Dec 3, 2017
National Post – Shawn Jeffords, Canadian Press
Complaints of racial profiling, discrimination by Toronto police focus of human rights inquiry
Ontario Human Rights Chief Commissioner Renu Mandhane has announced an inquiry into racial profiling by Toronto police from January 1, 2010 to June 1, 2017. Says Mandhane: “This inquiry is not about establishing whether the community’s concerns are founded. We know that they are. This inquiry is about determining the specific interactions between police and civilians that are a cause for concern.” SIU has agreed to hand over data but so far Toronto police have not. http://nationalpost.com/news/toronto/ontario-human-rights-commission-probing-toronto-police-practices Related article: CBC News – Bethany Lindsay Police uniforms barred from 2018 Vancouver Pride parade – Organizers say decision is result of consultation with LGBTQ community members http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/police-uniforms-barred-from-2018-vancouver-pride-parade-1.4425991
National Newswatch – Canadian Press
Canadian Press News Alert: Supreme Court overturns ruling on Yukon land plan
In a significant victory for First Nations, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled to overturn an appeal court decision about the use of a huge portion of wilderness Yukon Territory under planning for some time. Yukon and developers had reached an agreement with First Nations but the process broke down shortly after the process began with unilateral decisions by Yukon over the objections of the First Nations. https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2017/12/01/canadian-press-newsalert-supreme-court-overturns-ruling-on-yukon-land-plan-3/#.WiF2ClWnGUk
Toronto Star – Michelle Shepherd
Everything you need to know about Daesh ‘returnees’ (including that it’s not illegal to simply join Daesh)
In recent news in the Middle East there was a suggestion that that the only way to handle those Daesh fighters who were from other countries was to kill them. Canada alone dissented among those nations but recent debates in the House is also suggesting that the problem is not going to go away easily. The first case likely to come to the surface is a woman who left Canada in 2014, married a German convert to Islam, had a baby daughters was captured by Kurdish forces, and now is possibly facing trail in Montreal. But membership in a terrorist group is not a crime in Canada. https://www.thestar.com/news/world/analysis/2017/11/30/everything-you-need-to-know-about-daesh-returnees-including-that-its-not-illegal-to-simply-join-daesh.html
CBC News – The Current – Anna Maria Tremonti
Why are so many inmates dying in this Ontario jail? Fifth Estate investigates
Elgin Middlesex Detention Center, the EMDC, (built for 150, now reconfigured for 450) is the starting focus for this article in which Adam Kargus, a petty criminal, is murdered in his own cell, by a cellmate Anthony George known to be violent. The Fifth Estate’s Habiba Nosheen says that no one monitors the video cameras and offers a commentary around the events. That day, Anthony George was also drunk on jailhouse brew. What is of note is that the murderer agreed to be interviewed. http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-november-30-2017-1.4425138/thursday-november-30-2017-full-episode-transcript-1.4427445#segment1 Related article: RightRelevance (US) Jessup guards, inmates and civilians indicted on charges of running Crips street gang in Maryland prisons http://www.rightrelevance.com/search/articles/hero?article=e255e691b5158410ff3d710a100e3399ff2cba09&query=prisons&taccount=penologyrr
In Justice Today (US Harvard Law School) Shaun King
As Incidents of Police Misconduct and Abuse Pile up Nationwide, Justice for their Victims Remains Fleeting
2017 is on track to be the second deadliest year on record for the killing of citizens by police: 1094 to date. Widespread use of police body cameras is not helping. King takes the reader on a tour of incidents across the country where one would expect a different outcome were it not the case of a police officer. https://injusticetoday.com/as-incidents-of-police-misconduct-and-abuse-pile-up-nationwide-justice-for-their-victims-remains-f98f848a05b2 Related article: USA Today – Traci Tong U.S. Coast Guard operating secret floating prisons in Pacific Ocean https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/900462001
National Newswatch – Stephen Levitz
Poll suggests majority of Canadians backs outright ban on guns in urban areas
Ekos Research Associates for The Canadian Press has some startling survey results around firearms in Canada, particularly, or perhaps because of, the current climate in the US: “69 per cent of those surveyed agreed with the statement “I think that there should be a strict ban on guns in urban areas.” The survey also has across the political spectrum support to ban firearms in urban settings. Critics do not think the Liberal government is considering a total ban but they are preparing new gun legislation promised in the last election. . https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2017/12/03/poll-suggests-majority-of-canadians-backs-outright-ban-on-guns-in-urban-areas-2/#.WiRBBFWnGUk