Aug 3, 2017
National Newswatch – Jordan Press, Canadian Press
More Canadians living alone, with parents or without children: census
The long census results are in, with a few surprises. More families are multi-generational, more people than ever are living alone, more older couples are living alone, there are now more over 65 than under 14. Compilers are calling the changes “seismic” and see a need for public policies to catch up to the new family realities. http://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2017/08/02/more-canadians-living-alone-with-parents-or-without-children-census-2/#.WYHK5oTyuUk Related article: Toronto Star – Bruce Campion-Smith Canada has more same-sex couples, one-person households, census shows https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/08/02/canada-has-more-same-sex-couples-one-person-households-census-shows.html Toronto Star / Canadian Press – Highlights from the 2016 census https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/08/02/highlights-from-the-2016-census.html Related article: Globe and Mail – Gloria Galloway Census 2016: More Canadians than ever are living alone, and other takeaways https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/census-2016-statscan/article35861448/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&
Toronto Star – Editorial (Aug. 1, 2017)
Two police probes into beating of Dafonte Miller fall short: Editorial
Two police forces, Toronto and Durham, have announced a probe into the beating of Dafonte Miller, a 19 year old Black teen, who wound up with a broken nose and the loss of sight in one eye. Miller was beaten by Toronto Police Constable Michael Theriault and his brother in Durham Police jurisdiction. Both police forces, says the Star’s editorial, lack the independence and transparency to be credible, particularly in the light of the failure to call in the Special Investigations Unit in a timely way as required when police injure someone. https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2017/08/01/two-police-probes-into-beating-of-dafonte-miller-fall-short-editorial.html
Globe and Mail – Sunny Dhillon
Canadian prisons’ overuse of solitary confinement mostly in past, official testifies
There is something in congruent about the first witness in a lawsuit over the indiscriminate use of solitary confinement announcing after all the criticism and protests, all the cases that found their way into the light, especially those of deaths while in solitary, to blithely announce that the reduction of incidents of over-use has, in recent years, ‘notably improved’ The BC Civil Liberties and John Howard of Canada are suing the federal government over intransigence in compliance with court direction and internal resistance by Canada Correctional Services, though both the number of inmates held in solitary and the length of time in solitary has been improved. The case is in the fourth week while anticipating nine weeks duration. https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/canadian-prisons-overuse-of-solitary-confinement-mostly-in-past-official-testifies/article35861036/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&
U.S. Department of Justice Press Release
Attorney General Jeff Sessions Announces General Mark S. Inch as New Federal Bureau of Prisons Director
The US effort to confront mass incarceration and excessive sentences may have taken a setback. Inch is a former Major General and Provost Marshall General of the Military police, which includes the federal military prisons. At this point, not much is known about Inch or about what he may bring to the issue of prison reform. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-jeff-sessions-announces-general-mark-s-inch-new-federal-bureau-prisons US Army bio for Inch: https://www.army.mil/e2/c/downloads/367336.pdf
CBC News – Kate McKenna
Olympic Stadium opened to temporarily house ‘intense’ surge of asylum seekers from U.S.
Montreal Olympic Stadium is offering asylum assistance to a quite unusual influx of Haitians from the US facing possible deportation to Haiti under Trump’s immigration policy, and increasingly, the practice of re-patriating Haitian refugees. The stadium has set up 450 beds in the face of almost 1200 arrivals as estimated by the Quebec government agency PRAIDA that helps settlement. http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/montreal/olympic-stadium-opened-to-temporarily-house-intense-surge-of-asylum-seekers-from-u-s-1.4231808
Restorative Justice Council (UK)
Moving on…
The link is to a two minute video dealing with a mugging crime and the victim impact. The Youtube link gives access to a number of short videos on several RJ topics. https://youtu.be/fWtFtWY3Hh8
Pew Charitable Trusts
Fact Sheet – Nation’s ‘Most Incarcerated State’ Chooses a New Path
Louisiana wins the title for most incarcerated state in the union and the harshness reverberates with places like Angola. In July the state governor introduced a package of ten laws dealing with prison reform and addressing the mass incarceration issue in the state. The new laws enact landmark sentencing and corrections reforms. The bills also deal with re-entry on sentence expiry. Governor John Bel Edwards: “I am not proud of our title as the most incarcerated state. But that’s going to be part of our history, rather than our future.” http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2017/07/nations-most-incarcerated-state-chooses-a-new-path?utm_campaign=2017-08-02+PNN&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Pew