April 15, 2020
Toronto Star – Louise Montsebraaten
Ottawa is handing out $2,000 cheques to out-of-work Canadians. Could a basic income be next?
The Coronavirus if nothing else has highlighted many social concerns that provided some flourishing ground for the virus while at once opening our view to some enormous inequalities. Says University of Manitoba economist Evelyn Forget who has extensively studied the impact of the cancelled Ontario GAI: “One of the things we are seeing now is how limited existing programs are, and how hard it is to make them work together to make sure nobody falls through the gaps.” https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/04/05/ottawa-is-handing-out-2000-cheques-to-out-of-work-canadians-could-a-basic-income-be-next.html
Vatican – Papal Address for Easter Sunday
Francisco considers that it is time for a universal salary for the most humble and rightsless workers
Francis addressed a papal letter on Easter Sunday to the Popular Movements to urge the adoption of “a universal salary” that could speak to the deprivations of the most vulnerable in the current economic crisis worsen by the pandemic. Francis “denounces that the poor workers “have been excluded from the benefits of globalization” but not from its prejudices: “the evils that afflict you all, strike you doubly”; encourages them to continue in the fight for 3Ts: land, roof and work; and invites them to think with him ” about the project of integral human development that we long for” for the post-crisis period.” https://movimientospopulares.org/ Related article: America Magazine (US) – Nathan Schneider The pope just proposed a ‘universal basic wage.’ What does that mean for the United States? https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2020/04/12/pope-just-proposed-universal-basic-wage-what-does-mean-united-states
Blogger Russell Webster (UK)
Criminal Justice Quiz Easter 2020
Here is an idea for some enterprising person in Canada. The link is to a quiz on the UK prison system. The questions could change for Canada as would the answer but the quiz itself could be an educational tool for a reference check on our system, its approach and its failings. The ten questions, each with three suggested answers for you to choose, touch on a good spread of topics. http://www.russellwebster.com/quizeaster20/
Toronto Star – Katie Brenner, N. Y. Times
Inmates at New Jersey women’s prison endured years of sex abuse, U.S. Justice Department finds
The Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton, N.J. has just had a scathing report from the US Justice Department on the safety, assaults, and abuse of women in the state’s only prison for women. From the US Attorney for New Jersey: “Women prisoners at Edna Mahan are at substantial risk of sexual abuse by staff because systemic deficiencies discourage prisoners from reporting sexual abuse and allow sexual abuse to occur undetected and undeterred.” The Justice Department is also investigating prisons in Mississippi and Alabama for similar problems. https://www.thestar.com/news/world/us/2020/04/14/inmates-at-new-jersey-womens-prison-endured-years-of-sex-abuse-us-justice-department-finds.html?li_source=LI&li_medium=thestar_world
Tracking the Politics of Criminalization and Punishment in Canada (TPCP)
Carceral Institution Management Measures to Prevent and Manage COVID-19 (v1.0)
The link offers perhaps the most comprehensive site for information on how the prison institutional management is faring face-to-face with Covid-19. The site lists by provinces the status where available on the progress of the Covid-19 inside the jails. In some cases there is simply no report available. http://tpcp-canada.blogspot.com/2020/04/carceral-institution-management_10.html?m=1 Twitter Site for Justin Piché of the University of Ottawa: https://twitter.com/JustinPicheh?s=03 Related article: CTV News – Angela Jung B.C.’s Mission Institution now has 47 COVID-19 cases – more than any other federal prison in Canada https://beta.ctvnews.ca/local/british-columbia/2020/4/13/1_4894904.html Related article: Global News – Sean Boynton More than 100 federal inmates, corrections officers test positive for COVID-19 https://globalnews.ca/news/6806734/coronavirus-canada-prison-cases/ Related article: Washington Post – Rachel Bedard I’m a doctor on Rikers Island. My patients shouldn’t have to die in jail. In anything called a justice system, a death in such circumstances is a failure. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/doctor-rikers-compassionate-release/2020/04/10/07fc863a-7a93-11ea-9bee-c5bf9d2e3288_story.html
The Atlantic – Annie Lowrey
Millennials Don’t Stand a Chance – They’re facing a second once-in-a-lifetime downturn at a crucial moment.
Here’s an early assessment of the impact of both the Covid-19 and the economic slowdown in its wake on the Millennials. “Millennials now are facing the second once-in-a-lifetime downturn of their short careers. The first one put them on a worse lifetime-earnings trajectory and blocked them out of the asset market. The second is sapping their paychecks just as they enter their peak-earnings years, with 20 million kids relying on them, too. There’s no good news in a recession, and no good news in a pandemic. For Millennials, it feels like there is never any good news at all.” https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/04/millennials-are-new-lost-generation/609832/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
The Hour Insider (US- Washington State) – Martha Bellisle, Associated Press
Washington to release almost 1,000 inmates amid outbreak
The plan is to release 1,000 non-violent offenders to create space with the state prison system, space hopefully used for separation rather then re-filling with new inmates. “In Washington state, at least 14 corrections employees and eight inmates have tested positive for the virus. Tests were pending for an additional 50 inmates and more than 900 were under quarantine orders. There are about 18,000 people incarcerated in the state.” https://www.thehour.com/news/article/State-must-provide-details-on-protecting-inmates-15197056.php Related article: (US – North Carolina) – Suzannah Claire Perry N.C. ACLU and other groups file lawsuit over health risks to prisoners during pandemic https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2020/04/nc-prison-lawsuit-0415 Related article: Mother Jones – Samantha Michaels Want to Know How Fast Coronavirus Can Spread in Prison? Look at Arkansas. https://www.motherjones.com/coronavirus-updates/2020/04/cummins-unit-prison-arkansas-coronavirus-spread/ Related article: The Independent (UK, reporting on an incident in Florida) – James Crump Inmate released over coronavirus fears arrested for murder hours after leaving jail – ‘I call on the state attorney to prosecute this defendant to the fullest extent of the law’ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coronavirus-inmate-prison-joseph-williams-murder-florida-released-jail-a9465361.html
International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group –
Joint statement: Digital surveillance technologies and COVID-19 in Canada
One solution offered as an enforcement solution to compliance with shelter-at-home requirements of the government’s fight against Covid-19 is the use of cell phones to track the location of citizens. The suggestion has prompted considerable outcry by civil rights groups about the unwarranted invasion of privacy, who has access to such information and how will it be used or stored. ICLMG proposes seven principles to consider. https://iclmg.ca/digital-surveillance-covid-19/