Sept. 4, 2014
Globe and Mail – Editorial (Aug. 31, 2014)
Reducing parole is not a crime-reduction strategy
The editorial recognizes that the Fairness for Victims Act (Bill C-479) is riddled with problems, many deriving from the lack of legal scrutiny before framed into legislation. The bill attempts, unconstitutionally it appears, to extend the waiting period between applications for parole, and claims to make the public safer by detaining the inmates longer. The Globe and Mail sees in C-479 an enormous potential for damage on the entire justice system. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/editorials/reducing-parole-is-not-a-crime-reduction-strategy/article20283968
CBC News – Donna Carreiro
Women and girls often exploited in street gangs, says ex-member
Former gang member and paralyzed victim of a drive-by shooting Ian McKinney, 24, talks about how girls like Tina Fontaine are treated in typical gang life on the streets. “They’re used and abused,” said McKinney. So far, no arrests have been made though Winnipeg police are calling the death of the 15 year murder. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/women-and-girls-often-exploited-in-street-gangs-says-ex-member-1.2752780 Related article: CBC News Former gang member raising awareness to help at-risk youth http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/former-gang-member-raising-awareness-to-help-at-risk-youth-1.2753605?cmp=rss
CBC News – Kristine Everson
Government now open to roundtable on missing and murdered aboriginal women
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt now says that if the premiers ask the federal government would participate in a national roundtable on murdered and missing women. The one catch seems to be that the premiers and the Aboriginal leaders must spearhead the roundtable. The concession for participation was after a long denial by the feds to hold a national inquiry or a roundtable on the topic. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/government-now-open-to-roundtable-on-missing-and-murdered-aboriginal-women-1.2753777 Related article: Globe and Mail – Matthew Coon Come An inquiry means legitimacy http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/an-inquiry-means-legitimacy/article20239059
Canadian Lawyer – Stephen Lautens
Cracking the system: How do we get more diversity on the bench when there’s no transparency in the appointments process?
The appointment of twelve new judges without a single woman by Peter MacKay has left the lawyers wondering. The problem is compounded because the Conservatives are known to view the courts as obstructionists to the federal legislative agenda. “The Harper government has been seen to be waging a trench war against the courts for years as it legislatively tries to reshape Canada in its image only to find the greatest roadblock is a legal system that takes the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and constitutional law seriously.” http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/5266/Cracking-the-system.html?utm_source=responsys&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CLNewswire_20140902
Huffington Post (Canada) – Karen R. Cohen, CEO, Canadian Psychological Association
The Complexity of Closing Gaps in Canada’s Mental Health Care System
Cohen takes issue with Marvin Ross (cf below) who wrote an article for Huffington Post on the gaps in the mental health and the role of the Mental Health Commission of Canada in remedies for those gaps. Both include the role of psychologists who outnumber psychiatrists four-to-one. Cohen offers almost an apologetic for the CPA. Ross thinks that those with more serious problems get less care and wonders about the helpfulness of a MHCC. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/karen-r-cohen/mental-health-cpa_b_5715519.html Related article: Huffington Post – Marvin Ross With Mental Health Care, the Most Serious Cases Need Help First http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/marvin-ross/mental-health-care-reform_b_5698326.html
CBC News Analysis – Jason Proctor
Robert Latimer case: How Harper’s tough agenda ignores individual nature of crime
Remember the Latimer case? The Saskatchewan farmer was convicted of second degree murder of his severely disabled daughter. The federal parole board is refusing to lift a condition of no international travel for parolee Latimer. Mary Campbell, one of the author’s of the parole legislation, calls it “just nastiness towards a certain group of people for the sake of nastiness.” Campbell, who wrote a letter in favour of lifting the travel ban, is a few months retired as the director general of the Corrections and Criminal Justice Directorate for Public Safety Canada. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/robert-latimer-case-how-harper-s-tough-agenda-ignores-individual-nature-of-crime-1.2749642 Related article: CBC News – Laura Peyton Library time and book access limited for federal prisoners, advocates say http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/library-time-and-book-access-limited-for-federal-prisoners-advocates-say-1.2746013
Huffington Post (US) – Ginger Lerner-Wren
Battling Against the Criminalization of Persons with Mental Illness: A Matter of Social Justice
Broward County in Florida has a hard reputation around prisons and criminal justice. In 1997, without funding or resources, a community based court became a mental health court and in a relative brief period – 2000 – became the federal model for mental health courts. Lerner-Wren is calling for an end to the criminalization of the mentally ill. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ginger-lernerwren/battling-against-the-crim_b_5749448.html
ThinkProgress – Sam P.K. Collins
California Agrees To Remove Mentally Ill Inmates from Solitary Confinement
Some 2500 inmates deemed seriously mentally ill will get an end to solitary confinement and will get better access to treatment in California’s prisons. The new practices follow a new policy prompted by a federal court review of practices in the prisons. http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/09/03/3478478/california-mental-health-solitary-confinement Related article: Reuters – Victoria Cavaliere California to shift mentally ill inmates out of solitary confinement http://news.yahoo.com/california-shift-mentally-ill-inmates-solitary-confinement-031748274.html
CNN (US) – Vanita Gupta
Life sentence for buying marijuana?
As the marijuana debate grows in Canada, the case of Jeff Mizanskey of Missouri offers some food for thought around changing times, changing laws and justice for all. Sentenced to life without parole, he is now a great-grandfather with twenty years under his belt for his conviction. Even the prosecutor says enough… http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/02/opinion/vanita-gupta-marijuana-life-sentence