014/08/04/tories_strike_another_blow_to_canadas_oncehumane_immigration_policy_editorial.html
Canadian Lawyer – Elizabeth Thompson
DoJ (Department of Justice) hunger games
Thompson reflects on what has happened with jobs, salaries and morale at the department of justice and also on what the expectations are for 2014-2016. The biggest question asks about what will prevail: the charter and the constitution or the will of the house? The issue is all the more pressing given the number of charter challenges now following on legislation. http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/5219/DoJ-hunger-games.html?utm_source=responsys&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CLNewswire_20140805
Law Times (Canada) – Breese Davies
Speaker’s Corner: Time for action on police use of force
Calling the Iacobucci report thoughtful and timely, Davies suggests that the report has two over riding principles that must be accepted in the implementation: the involvement of psychiatric survivors who know the issues and a firm conviction that we need to eliminate death of people in crisis at the hands of police. http://www.lawtimesnews.com/201408044109/commentary/speaker-s-corner-time-for-action-on-police-use-of-force?utm_source=responsys&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CLNewswire_20140805
Law times (Canada) – Yamri Taddese
Women inmates on the rise
Women in federal prisons have loss the accelerated parole possibility once available to first time federal inmates. The numbers of women incarcerated have been going up but the lack of parole opportunity will now likely swell the numbers from the longer sentences served, resulting in crowding, less programs and less access to services. Kim Pate of Elizabeth Fry and Kelly Hannah-Moffat, a professor and director of the Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies at U of T comment on the growing tensions and pressures for inmates. http://www.lawtimesnews.com/201408044114/headline-news/women-inmates-on-the-rise?utm_source=responsys&utm_medium=email&u_campaign=CLNewswire_20140805
International Business Times – Catherine Dunn
S&P: Income Inequality and ‘Education Gap’ Hurting Economic Growth
US rating agency Standard and Poor is suggesting that with income inequality there is an accompanying educational gap which reduces the educational levels of the work force. On the basis of these two measures, S & P have reduced their long range economic growth rate to 2.5, down from 2.8% from five years ago. Noting a slowing of the rates of higher education over the past three decades, S&P U.S. chief economist Beth Ann Bovino says: “There’s a lot of arguments about how to rebalance the economy, and one of the ideas is possibly improving education status.” http://www.ibtimes.com/sp-income-inequality-education-gap-hurting-economic-growth-1649850