May 14, 2017

(Ed note: Below is a moment of worried relief, perhaps also a daily companion, for many observing Mother’s Day today.  The Bath Institution in the quote is a medium security prison in the Kingston area.  The inmate son suffers mental illness.  Smart Justice offers support and best wishes for an end to the anguish of all mothers and their children coping with the problem.)

“I just got a mother’s day gift in the form of a call from my son who has returned to Bath. He and I are greatly relieved that his cell was kept for him, and none of his things were moved or lost.

This was huge worry, as it would have been disastrous to say the least.

So grateful for small mercies, as they say.

I had been having lunch at the kitchen table by myself, listening to CBC program of a young man talking about his mother etc, and as tears were welling up, the call came right then!!

So all is well. Just thought I would share.”

Related article: Globe and Mail – Kiana Hayeri   Single Mothers of Afghanistan   http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/mothers-day-single-mothers-afghanistan/article34969069/#pg1

Human Rights Watch (International) – Helen Griffiths and Katharina Rall

Putting Child Rights at the Heart of Climate Talks – Climate Change’s Disproportionate Impact on Children’s Health, Education

The link brings out a succinct connection between the failure to protect the environment and its inevitable impact on children’s health and education.  Poverty from changing environmental conditions leads to child sickness from malnutrition and lack of good water and often leads to child marriages, ending the chances for education of girls.  https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/05/10/putting-child-rights-heart-climate-talks   Related article:  Globe and Mail – Sophia Banks    It’s 2017, and we still need to say it: Trans rights are human rights   http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/its-2017-and-we-still-need-to-say-it-trans-rights-are-human-rights/article34981938/

CBC News – Matt Kwong

‘Dumb on crime?’  Why the Trump administration’s drug war could cause ‘gratuitous suffering

As reported in yesterday’s communiqué, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has reversed much of progress against mass incarceration by reverting to a tough-on-crime approach that includes mandatory federal sentences for minor drug convictions.  The Obama era saw the Sentencing Reform Commission slow the rate of imprisonment and reduce the length of the sentences.  The return to “an era of harsh penalties, even for potentially small-time drug offenders, appears to be roaring back.”   http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/mandatory-minimums-jeff-sessions-war-on-drugs-eric-holder-1.4113743

Toronto Star – Tonda MacCharles

RCMP braces for rough week as calls for a shakeup mount – As the RCMP grapples with a series of problems, some are suggesting it’s time to finally create a management board for the force.

This week there are three reports in a confluence to raise the issue of how to govern or manage the RCMP.  As well, Commissioner Bob Paulson retires the end of June and about 10,000 constables have applied for union certification. The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission will release a report on sexual harassment; former Auditor General Shelia Fraser had previously filed a report that the Liberal government may release; Auditor General Michael Ferguson will release a report on mental health programs within the RCMP.  Additionally, the trail for workplace health and safety mismanagement in the Bourque case in Moncton continues in high profile.  https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/05/14/rcmp-braces-for-rough-week-as-calls-for-a-shakeup-mount.html   Related article: CBC News – Alison Crawford   Liberals agree to scrap most controversial elements of bill C-7 on RCMP unionization – Government agrees to drop restrictions on collective bargaining as well as secret ballot certification vote    http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rcmp-union-bill-senate-amendments-1.4112518   Related article: Globe and Mail – Daniel Leblanc  Auditor-General expected to expose RCMP’s mental-health failings   http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/auditor-general-expected-to-expose-rcmps-mental-health-failings/article34967829/

Toronto Star – Susan Delacourt

A Canadian post-racial moment. Or was it? Authors Kamal Al-Solaylee, Cornell Belcher warn against complacency

Al-Solaylee, a Canadian, and Belcher, an American, are both authors celebrating books about politics and race relations, each focused on his own country and offering the opportunity for some comparisons.  The occasion was the Politics and the Pen dinner in Ottawa.  Kamal Al-Solaylee won the best political book of the year for his book Brown: What Being Brown in the World Today Means (to Everyone).  Belcher’s book is entitled A Black Man in the White House. Delacourt thinks ‘post racial’ may be premature for Canada in the face of the evidence invoked.     https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2017/05/12/a-canadian-post-racial-moment-or-was-it-delacourt.html