Sept 2, 2014
Globe and Mail – Sean Fine
Fairness for Victims Act faces major constitutional problem
There are a number of problems with the bill but the biggest one is likely the constitutionality of making new punishment retroactively apply to people already convicted and sentenced. In R. V Whaling, the SCC has already struck down the Abolition of Early Parole Act for the same reason. Equally disturbing, the House gave unanimous consent to this bill on June 4, two weeks after the Early Parole Act was rejected. Scant scrutiny says Fine. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/fairness-for-victims-act-faces-major-constitutional-problem/article20295532
Vancouver Sun – Tara Carman
Detained refugees treated worse than criminals: lawyer – Those held for long periods can suffer serious consequences: UN
Critics of Canada’s immigration detention policy insist that all international law recognizes a difference between criminal and non-criminal detention. The UN has criticized Canada’s practice of holding refugee and asylum seekers in provincial jails. The practice has applied to almost 10,000 detained yearly by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Detained+refugees+treated+worse+than+criminals+lawyer/10158286/story.html#ixzz3C4qBklP5 Related article: News 7 (AU) Alison Caldwell Government behaving in ‘abusive way’ towards children in immigration detention, says former chief justice of Family Court https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/24846476/government-behaving-in-abusive-way-towards-children-in-immigration-detention-says-former-chief-justice-of-family-court Related article: WN.com (AU) Australian immigration protesters march in silence for 300km http://article.wn.com/view/2014/08/30/Australian_immigration_protesters_march_in_silence_for_300km
MacLean’s Canada – Lee-Anne Goodman, The Canadian Press
Most claimants lose EI appeals; dismissal rate remains high
Neil Cohen of the Community Unemployed Help Centre in Winnipeg says: “This is a system that wasn’t designed to work — it works very well for the government, but not for average Canadians. It has deterrents built right into it, components that discourage claimants from participating.” The appeal denial rate is presently at 80% and critics think it will go higher. The tribunal are federal government appointees – an employee rep, an employer rep and a chair – who conduct the appeal electronically, not in person. The government claims a $25 million saving using this approach. http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/most-claimants-lose-ei-appeals-dismissal-rate-remains-high
Winnipeg Free Press – Mia Rabson
Justice minister rejects inquiry as premiers agree to roundtable
Provincial premiers meeting in PEI have decided to pursue a Roundtable on the issue of murdered and missing Aboriginal women in the face of absolute refusal on the part of the federal government to hold a national inquiry. The Roundtable will involve provincial ministers, Aboriginal leaders and the federal minister responsible for Aboriginal affairs. No details yet on how or when this Roundtable will happen. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/yet-another-study-not-needed-272988601.html Related article: Hill Times-on-line Rachel Aiello National inquiry wouldn’t impact investigations: RCMP http://www.hilltimes.com/news/news/2014/09/01/national-inquiry-wouldnt-impact-investigations-rcmp/39466
The Hill (US) – David Russell
A cure for income inequality
“Economic patriotism” is the newest critique of the US tax system in the light of acknowledged gaps between wages and the top 1% of the corporate world. The term refers to US corporations that domicile their headquarters in countries with lower and more favourable tax rates – Burger King and Tim Horton’s. The article also uses the corporate limit on bathroom breaks controversy at Market Basket, a large regional low price food retailer, to suggest that the workers have little or no way to resist the corporate stock benefit agenda. http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/finance/216117-a-cure-for-income-inequality
CBC News – Meagan Fitzpatrick
Uzi gun death accident exposes debate about children and guns
Bullets and Burgers as a tourist destination leaves Las Vegas for White Hills, Arizona. The tour includes shooting your weapon of choice and a stop at the Hoover Dam, finished off with the house burger, all for $199. The same site saw the death of a gun instructor at the hands of a nine year old girl who had been given an Uzi machine gun to fire. Few laws exist around the age of those admitted to US gun ranges. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/uzi-gun-death-accident-exposes-debate-about-children-and-guns-1.2750668
Toronto Star – Wendy Gillis
What’s behind the trend of declining crime rate in Toronto?
Crime, in spite of the federal tough-on-crime approach, has been declining for several decades. Continuously declining crime rates prompt lots of theories and claims about what has happened to cause the drop. Gillis reviews the options offered by a number of experts on why the rate continues to drop. Steven Levitt (Freakeonomics author), Rosemary Gartner of U of T, Irvin Waller of U of Ottawa and Toronto Police all offer a view. http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2014/09/02/whats_behind_the_trend_of_declining_crime_rate_in_toronto.html
N.Y. Times – Kate Zernike
Camden Turns Around With New Police Force
Camden, New Jersey, is seeing some extra-ordinary changes in both crime and its policing. Chief J. Scott Thomson has revamped his force and taken men from patrol cars to walking the beat. Response time is now 4.4 minutes vs a previous 60 minutes and a city with a murder rate of 6 over the summer, down from 21 the year before. The force was placed under country authority to eliminate work rules that were destroying effectiveness and increased the number of officers from 250 to 411 on the same budget as well as civilians for crime fighting technology. In 16 months, impressive results. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/01/nyregion/camden-turns-around-with-new-police-force.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0