“He shouldn’t have died like this…”

Oct 15, 2017

Toronto Star – Fatima Syed
‘My beautiful son is dead’: Family still searching for answers after Whitby man’s 2016 death in prison

Barely a week after the release of a report from Howard Sapers on the state of Corrections in Ontario, a report in which Sapers reported that no one knew how many died in custody, this article aptly describes the circumstances of such a death from 10 months ago and the aftermath for the family of the inmate.  Police conceded a confrontation with correctional guards but everyone is quiet about the more than fifty wounds inflicted in that three hour confrontation.  Soleiman Faqiri was being held in the Lindsey jail awaiting a mental health assessment, convicted of no crime.   https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/10/13/my-beautiful-son-is-dead-family-searches-for-answers-after-whitby-man-dies-in-prison.html

iPolitics – Amanda Connolly
‘You wonder what the government is trying to hide’ – Rights advocates slam secrecy in bid to quash review of Hill attack raid

Farhan Nur’s house in Ottawa was searched by the RCMP shortly after the Parliament Hill incident in 2014.  The warrant to do so was obtained by a still secret affidavit.  Nur wanted to know the basis for the search and has filed a complaint with human rights.  The federal government has attempt to close down the HR debate after both a federal court and the SCC had declined to re-visit the issue.  The reference by the Human Rights Commission to the Human Rights Tribunal is now blemished by the recent disclosure of the Muslim bias in the RCMP guidelines for identifying and interviewing Muslims among the Quebec border crossings.  http://ipolitics.ca/2017/10/13/rights-advocates-slam-secrecy-in-bid-to-quash-review-of-hill-attack-raid/

Toronto Star – Jesse Winter
Drugs at 4 months. Sexual abuse as a child. Now he fights to keep the monster inside

This article is a most graphic description of what social workers may call the second generation of residential school survivors and is at once a measure of the extent to which many afflicted Indigenous people are struggling, often for any sense of normalcy.  “The pages tell a story of repeated failures to keep a vulnerable child safe. Throughout his life, Gabriel asked for help, telling social workers, foster parents, nurses and doctors what was happening to him. He was ignored or not believed over and over again.” The article describes the life of a consistently neglected child at various ages in childhood and in adolescence, a truly despairing scene.  https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2017/10/14/drugs-at-4-months-sexual-abuse-as-a-child-now-he-fights-to-keep-the-monster-inside.html  Related article: Toronto Star – Jesse Winter    Why is the Yukon government quietly settling lawsuits alleging sex abuse by a former school principal?   https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/10/14/why-is-the-yukon-government-quietly-settling-lawsuits-alleging-sex-abuse-by-a-former-school-principal.html

Blogger Russell Webster (UK)
Transforming Rehabilitation inquiry launched

The British House of Commons has launched an inquiry into the government role in the probationary services and wants to know what the challenges and the short term fixes may be.  The inquiry will look into the impact of recent changes in sentencing as well as the recent changes to the probation practices.  http://www.russellwebster.com/tr-inquiry/

The Wilson Center (US) – Schuyler Null and Lauren Herzer Risi
Navigating Complexity: Climate, Migration, and Conflict in a Changing World

The Wilson Center is a nonpartisan centre for the study of policy – in this case the study of the confluence of climate change, the migration of people, and conflict.  The document is a 44 page pdf and is downloadable at the link.  There is a policy implication section on p. 32 that summarizes the concerns raised in the three aspects examined.  There are extensive references around the inter-relationships as well.   https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/ecsp_navigating_complexity_web_1.pdf

CBC News – Peter Zimonjic and Catherine Cullen
Government releases legal limits for drugged driving but can’t say how much pot is too much – Federal government and experts say they expect the new offences to be challenged in court

The question of impaired driving under the influence of marijuana remains a difficult legal issue and is lacking the scientific ability to define in exact quantitative measures and the impact on different people, given the body’s reaction.   The limits include a summary offence but the government cannot say how much marijuana is needed for impairment, nor is government willing to offer guidelines about how long to wait after consuming marijuana.  The government has three offences: a precautionary summary offence when two – five nanograms of THC is found; more than five nanograms is impaired, and the combination of marijuana and alcohol brings different limits – 50 milligrams of alcohol with 2.5 nanograms of marijuana.  The legal and unsettling expectation appears to be to define the offences – especially the summary offense – more closely by actual court cases.   http://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4354336

 Planting Seeds of Restoration and Hope for Those Impacted by Crime

Restorative Justice Conference Toronto

Saturday November 18, 2017

8:30 am – 3:00 pm

Trinity St. Paul’s United Church

(427 Bloor Street, Toronto)

(Free admission, light lunch provided, register in advance)

Register on-line at: RJ-Conference-2017.eventbrite.ca

Email: restorativejusticeconferenceto@gmail.com Phone: 905-464-3940

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/whats-love-got-to-do-with-it-rj-conference-2017-tickets-37790730091