In this together…

    Mar 2, 2015

Toronto Star – Editorial (Mar 1, 2015)
Canadian Muslim families are in the front lines

“More often than not these families are appalled at the radicalization of their children. They struggle to comprehend it. They see it as a coarse betrayal of Canada’s generosity. And they do what they can to dissuade it. They are not the enemy. They are on the front lines. And we are all in this together.”  http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2015/03/01/canadian-muslim-families-are-in-the-front-lines-editorial.html  Related article: Toronto Star – Haroon Siddiqui    How to minimize Islamic State lure for Canadian youth     http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2015/02/28/how-to-minimize-islamic-state-lure-for-canadian-youth-siddiqui.html   Related article: Toronto Star – Chantel Hebert    Conservatives, Bloc adding fuel to fire in niqab debate   http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/02/27/conservatives-bloc-adding-fuel-to-fire-in-niqab-debate-hbert.html#   Related article: Globe and Mail –  David Butt  Quebec judge who demanded hijab removal needs a Charter lesson   http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/judge-who-demanded-hijab-removal-needs-a-charter-lesson/article23227798/

 Toronto Star – Canadian Press
Bus beheader Vince Li allowed unsupervised visits to Winnipeg 

Manitoba Criminal Code Review Board has decided that Vincent Li, who in 2008 beheaded a fellow passenger on a bus and was declared not criminally responsible (NCR), is now ready for unescorted leave and perhaps group home living.  In response, Federal Heritage Minister Shelly Glover says:  “For the second time this week, I would like to clarify that this type of situation is exactly why we made changes to the Criminal Code in the Not Criminally Responsible Reform Act.  It is unacceptable that dangerous and violent offenders are released into our communities, when they pose a threat to society.”  http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/02/28/bus-beheader-vince-li-allowed-unsupervised-visits-to-winnipeg.html    Related article:  Metro News – Shannon VanRaes   Understanding ‘not criminally responsible’ is crucial for Vince Li and countless others    http://metronews.ca/voices/inside-the-perimeter/1300696/understanding-not-criminally-responsible-is-crucial-for-li-and-countless-others/

 Globe and Mail – Sean Fine
Anti-terror law fails to guarantee agencies will share information, ex-judge says

Judge John Major, former Supreme Court judge who headed an inquiry into Canada’s worst terrorism incident – the Air India disaster – sees a deficiency C-51 in its failure to ensure that various agencies do share information.  Major thinks that the bill needs a strong supervisory oversight to see that information is shared.  CSIS, the RCMP, and 14 other agencies all do anti-terrorism intelligence work. “When you have that many agencies involved,” says Major, “it’s a recipe for confusion unless there’s somebody steering the ship.”   http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-didnt-learn-air-india-lesson-says-ex-judge/article23240705/   Related article: MacLean’s – Aaron Wherry   Beyond Parliament, a debate about C-51     http://www.macleans.ca/politics/beyond-parliament-a-debate-about-c-51/   Related article: The Tyee  – Jeremy J. Nuttall   Tory Law Forces Canadians to Choose Between Liberty and Security: Mulcair  http://thetyee.ca/News/2015/03/02/Tory-Law-Between-Liberty-Security/

 Globe and Mail – Simona Chiose
Dalhousie male dentistry students reveal cost of misogyny scandal  

An open letter from the men involved in the Dalhousie misogyny seems to offer some indication that the men understand the harm they inflicted on the women through the Facebook pages.   “We know much more than saying ‘sorry’ is required. We are doing the hard work to figure out how to truly be sorry. We owe meaningful apologies to those we have impacted most directly first. Through the process we have had the opportunity to offer some of those apologies already and they have been accepted.”   There also appears to be widespread satisfaction with the process of restorative justice invoked to confront the harm.  Professor Jennifer Llewellyn of Dalhousie:    “There is a significant recognition that what is at stake is a shared responsibility for the acts and the wider culture in which they happen.”    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/dalhousie-male-dentistry-students-reveal-cost-of-misogyny-scandal/article23240582/   Related article: CTV News – Michael Tutton   Men in Dalhousie Facebook page sorry for sexually hateful postings    http://www.ctvnews.ca/men-in-dalhousie-facebook-page-sorry-for-sexually-hateful-postings-1.2259866

 London Free Press (ON) – Debora Van Brenk
Study puts price tag on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in Canada

FASD is the face of Canada’s leading cause of preventable developmental disability among Canadians.  The price, admittedly low in the absence of better and more complete data, is about $2.3 billion according to a new study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Lena Popova, the study’s author.  “People with the disorder are more likely to have health problems requiring medical care; more likely to have run-ins with the law; and more likely to need special-education supports and long-term care.”   Paula Schuck, an adoptive parent of a FASD child is more pointed in her explanation:  “It takes a real toll on all of our families.”    http://www.lfpress.com/2015/02/25/a-costly-tragic-legacy