Guns in Canada…

Mar 14, 2018

Globe and Mail – Laura Stone
 Andrew Scheer’s gun policies include firearms ombudsman, taking power from RCMP

The Conservative Leader thinks that Canada needs an ombudsman for firearms and that the responsibility for classifying firearms taken from the RCMP.  Scheer is promising to repeal many of the current regulations regarding the classification, use and transportation of guns.  “Mr. Scheer discussed his rationale during a video interview last spring with the Canadian Coalition for Firearms Rights, which bills itself as the voice of Canadian gun owners and also lobbies politicians.”  The advocacy for the American style aggressive pursuit of gun rights was taken from Scheer’s website just after his election and has recently reappeared in the light of the Ottawa Summit on Gangs and violence in which government is promising tighter controls on acquiring guns.   https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-andrew-scheers-gun-policies-include-firearms-ombudsman-taking-power/    Canadian Coalition for Firearms Rights: https://firearmrights.ca/en/home/   Related article: CBC News – Idil Mussa   Spike in gun and gang violence in Canada has experts worried – Ottawa summit on guns and gangs sets out to find solutions   http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/spike-in-gun-and-gang-violence-in-canada-has-experts-worried-1.4564643

In Justice Today (US) – Harvard Law School, Curated by Sarah Lustbader
and Vaidya Gullapalli
New York governor seeks to further restrict where people with sex convictions can live, eliminating most of NYC and much of the state

The Harvard Law School newsletter is focus today on the secondary punishments that follow imprisonment and cause an on-going punishment for those released from jail after sex crimes but struggling to resume a place with family and friends.  New York State is proposing laws that prohibit former offenders from living almost anywhere in the state.  The ACLU and re-integration agencies are urging the governor to redress the problem before it becomes law.  Human Rights Watch reminds us in the face of ‘stranger danger’ that recidivism is quite low for this class of criminal and that offenders are mostly first time only.  https://mailchi.mp/fairpunishment/in-justice-today-newsletter-344727?e=5540d3cc3d     Related article: Dissent Magazine – Lynn Adelman  Who killed Habeas Corpus   https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/who-killed-habeas-corpus-bill-clinton-aedpa-states-rights

CBC News – Jorge Barrera
Families take MMIWG inquiry to Federal Court seeking right to be heard

The Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) has swirled in controversy from the beginning, fed by the conflict displayed in this latest lawsuit, filed by twenty families who want standing at the inquiry and who have been largely ignored.  The inquiry announced it had requested a two-year extension to its mandate and an additional $50 million to complete its work from Ottawa and is also suffering from the loss of significant personnel and staff.  http://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4567810?__twitter_impression=true   Related article: CBC News – Indigenous groups release booklet for workers in the criminal justice system   http://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4572628?__twitter_impression=true   Related podcast / article: Canadaland:  Abby Madan   Unconstitutional Solitude  http://www.canadalandshow.com/podcast/unconstitutional-solitude/

CP24 (Toronto) – Michelle McQuigge , The Canadian Press
Ontario passes law overhauling policing rules in province

In its first overhaul in 25 years, Ontario has a new set of expectations for police in the Safer Ontario Act (Bill 175).  “Many of the changes stem from Appeal Court Justice Michael Tulloch’s report on police oversight, which made 129 recommendations aimed at increasing transparency and accountability for the province’s forces and the bodies that oversee their conduct.”  The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) will report publicly and name officers involved once the Bill is enacted.  https://www.cp24.com/mobile/news/ontario-passes-law-overhauling-policing-rules-in-province-1.3835019    Related article: The Nation (US) – Collier Myerson  A Crop of Reform-Minded Mayors Is Trying to Fix Policing and Fight Mass Incarceration  https://www.thenation.com/article/a-crop-of-reform-minded-mayors-are-trying-to-fix-policing-and-fight-mass-incarceration/  Related article: University of California (Davis) (US) – Julia Ann Easley   Convicted of Murder as Youth, UC Davis Student to Be Honored for Leadership  https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/convicted-murder-youth-uc-davis-student-be-honored-leadership

Ted Talks – Deanna VanBuren
What a world without prisons could look like

The link is to a 15 min Ted Talk in which an architect offers an exercise in imagining what our world would be like without prisons.  The critique is based on the idea that Restorative Justice would dictate a different sort of place than a prison.  She starts with a space in schools as a place for working on peace making and RJ.  https://www.ted.com/talks/deanna_van_buren_what_a_world_without_prisons_could_look_like