April 18, 2015
OCASI (Ontario Coalition of Agencies Serving Immigrants)
30 Year Anniversary of the Singh Decision
In 1985, the Singh decision of the Supreme Court of Canada recognized the rights of refugees to fundamental justice. Debbie Douglas, the Executive Director of OCASI, offers a reflection on the movement of Canada from first among the receiving countries to the passage of Bill C-31 which, says Douglas, “disastrously amended our Immigration and Refugee Protection laws and the rhetoric that surrounded its passage.” http://www.ocasi.org/message-executive-director-april-2015
Parliamentary Assembly Council of Europe (PACE)
Launch of a parliamentary campaign to end immigration detention of children
On April 20, 2015 PACE will launch a global campaign to end the detention of immigrant children from their offices in Strasbourg. The launch will include a Living Library, a series of videos and materials calculated to explain the campaign and invite support. Canada and the US both practice the detention of children, generally in prison like circumstances decried by all to the point at which irreparable psychological damage to the children is no longer in question. http://www.assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/News/News-View-EN.asp?newsid=5524&lang=2&cat=134
CKOM News Talk (Saskatoon) – Bryn Levy
Saskatoon councillors concerned about call for more cops – Concerns raised over costs
Estimates around how many police officers are needed to adequately police a given population are generally resolved around the ratio of policemen to population, especially for urban areas. For some time Saskatoon is growing by 10,000 or so per year and presently has 185 officers. Police are now looking for 18 more officers and city councillors are reluctant to buy into the ratio argument and think that trained police can be better used by reducing time spent on non-essential tasks and waiting for court appearances. The political concern is that policing costs may prompt specific and hefty tax increase just to pay for the increased number of officers, a circumstance that many municipalities may soon face. http://ckom.com/story/saskatoon-councillors-concerned-about-call-more-cops/549003 Related article: CBC News Saskatoon crime stats for 2014 show troubling weapons trend http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/saskatoon-crime-stats-for-2014-show-troubling-weapons-trend-1.3035442
Criminalization and punishment Educational Project – Justin Piché
Tracking the Politics of Criminalization and Punishment in Canada
Dr. Justin Piché of the University of Ottawa is the director of this project (and publishes a monthly blog on developments) which seeks to bring some clarity around the issues that are ignored and necessitate resistance simply because they do not work or deliver any additional safety for us. For Piché, there are pressing questions around life without parole, what he calls “the other death penalty.” Says Piché: “If we condemn our brothers and sisters to futures without hope that better days may lie ahead, we extinguish our common humanity. In sum, it is not just for the sake of the condemned that we need to resist LWOP in Canada, but our own.” http://www.tpcp-canada.blogspot.ca/2015/04/april-2015-edition-of-tpcp-canada.html
Star Phoenix (Saskatoon) – Doug Cuthand
Valcourt using statistics as diversionary tactic
Bernard Valcourt is the federal minister for Aboriginal Affairs and the one who recently announced a stat saying that 70% of the murder Aboriginal women were murdered by Aboriginal spouses. Cuthand, who is Aboriginal, raises an issue around lateral violence and points out that the stat is for solved cases only and suggests that lateral violence is found among many Aboriginals groups internationally and constitutes a good reason for the inquiry. Valcourt, says Cuthand, “is obviously taking advice from Aboriginal Affairs officials who view First Nations people as adversaries.” http://www.thestarphoenix.com/life/Valcourt+using+statistics+diversionary+tactic/10979801/story.html
Recordnet.com – Matthew T. Mangino
Mass incarceration enters the national consciousness
Grammy Award winner John Legend announced an initiative this week, Free America, a movement to bring attention to the ills of mass incarceration. Legend is scheduling a series of live concerts at various prisons to draw attention to the practice of mass incarceration. Says Legend: “When you look deeper and look at the reasons we got to this place, we as a society made some choices politically and legislatively, culturally to deal with poverty, deal with mental illness in a certain way and that way usually involves using incarceration.” http://www.recordnet.com/article/20150417/NEWS/150419754/101128/A_OPINION
The Church Council on Justice and Corrections (Ottawa)
Seeing Through the Bars
CCJC’s panel discussion on Victim Impact programs helps celebrate Victims’ Week 2015. Speakers include Nicole Heidemann, Kate Johnson, Steve Sullivan, and Schuyler Playford. The event is free but asks for pre-registration. Tuesday, 21 April 2015 from 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM Fauteux Hall, Room 147, at Ottawa University Law Faculty To pre-register: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/seeing-through-the-bars-victim-impact-and-empathy-in-prisons-tickets-16042570761?utm_campaign=new_event_email&utm_medium=email&utm_source=eb_email&utm_term=eventurl_text