May 11, 2015
CBC News – Neil MacDonald
Ottawa threatening hate charges against those who boycott Israel – Blaney’s office cites ‘comprehensive’ hate laws for new zero tolerance plans
In a startling disclosure, the federal government has revealed plans to use hate crime laws against those advocacy groups urging boycott of Israel. Charges would have to be approved by the provincial attorney general and critics say those charges would also be subject to charter challenge. The threat seems first directed to a group called Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS), an advocacy group started in response to Palestinian NGO’s. BDS are puzzled how advocating not to do something can be a hate crime. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ottawa-threatening-hate-charges-against-those-who-boycott-israel-1.3067497
Toronto Star – Louise Brown
FIGHTING AN UPHILL BATTLE – Report on the Consultations into the Well-Being of Black Youth in Peel Region
A new report on the conditions facing Black youth in Peel district is suggesting that racism is so pervasive that the district needs to begin anti-racism training sessions for teachers, police and municipal workers, and to begin to hire more Blacks for these positions. The report was commissioned by Facilitating Access, Change and Equity in Systems (FACES). “…Peel’s black community grew by 64 per cent between 2001 and 2011, twice as much as the population of the region overall.” http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/05/10/peel-region-no-haven-for-black-youth-struggling-with-racism-and-alienation.html Report FIGHTING An Uphill Battle: (73 page downloadable pdf) http://www.unitedwaypeel.org/faces/images/fighting-an-uphill-battle-sm.pdf
Toronto Star –
‘Dirty cash’ seizures on the rise as Ottawa cracks down on money laundering
The Canadian Border Services Agency has confiscated $24.5 million of undeclared currency in 1429 seizures at border crossings. The seizures represent a 38% increase in 2014 over 2013. There was a further $3.7 million seized as suspected proceeds of crime. Unless challenged, the funds go into the government purses. http://www.thestar.com/news/immigration/2015/05/10/dirty-cash-seizures-on-the-rise-as-ottawa-cracks-down-on-money-laundering.html
Globe and Mail – Elizabeth Renzetti
We are failing the victims of domestic violence
With a review of the recent incidents of domestic violence, especially the killing of a number of spouses and children, Renzetti is saying that the failed attempts of the abused to find a permanent solution to an abusive spouse has to be seen as widespread failure to provide housing and support services, a failure that leads to the abused re-exposing themselves, often fatally, to the violence. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/we-are-failing-the-victims-of-domestic-violence/article24363088/ Related article: Toronto Star – Ben Spurr High cost of child care keeps many Toronto families in poverty http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/05/10/high-cost-of-child-care-keeps-many-toronto-families-in-poverty.html Related article: Huffington Post (Canada) Patricia Tomasi Parents With Disabilities: These Moms Live In Fear Of Losing Their Kids http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/05/10/parents-with-disabilities_n_7251484.html
iPolitics – Michael Harris
A Mother’s Day plea for compassion
Harris walks us through the crisis, and the cries, of distraught parents around their son, a captain in the Canadian Army who suffered severe stress in Afghanistan and found access to treatment a further major obstacle once back in Canada. The captain has already attempted suicide and the parents don’t think he will ever leave the hospital. “It’s in their eyes,” his mother tells me, “a look that everything has been taken from them, a terrible emptiness.” http://www.ipolitics.ca/2015/05/10/a-mothers-day-plea-for-compassion/
Toronto Star – Editorial (May 11, 2015)
Ontario should fund children’s mental health care
Right now there are 6,000 children on a waiting list for mental health care and experts think that by 2016 that list will be doubled and at 12,000. The report card authors, Children’s Mental Health Ontario, are looking for starters at $30 million to bring the wait time down to four months. Early intervention is always the less costly since failure means long term medical and health problems with other services in high demand. http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2015/05/11/ontario-should-fund-childrens-mental-health-care-editorial.html Report card: http://www.kidsmentalhealth.ca/documents/cmho-report-card-2015-english.pdf
Bradenton Herald (FL)
U.S. prisons: Nursing homes with razor wire
The article is a review of the extent to which US prisons are filled with seniors and the extent of the infirmity and illness that prison authorities must cope with. The 50 plus inmates represent the largest growing segment of the prison population and their numbers have grown by 25% from 2009 – 2013. The problem is seen as a consequence of harsh sentencing and the mass incarceration approach of the US federal government. From 2006 – 2013, the federal Bureau of Prisons has seen health care costs go up by 55%. http://www.bradenton.com/2015/05/11/5792188_us-prisons-nursing-homes-with.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy