April 25, 2016
Toronto Star – Canadian Press
Hundreds march in Halifax after series of violent deaths
Several hundred people who included both the chief of police and the mayor of Halifax have given community action and solidarity a new meaning: they marched through the downtown to protest a series of recent homicides. Last week, three young persons were shot dead in the street and the protest was focused on ending the use of guns and violence. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/04/24/hundreds-march-in-halifax-after-series-of-violent-deaths.html
Toronto Star – Allan Woods
A First Nations cry for help gets little government attention
States of emergency are not new among Ontario First Nations. In fact, there are twenty eight such communities. However, though the state of emergency is an acknowledgement that the local government cannot cope, the declaration does not appear to draw a response from other levels of government. The crisis then tends to be protracted and to go often without answer. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/04/25/a-first-nations-cry-for-help-gets-little-government-attention-star-investigation.html
Globe and Mail – Patrick White
Documents reveal troubling details about long-term solitary confinement
The Globe and Mail has acquired over 1100 pages of inmate records around solitary confinement and the conclusions are not very pretty. Even with faulty records, White was able to determine that 360 inmates spent on average 103 days in solitary and that 40% of those in solitary for over 30 days suffered from mental illness or disability. The U.N. recommended maximum stay in solitary is two weeks. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/documents-reveal-troubling-details-about-long-term-solitary-confiment/article29746902/
Lexington Herald Leader (US) – Valarie Honeycutt Spears
Ky. children have highest percent of jailed parents in the U.S.
According to a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Kentucky has the largest number of children with at least one parent in jail, double the national average and totaling 135,000 children. The report puts 5 million kids with a parent in jail in the US nationally. “Policy debates about incarceration rarely focus on the impact on children,” said Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates. “Yet, we know that when a parent is in jail or prison, it creates an unstable environment for kids that can have lasting effects, like poverty, changes in living situations, and mental and emotional health issues.” http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/article73730827.html#storylink=cpy the full report: A Shared Sentence: The devastating toll of parental incarceration on kids, families and communities (A 20 page downloadable pdf) http://www.aecf.org/m/resourcedoc/aecf-asharedsentence-2016.pdf
Globe and Mail – Doug Saunders
Finland’s social climbers: How they’re fighting inequality with education, and winning
Saunders offers us an extensive description and analysis of education in Finland, its goals and its practices, along with some graphs around frequency and the extent to which the children are better educated than their parents, and therefore more socially mobile. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/how-finland-is-fighting-inequality-with-education-andwinning/article29716845/
Ottawa Citizen – Kelly Eagan
A suburban Karla Homolka, living next door and unforgiven
A university of Ottawa criminologist, Sylvie Frigon, and Associated Professor Jennifer Kilty have recently published a book on Karla Homolka entitled: The Enigma of a Violent Woman, A Critical Examination of the case of Karla Homolka. In this article, Eagan asks Frigon how she would feel about living next door to Homolka. Frigon thinks we may have “monsterized” Homolka. http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/egan-a-suburban-mom-named-karla-next-door-and-unforgiven
CBC News – Mark Gollam
Mike Duffy’s legal recourse against Harper PMO limited – Duffy should demand the pay, benefits and other perks he lost while suspended from Senate, his lawyer says
Duffy was suspended without pay or benefits and his lawyer, Donal Bayne, thinks that Duffy should first pursue that. Beyond salary, the chances of any further lawsuit would depend on showing malicious persecution, without hope of success on the part of the crown. Some think the malice on the part of the PMO is possible to prove but against the prosecutor unlikely. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mike-duffy-trial-senate-1.3548517 Related article: CTV News ‘Strains credulity’ to think Harper unaware during Senate scandal, Duffy’s lawyer says http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/strains-credulity-to-think-harper-unaware-during-senate-scandal-duffy-s-lawyer-says-1.2872512
The Tyee (BC) – Justin Ritchie
Next Economy: The Coming ‘Age of Stagnation’
The Tyee is starting a new series focusing on expectations for the future world economy with the lead article by author Satyajit Das, an Australian, and other articles to follow on the coming global capitalism’s crisis. Prompted in part by the current income inequality context, Das wants to debunk what he calls “the Davos-man narrative.” This article is in the Q & A style. http://thetyee.ca/News/2016/04/25/Next-Economy-Coming-Age-Stagnation/