Scope of MMIW

Aug. 7, 2016

Policy Options – Pamela Palmater
The MMIW inquiry’s limited scope, especially the lack of action on police conduct, could overshadow its good parts.

The absence of provincial and territorial ministers as well as the various Indigenous leadership in the recent public announcements around the MMIW inquiry is raising questions around buy-in.  The critics have four specific short-comings around the mandate from government.  A further concern beyond the lack of inclusion in the draft terms of reference is that no Inuit person was named to the list of commissioners.  http://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/august-2016/families-advocates-left-to-fill-gaping-holes-in-mmiw-inquiry/   Related article: CBC News –  Sima Sahar Zerehi     Mary Simon named minister of Indigenous Affairs’ special representative on Arctic   http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/mary-simon-special-representative-on-arctic-1.3709122   Related article: Globe and Mail – Brenda Gunn   The legal system has harmed indigenous women enough – make it the focus of the inquiry    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/the-legal-system-has-harmed-indigenous-women-enough-make-it-the-focus-of-the-inquiry/article31291679/

CAMH Support
WEBINAR – The Niagara Youth Court Screening Initiative

The webinar – part of the System Improvements through Service Collaboration series – takes place on Thursday, Aug 11 at 11AM.  Registration is at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/webinar-the-niagara-youth-court-screening-initiative-tickets-26810478864  The event is free and will pursue an understanding of how the community established a court intervention for mental health and addicted youth.  Maria Benning and Mike Taylor are the presenters.

Blogger Russell Webster  (UK)
Preventing prison suicide: Perspectives from the inside

The blog is an assessment of report of a combined effort through the Howard League and the center for Mental Health to discover about prison suicide through interviewing inmates themselves.  The report is based on four groups (30 people) with two groups of inmates and two groups of inmates recently released.   “The number of suicides in prisons has remained high for two years, and by the end of March 2016 there had already been 27 self-inflicted deaths in our prisons. Additionally rates of both self-harm and assaults have risen considerably.”  The report focuses on four factors: personal risk factors, prison life factors, mental health services, and prison as the right intervention.  http://www.russellwebster.com/preventing-prison-suicide/?utm_source=ReviveOldPost&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ReviveOldPost   Full Report:  http://howardleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Preventing-prison-suicide.pdf

Mother Jones (US) – Shane Bauer

“He Weighed 71 Pounds. That Was Like Somebody Starving.”

The article is a disturbing story about how a CCA (Corrections Corporation of America), a private prison in Louisiana handles suicide watches and inmates who are seriously mentally ill.  The author, a Mother Jones reporter who became a guard and served on the suicide watch detail, paints a harrowing picture of what private prisons can do unchecked.   http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2016/07/damien-coestly-prisoner-suicide-winn-cca-private-prison

VERA Institute of Justice (US)

VERA, a long-time well respected player in the field of US criminal justice, is announcing a new web look and a new thrust. The thrust will be sustained by three new commitments:  Securing equal justice, ending mass incarceration, and strengthening families and communities.  Try their welcome page for the new look at   https://www.vera.org/blog/welcome-to-a-new-era-for-vera   The new web page is at   https://www.vera.org/ 

CBC News – Linda Givetash, Canadian Press
Shut down of Victoria homeless camp puts spotlight on poverty, activist says

A BC Court gave housing protestors a reprieve at their tent city in Victoria until alternate social housing was available.  The tenters drew attention to the lack of affordable housing, forcing the BC government to spend $26 million on 70 shelter and transitional housing units.  Advocates do not view the new units as an adequate number nor a permanent solution and say the government still needs to address the 1300 homeless in Victoria and 28,500 nationally.  Over 200,000 people access emergency shelters on a nightly basis.  Rent increases for those living in poverty while on fixed income seems to be a major reason.  http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/shut-down-victoria-homeless-camp-1.3710858