Why conflict with courts?

   Aug 8, 2014

 CBC News – Justin Ling
Analysis:  Harper government’s legal setbacks suggest strategy of confrontation 

CBC’s Justin Ling answers a question many have wondered about: why so many federal government legislative confrontations with the courts in Canada?  After the defeat of the mandatory victim surcharge, Ling thinks that the real issue behind the confrontations is a conflict of beliefs about how Canada should work.   Included in this analysis is a list of four other bills likely to face SCC and charter challenge.  http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/harper-government-s-legal-setbacks-suggest-strategy-of-confrontation-1.2729421  Related article:  The National – Justine Ling    Upsetting the constitutional balance  http://nationalmagazine.ca/Articles/July-2014-Web/Upsetting-the-constitutional-balance.aspx   Related article:  CBC News (July 4, 2014)   The federal government’s court-case losing streak     http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/the-federal-government-s-court-case-losing-streak-1.2696593

 Toronto Star – Raveena Aulakh
New Zealand decision created world’s first climate refugees 

Here’s a sign of the times. Tuvalu is a tiny, remote island in the Pacific between Hawaii and Australia with a population of less than 11,000 and an average elevation of two meters.  The applicants, a family of four, have successfully argued they are climate change refugees, a rationale which has precedence but has no basis in international law, prompting the legal community to suggest that the law needs to incorporate this status.   http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/08/06/new_zealand_decision_created_worlds_first_climate_refugees.html

 Toronto Star – Tamsyn Burgmann
U.S. bickering on immigration reform benefits Canada, Jason Kenney says   

Employment Minister Jason Kenny thinks the longer the US fights internally over the revision of its immigration law, the more opportunity for Canada to snap up the entrepreneurs – young and bright, well qualified technocrats for Canada’s industry.  Kenny was in West Vancouver announcing a fund to help secure these applicants who are frustrated with delays in the US, even after acquiring US university degrees.  http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/08/07/us_bickering_on_immigration_reform_benefits_canada_jason_kenney_says.html#     Related article: Globe and Mail – Ian Bailey    Jason Kenney wants to exploit ‘dysfunctional’ U.S. immigration system to lure high-tech workers    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/jason-kenney-announces-33-million-in-funding-to-help-bc-recognize-the-foreign-credentials-of-new-canadians/article19945695

 CTV News – Murray Brewster, Canadian Press
Veterans Affairs challenged on chart showing disabled soldier payments 

Advocates for veterans are raising a red flag on the latest skirmish with the Veteran Affairs Department and Minister Julian Fantino.  The department has released a chart alleging to show the range of potential payments to disabled veterans.  Critics say the numbers even include the pension, earned whether or not the veteran is disabled, but equally the higher ranges are unattainable by the average applicant who is forced in applications to jump through hoops.  http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/veterans-affairs-challenged-on-chart-showing-disabled-soldier-payments-1.1948772#ixzz39iv1m5Sh

 Canadian Safety Reporter
Union urges guards to press charges against inmates after assaults    

 The union for Ontario’s correctional officers wants members to report and press charges against any inmate who assaults them, even in a minor way.  Monte Vieselmeyer of the union says that the incidents are going up in frequency and that the jails are too crowded for effective segregation or isolation of the offenders, the normal consequence of an incident.   http://www.safety-reporter.com/articleview/21922-union-urges-guards-to-press-charges-against-inmates-after-assaults#sthash.l1bvO8T6.dpuf

 N. Y. Post (US) – Editorial
NYC’s new ‘criminals’ 

Here’s an interesting commentary on policing.  The editorial board is endorsing the idea of tracking crime by police officers as a way to achieve and early warning system of problems within police services.  The head of the Civil Review Board, calling the proposed new statistic “cop-stat,” has an unmistakable message: “Just like sky-high crime a quarter-century ago, there is a systemic problem of bad policing that must be carefully tracked and monitored.”   http://nypost.com/2014/08/06/nycs-new-criminals

Calendar note:   The National Restorative Justice Symposium, will be held in Banff, Alberta, November 16-18, 2014.

More info:  Chantal Morisset at 613-992-8390 or by email at chantal.morisset@csc-scc.gc.ca