Systemic racism…

Oct 15, 2019

CBC – David Thurton
Canada is ‘awash in systemic racism,’ says Green Leader Elizabeth May – ‘It’s a hard answer because it makes people uncomfortable,’ May says at foreign policy platform event

Following the French language debate the CBC asked May if Canada is “racist as a country.”  The headline above is May’s answer, perhaps the first such concession from the leader of a national political party in our history.  Later, Jagmeet Singh also conceded a “yes” to the reporter’s question but later suggested that labels don’t help the discussion.  https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/elizabeth-may-green-party-racism-1.5318023   Related article: National Newswatch / The Conversation   Yasmin Jiwani, Francesca Scala and Stephanie Paterson   A feminist take on the Canadian federal election   https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2019/10/14/a-feminist-take-on-the-canadian-federal-election/#.XaYBfGZ7k2x  (Ed note: An interesting analysis of the politics of ‘care’ from three Concordia U professors.)

Toronto Star – Sara Mojtehedzadeh with Photographer Melissa Renwick
Snakes, rats, bedbugs, abuse. Complaints filed by Mexican migrant workers expose underside of Canada’s seasonal agriculture program

 Mojtehedzadeh is reporting on conditions that are commonly acknowledged to be around for decades, reported and ignored.  The on-going nature of the mistreatment of the immigrant labourer derives from the actual immigration status.  Unlike caregivers who have access to permanent status, the farm workers “are tied to a single employer through an annual contract — making it almost impossible for migrants to leave an abusive workplace.”   https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2019/10/14/snakes-rats-bedbugs-abuse-complaints-filed-by-mexican-migrant-workers-expose-underside-of-canadas-seasonal-agriculture-program.html  Related article: Toronto Star – Sara Mojtehedzadeh with Photographer Melissa Renwick   Every spring, he left Mexico to pick crops in Canada. One year he didn’t come home. We expose the terrible cost of migrant work   https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2019/10/10/every-spring-he-left-mexico-to-pick-crops-in-canada-one-year-he-didnt-come-home-we-expose-the-terrible-cost-of-migrant-work.html?li_source=LI&li_medium=star_web_ymbii

Square One Project (Detroit)
Roundtable on the Future of Justice Policy:  Examining Violence in the United States: Implications for Justice Policy and Practice

The project was a series of papers and a webinar discussion of the papers held Oct. 10, 2019.  Here are the topics and authors with the link to their individual content.

  1. Seeing Guns to See Urban Violence: Racial Inequality & Neighborhood Context David Hureau, University at Buffalo (SUNY) https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b4cc00c710699c57a454b25/t/5d9ba9ae904bd61a8e08b42a/1570482607526/Hureau+-+Seeing+Guns+to+See+Urban+Violence+FINAL.pdf
  1. The Effects of Violence on Communities: The Violence Matrix as a Tool for Advancing More Just Policies – Beth E. Richie, University of Illinois at Chicago https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b4cc00c710699c57a454b25/t/5d9ba8c34c177c1316319eaa/1570482372015/Richie+-+The+Effects+of+Violence+on+Communities+FINAL.pdf
  1. The Problem of State Violence – Paul Butler, Georgetown University https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b4cc00c710699c57a454b25/t/5d9e88658f915868c821bc8f/1570670694539/Butler+-+The+Problem+of+State+Violence+Final.docx+%281%29.pdf
  1. The Story of Violence in America – Kellie Carter Jackson, Wellesley College
  1. A Brief Review of a Developmental and Ecological Perspective on the Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma and Violence – Micere Keels, University of Chicago https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b4cc00c710699c57a454b25/t/5d9ba98829ead86c91bae61b/1570482570156/Keels+-+Intergenerational+Transmission+of+Trauma+and+Violence+FINAL.pdf
  1. Public Health Approaches to Reducing Community Gun Violence – Daniel W. Webster, ScD, MPH- Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b4cc00c710699c57a454b25/t/5d9ba96729ead86c91bae2b1/1570482536243/Webster+-+Public+Health+Approaches+to+Reducing+Community+Gun+Violence+FINAL.pdf
Toronto Star – Public Editor Kathy English
Suspect fake news? Here are tools to check it, challenge it

With increasing public interest in how to detect “fake news” journalists in Canada have come together to provide some help – and a test quiz for your personal skills.  (Scores may be very modest!)  The Canadian Journalist Foundation has launched a new site:  Doubt it? Check it! Challenge it.!  https://www.thestar.com/opinion/public_editor/2019/10/04/suspect-fake-news-here-are-tools-to-check-it-challenge-it.html   Link to Foundation web site and quiz:  www.Doubtit.ca   Related article:  CTV News – Francesca Fionda   How online abuse and hate could be hurting our democracy   https://election.ctvnews.ca/how-online-abuse-and-hate-could-be-hurting-our-democracy-1.4637623   Related article: Toronto Star – Susan Delacourt  What has changed so much that Trudeau has to wear a bulletproof vest?   https://www.thestar.com/amp/politics/political-opinion/2019/10/13/what-has-changed-so-much-that-trudeau-has-to-wear-a-bulletproof-vest.html   Related article: Canada.com – John Ivison Trudeau’s security scare a dark turn for an election filled with online threats https://o.canada.com/news/politics/election-2019/john-ivison-trudeaus-security-scare-a-dark-turn-for-an-election-filled-with-online-hate/wcm/2beb6e9a-e6a1-4e74-b4ab-11318c183276

Metro News (UK) – Peter Dawson
Longer prison sentences may win votes but they won’t stop crime

Dawson, Director of Prison Reform Trust in the UK, calls out the tactic of using longer prison sentences as a tactic for votes.  Dawson was reacting to the speech from the throne delivered by Queen Elizabeth and reflecting the anticipated policy lot of a Boris Johnson government.  “Forever raising the bar on sentence length is a cynical diversion from the real issues and will make matters worse. All the people affected by crime – victims, offenders, and all the innocent families caught up in the mess we have created – deserve better.”   https://metro.co.uk/2019/10/15/longer-prison-sentences-may-win-votes-but-they-wont-stop-crime-10917157/amp/?ito=cbshare&__twitter_impression=true

The Appeal.com – Vaidya Gullapalli
The need to support visits for incarcerated people and their families

This link offers a refreshing confirmation of the importance, and practice, of visiting with imprisoned family members.  The stats and the testimonies of those incarcerated make it clear that maintaining links for loved ones is a major element in rehab but that both state and federal authorities will view prison visits as a nuisance to their good order to be discouraged with rules, regulations and distances.  In this instance, the state of New York is looking at several bills to over these obstacles.  https://mailchi.mp/theappeal/daily-appeal-347291?e=5540d3cc3d