May 29, 2015
Globe and Mail – Erin Anderssen
Inside the world’s best mental-health program to keep homeless people off the street
The article follows Jason Platt, a Canadian Mental Health outreach worker, who encounters street people and supports them to the point where they say enough of street living and then he helps them find and provide for themselves in housing. “The support part is proving, in research, to be an essential ingredient – to keep people in their new apartments by bringing the social system to them and not requiring complete sobriety to enter or stay in the program – Housing first…” http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/to-help-the-homeless-first-find-them-housing/article24646387/
Toronto Star –
Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin argues tolerance, within limits, ‘is the only way forward’
June 2 is the date for the release of the Truth and Reconciliation report from Justice Murray Sinclair. The Chief Justice spoke at the Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa and suggested that the 19th century policies on assimilation of the Aboriginal people would be viewed today as “cultural genocide.” McLachlin advocated tolerances as the only way forward and said: “Yet the legacy of intolerance lives on in the lives of First Nation people and their children — a legacy of too much poverty, too little education, and over-representation of aboriginal people in our courts.” http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/05/27/chief-justice-beverley-mclachlin-argues-tolerance-within-limits-is-the-only-way-forward.html Related article: Ottawa Citizen – Mark Kennedy Canada must improve native education, health care now: Paul Martin http://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/canada-must-improve-native-education-health-care-now-paul-martin
Globe and Mail – Stephanie Levitz
Upcoming right-to-die legislation prompts MPs to consider their voting rights
The prospect of politicians forced to vote on party lines on right-to-die legislation is leading to a movement to free them to vote one’s conscience. In February the SCC struck down a ban on assisted suicide and gave the federal government one year to replace the legislation, nothing is expected until after the next federal election. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/upcoming-right-to-die-legislation-prompts-mps-to-consider-their-voting-rights/article24659074/ Related article: CBC News – Katy O’Malley Conservative MP wants free votes on ‘matters of conscience’ – Saskatchewan’s Ed Komarnicki calls it a ‘pretty straight-forward’ motion. Is it? http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conservative-mp-wants-free-votes-on-matters-of-conscience-1.3090024
Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (US) – Crystal Freed
OP-ED: Civil Citations Are Smart Justice for Juveniles
Lawyer and chair of the Human Rights Commission, Freed reflects on the comparison between the racism and Jim Crow laws of a previous era with the present race relations scene in places like Ferguson and New York between Blacks and the police. In this context, Freed describes the positive benefits from citations for young people rather than arrests. http://jjie.org/op-ed-civil-citations-are-smart-justice-for-juveniles/
Toronto Star –
Police dog helps girl testify at sex assault trial in B.C. legal first
Caber, a yellow Labrador retriever, and police dog, just sat at the feet of a 10 year old who was testifying at a sexual assault trial, and when the going got too difficult, the court stopped and the girl lay down with the dog for comfort from the ordeal. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/05/29/police-dog-helps-girl-testify-at-sex-assault-trial-in-bc-legal-first.html
Adventist News Network
Adventist Churches in Scotland and England open their doors to help Church and community members discuss healing through forgiveness
A number of Seven Day Adventist Churches in Scotland have sponsored an exhibition entitled The F Word where the church itself became a display of stories and materials about people who found forgiveness in some unusual places. The point was to stimulate conversation around healing and reconciliation, “to examine forgiveness as a healing process, a journey out of victimhood and ultimately, a journey of hope.” The exhibit drew material from around the world – South Africa, America, Israel, Palestine, Northern Ireland and England. http://news.adventist.org/all-news/news/go/2015-05-28/exhibit-on-forgiveness-sparks-genuine-conversation-in-the-united-kingdom/
America Magazine (US)
U.S. Bishops Issue Scathing Report on Federal Detention Center Policy
The U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops have released a report on immigration detention calling for radical restructuring of the way government handles undocumented immigrants. The report, released on May 11, 2015, says “The U.S. detention system deprives persons of liberty, divides families, inhibits integration, and prevents participation in the broader society… (system is) “neither humane nor, in its current form, necessary.” http://americamagazine.org/issue/us-bishops-issue-scathing-report-federal-detention-center-policy Full Report: “Unlocking Human Dignity: A Plan to Transform the U.S. Detention System” http://www.usccb.org/about/migration-and-refugee-services/upload/unlocking-human-dignity.pdf Related article: Thinkprogress – Esther Yu-Hsi Lee The Sudden Momentum For Keeping Immigrant Kids And Families Out Of Detention http://thinkprogress.org/immigration/2015/05/29/3663374/house-dems-family-detention/