Dec 9, 2016
Law and Style Precedent – Daniel Fish
Whatever happened to Michael Bryant?
You may remember the name Michael Bryant, a former Attorney General of Ontario, who was involved in a car accident that left a cyclist dead and who was charged with dangerous driving causing death and criminal negligence causing death. He resigned his position and had an education in the legal system and how it treats people accused of a crime. Now he is duty counsel for the Ontario Legal Clinic in Brampton, arranging bail and legal representation for people charged with a crime. What’s wrong with the justice system, he is asked. “Start with this: everyone I represent today is in cuffs. And they’re innocent. That’s wrong.” http://lawandstyle.ca/law/cover-story-whatever-happened-to-michael-bryant-2/
Article Magazine – Colin Horgan
What is the point of political journalism? How to report on the post-truth era that big data created
Here’s an interesting article on how fake news or “torqued or false news” stories originate and are spread through social media. The article uses the context of how political journalism is defeated if we accept to have a post-truth media and how the links from the fake news stories explain much about how these stories spread through the “ecosystem of real-time propaganda.” https://articlemag.ca/political-journalism-fake-news-94d69e7a385a#.iqnnh5byr Related article: iPolitics – Beatrice Britneff Parliamentary press gallery now the smallest it’s been in 22 years – ‘I find it sad because we’re losing a diversity of voices’ http://ipolitics.ca/2016/12/08/parliamentary-press-gallery-now-the-smallest-its-been-in-22-years/ Related article: Globe and Mail – Katherine Maher When search engines omit results, our rights are jeopardized http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/when-search-engines-omit-results-our-rights-are-jeopardized/article33240768/ Related article: Ottawa Citizen – Tom Spears Publisher of fake science news tries to buy Ottawa firm’s journal http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/predatory-science-publisher-offers-to-buy-ottawa-firm
CBC News – Benjamin Shingler
‘Make Canada great again’ flyers with anti-Muslim, anti-gay imagery alarm McGill University community
The posters appeared across the McGill campus with a maple leaf and three symbols crossed out – one each for Muslims, communism and homosexuality. Andrew Potter, head of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, has this appraisal: “I think what Trump has done, in America in particular, is give permission and licence to a lot of views that used to be something that across the board were censored and not condoned… even if this is a joke, the posters, I think we need to pay attention to them and not just shake our heads and move on.” http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/mcgill-canada-make-canada-great-again-1.3886871
Toronto Star – Nicholas Caivano and Sandra Ka Hon Chu
Hold the Human Rights Day celebrations – Canada has some serious work to do on women’s human rights, according to a historic and scathing new report from the UN
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women is rather pointed. “Women’s right to health was front and centre, especially for some of the most marginalized women in the country, including women living with HIV, women who use drugs, women in prison, and women who sell or trade sex.” https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2016/12/09/hold-the-human-rights-day-celebrations.html
Ottawa Citizen – Andrew Seymour
Ottawa jail inmate dies in hospital, eight days after hanging himself in segregation cell
The Ottawa – Carleton Detention Centre is back in the news after an inmate Justin St-Amour attempted to hang himself in his cell and has died in hospital. Coroner’s juries had repeatedly urged – their recommendations are not obligatory – the removal of all points in the cell where the bed sheets could be anchored. St. Armour was known to be mentally ill and his family wondered why he was not in a hospital instead of the OCDC. http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/ottawa-jail-inmate-dies-in-hospital-eight-days-after-hanging-himself-in-segregation-cell (Ed note: The MOMS will protest Wednesday, December 14th, at 6pm outside the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre at 2244 Innes Road and would welcome supporters.)
World Economic Forum Global Agenda – Rosamond Hutt
The horrors of modern slavery, in numbers
Here’s a sobering report on world slavery in its various guises. How big is it? Three times the business assets of Apple or $150 billion a year. Children are frequently part of the more than 48 million worldwide who are doing slave labour. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/12/the-horrors-of-modern-slavery-in-numbers/