Feb. 20, 2015
National Post – Sarah Boesveld
Silent No More: What Canada’s mayors have to say about violence against aboriginal women
This article is sobering. It’s the perspective of frightened Aboriginal women as they go about their ordinary lives in the cities most impacted by the murdered and missing women. Boesveld interviews the mayors of Edmonton, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, and Vancouver to hear what they are doing and what more needs doing. http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/02/16/silent-no-more-what-canadas-mayors-have-to-say-about-violence-against-aboriginal-women/
Straight.com (Vancouver) – Trevor Lupick
Chasing a crisis: The challenge of caring for Vancouver’s severely mentally ill and addicted residents
This is a six part series (all available at the link) on the issues around first responders to those in mental health crisis. The series is a response to the declaration of Police Chief Jim Chu and Mayor Gregor Robertson that “the answer for someone suffering a mental-health crisis is not a cop with a gun.” Chu said, “We need a shift from dealing with the crisis to preventing the crisis from occurring in the first place.” http://www.straight.com/news/389811/chasing-crisis-challenge-caring-vancouvers-severely-mentally-ill-and-addicted-residents
CBC News
C-51 confusion abounds as Tories rush anti-terrorism bill to committee – Questions about proposed legislation remain unanswered as government hurries bill to next stage
Not only does the meaning of the various elements of the anti-terrorist bill C-51 elude many in legal, academic and media circles but the answers from government ministers are equally at odd and confusing. When asked for a definition of terrorism, Justice Minister Peter MacKay answered, “Look it up!” Besides the actual definition of terrorism and the possibility that the legislation could be used to supress protest, the critics have insisted that more powers for CSIS mean that more and better oversight is needed. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/c-51-confusion-abounds-as-tories-rush-anti-terrorism-bill-to-committee-1.2963569 Related article: CBC News CSIS oversight urged by ex-PMs as Conservatives rush Bill C-51 debate – Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin, Joe Clark, John Turner want stronger oversight of law enforcement http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/csis-oversight-urged-by-ex-pms-as-conservatives-rush-bill-c-51-debate-1.2963179 Related article: Toronto Star – Editorial (Feb. 20, 2015) Heed this call for better oversight of Canada’s spy services http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2015/02/19/heed-this-call-for-better-oversight-of-canadas-spy-services-editorial.html Related article: CBC National At Issue Panel: Anti-Terror Bill http://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2015/02/20/at-issue-anti-terror-bill/#.VOdN1S5QRUY Related article: MacLean’s Aaron Wherry Oct. 22 vs. Oct. 23: The terror debate officially begins – Is the House of Commons up to the task? http://www.macleans.ca/politics/october-22-vs-october-23-the-terror-debate-officially-begins/ Related article: National Newswatch – Murrary Brewster DND, CSIS, RCMP unable to spend $11 billion of their budgets since 2007 http://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2015/02/19/dnd-csis-rcmp-unable-to-spend-11-billion-of-their-budgets-since-2007/#.VOdUWi5QRUZ Related article: Globe and Mail – Ian Bailey Harper sees no need for more oversight of national-security agencies http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/harper-sees-no-need-for-more-oversight-of-national-security-agencies/article23110776/
Guelph Mercury – Vik Kirsch
Chaplain fears profit prisons possible
Kate Johnson is a Quaker and former CSC federal prison chaplain, now an interfaith chaplain at Queen’s University. She spoke at a Third Age Learning speech at the University of Guelph. “The government,” she said, “is co-opting the victim’s rights movement because ‘it’s an easy vote winner’ — but it doesn’t do much for healing…today’s government focus on incarceration serves neither offenders nor victims, and is also hard psychologically on stressed prison staff and, by extension, their families.” http://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/5345308-chaplain-fears-profit-prisons-possible/
Toronto Star – Reid Rusonik
Public arrests deny presumption of innocence – Police practice of publicly manacling and shackling those under arrest is degrading and doesn’t belong in a truly civilized society.
The article is a reflection piece coming from the recent open courthouse arrest of a defense lawyer for allegedly smuggling marijuana to her client. Given all the noise around terrorism protection and the length we may be willing to go for security’s sake, the article may be a timely reminder of the value we have placed on presumption of innocence for over 800 years. “It’s (public arrest and handcuffing) a general practice that has never belonged in a truly civilized society. Accepting it has lowered the bar so far in terms of the way we tolerate our police treating us that we are plagued with a host of other practices that make a mockery of the presumption of innocence. These include unnecessary strip searches, too many accused being held in custody for bail hearings instead of being released on notices to appear upon arrest or promises to appear and undertakings from the station, and the refusal to destroy the records made of arrestees who are never convicted.” http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2015/02/19/public-arrests-deny-presumption-of-innocence.html# Related article: Toronto Star – Wendy Gillis Lawyer arrested at Brampton courthouse, charged with trafficking http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2015/02/12/lawyer-arrested-at-brampton-courthouse.html
National Catholic Register (US) – Peter Jesserer Smith
Can Homeboy Redemption Help Restore America’s Future?
Hector Verdugo has lots of strikes against him from the beginning: mother, father and grandfather all died of heroin overdoses and his earliest memories are of finding a gun and being taught how to hold it by the neighbourhood gangs. At a national Catholic conference to explore RJ to heal families and communities, Verdugo said the tools from Homeboy Industries have changed lives, mended relationships and united broken families. “Families uniting is the best prevention we’ll ever see — where fathers get to love their boys and mothers get to love their children. Why would I ever want to join a gang?” he said. Homeboy Industries first came from the Los Angeles gang territory and Jesuit priest Greg Boyle. http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/can-homeboy-redemption-help-restore-americas-future/ Homeboy Industries link: http://www.homeboyindustries.org/
World Socialist Website – Kevin Martinez
ACLU report documents horror of solitary confinement in US prisons
In the US, estimates are that there are more than 80,000 people in solitary. In Texas, the locale for this ACLU report, there are over 6,000 in solitary. “The average Texas prisoner in solitary confinement languishes there for almost four years, and over 100 Texas prisoners have spent more than 20 years in solitary confinement. These prisoners live in a tiny cell for 22 hours a day with almost no direct human contact and no access to educational or rehabilitative programs.” http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/02/20/aclu-j01.html American Civil Liberties Union (US) Report: A Solitary Failure: The Waste, Cost and Harm of Solitary Confinement in Texas (Report, February 2015) (60 page downloadable PDF- Click on the title in the description) http://www.aclutx.org/2015/02/05/a-solitary-failure/