Oct 9, 2022
CTV News – Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press
Canada ‘contracts out’ obligations to refugee claimants, advocates tell top court
The ‘Safe third Country agreement’ is back in the courts and whether anyone ever verifies the accuracy of the safe third country or simply assumes that the US is a safe country. “The pact allows Canada to turn back prospective refugees who show up at land ports of entry along the Canada-U.S. border on the basis they must pursue their claims in the U.S., the country where they first arrived… The Canadian government argues in its own brief to the court that returnees have access to fair asylum and detention processes south of the border. “It is not unreasonable to remove claimants to the United States so that they can claim protection in that country.” Advocates who pose the lawsuit say that the US is not always a safe third country and many of those that Canada turns back to the US after legitimately attaining refugee status are deported in turn to unsafe countries from which they are fleeing or detention and other human rights violations. “While Canada is required by law to ensure this premise remains valid through ongoing monitoring of U.S. asylum policies and practices, “it has failed to do so,” they argue.” https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canada-contracts-out-obligations-to-refugee-claimants-advocates-tell-top-court-1.6098346
Homeless Hub (Canada) –
Factsheets: Towards a Stronger National Housing Strategy: Meeting Canada’s Human Rights Obligations
A new report, commissioned by the Federal Housing Advocate under the mandate of monitoring housing to see that the practices conform to commitments dictated by Canada’s adherence to various international bodies, has been published along with Factsheets on the current status. “To prepare for the operationalization of this duty, the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate (OFHA) commissioned research into areas for reform of the NHS. The fact sheets contained in this publication were developed based on research undertaken for the office by the National Right to Housing Network, the Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network, Bruce Porter and Steve Pomeroy… The fact sheets summarize the conclusions of this research and provide practical analysis and recommendations for renewing and strengthening the NHS so that it complies with the NHSA. While the issues and recommendations are presented as distinct, they are best understood when considered as parts of a whole.” https://mailchi.mp/edu/towards-a-stronger-national-housing-strategy-meeting-canadas-human-rights-obligations?e=7b018fccea Full report: A 46 page pdf: Office of the Federal Housing Advocate – Towards a Stronger National Housing Strategy: Meeting Canada’s Human Rights Obligations https://www.homelesshub.ca/sites/default/files/OFHA-factsheets-EN.pdf
Toronto Star – Betsey Powell
‘A gross breach’: Impaired driving case tossed after Peel police record conversation with lawyer – “We recognize that this is unacceptable and have initiated temporary measures as we implement permanent solutions to rectify this issue,” a Peel police spokesperson told the Star.
The case against a drunk driver was thrown out of Ontario court by Judge Bruce Pugsley when evidence was presented that Peel Regional Police could overhear exchanges between the driver charged and his lawyer on the phone in what was suggested as a private room. Pugsley called it: “a textbook method of what officers are supposed to do” — the fact the conversation could be heard and recorded from outside the counsel room, even inadvertently, reveals a possible “systemic issue” with soundproofing at the station, he said.” The consequences for other defendants who followed the same routine are not clear yet but the incident has systemic implications. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2022/10/04/a-gross-breach-impaired-driving-case-tossed-after-peel-police-record-conversation-with-lawyer.html Related article: From Tweet by Rebecca Kavanagh (US) “LAPD officer Houston Tipping died after a training exercise during which he was beaten & slammed to the ground by other cops. Now his lawyer says at the time he died he was investigating a gang rape by 4 cops, at least one of whom was part of the exercise.” (Cf string) https://twitter.com/anthony22fk/status/1577337867491487745?s=03
Globe and Mail – Patrick White
Senators call for exoneration of 12 Indigenous women who endured ‘systemic inequality’ in Canada’s criminal justice system
Citing a ‘litany of failures in the criminal legal system, Senators Dawn Anderson, Yvonne Boyer and Kim Pate are calling for an immediate review of the cases of 12 Indigenous women for a possible miscarriage of justice due to gender and/or racial bias. “The senators say all of them endured discrimination, inequality and violence within the criminal justice system… All of them had some kind of child welfare involvement. All of them either attended residential schools or their parents did. All have histories of abuse,” Ms. Pate said. “There’s a litany of failures.” The request from the three senators comes on the eve of a significant retooling of the conviction review process by Justice Minister Lametti. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-canada-senators-exoneration-indigenous-women-criminal-justice-system/?fbclid=IwAR0sWFB1osngHfWt7qqyR4Za2XN1UGu6YBYXdD47iirYT_abPr-fmLjd38g
N.Y. Times (US) – Tim Arango and Shaila Dewan
More Than Half of Police Killings Are Mislabeled, New Study Says – Researchers comparing information from death certificates with data from organizations that track police killings in the United States identified a startling discrepancy.
The recent study undertaken by the University of Washington and published in the UK medical journal Lancet says that “…about 55 percent of fatal encounters with the police between 1980 and 2018 were listed as another cause of death.” The findings also suggest that medical examiners and coroners play a role in the mislabelling. The stats which under report these deaths come from the National Health Vital Statistics, a source commonly believed to be highly accurate by various audiences. The comparisons showing the discrepancy come from open sources in public media. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/30/us/police-killings-undercounted-study.html Tweet from Eric Reinhart: On Statistics “Alec’s point is important. So too is the one he even more frequently makes: crime stats are fraught with problems and are absolutely the wrong way to measure safety in our communities. The misleading, police-shaped norm of doing so undercuts actual collective safety policy.” https://twitter.com/_Eric_Reinhart/status/1577801509215129609?s=03 Related tweet from Alex Karakasanis On crime statistics “According to FBI crime estimates released today, “violent crime” decreased 1% in 2021 and “property crime” decreased 3.8%. Every media outlet should ask itself if this is the impression it gave with its volume of crime coverage and choices of anecdotes.” (Cf string) https://twitter.com/_Eric_Reinhart/status/1577801509215129609?s=03
Reports.com – William G. Anderson
What happens in prison becomes the norm – The oppressive and deadly tactics used on incarcerated people are directly linked to the spread of fascism inside and outside the prison system
The thesis is that what happens inside a prison will eventually become the norm for the way people are treated in the broader society. “The roots of the U.S. prison system and the police and the courts that fuel mass incarceration have nothing to do with justice. They are meant to uphold white supremacy, subjugation, exclusion, and slavery. Oppressive motives have shaped who this society believes does and doesn’t deserve state violence’s wrath. This is why we see racist over represented outcomes in arrests, conviction, and imprisonment. That’s the criminal legal system working as it was intended to. This is why, in part, whatever incarcerated people are subjected to will make its way from behind bars to those larger over represented populations that have not been locked up yet. Those who are most targeted by the state’s machinery experience the brunt of this, and see it taking shape all around us.” Anderson uses the Roe vs Wade decision and the extensive rape and sexual assault in prison to illustrate his point. “The prison system is a perfect storm of injustice, which is why many prison abolitionists are fighting for a world without them.” https://prismreports.org/2022/10/04/what-happens-behind-bars-becomes-the-norm/
Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (UK) – Richard Garside
Our Strategy 2022-2025
Garside announces a three year strategy to address the need for the work of the centre: “In Britain today, some face an abundance of law. Others face an absence of order. The least powerful regularly endure over-policing, while the most powerful often appear to act with impunity. The justice system concentrates injustice for some, while leaving many injustices unresolved…This situation breeds fatalism about the possibilities for justice and fairness. A complacent and cynical policy consensus feeds this fatalism, as well as being an expression of it. A creative, energetic and optimistic challenge is the antidote to the entrenched monotony of repeated policy failure. Grounded in principles of solidarity and the practices of collaboration, it can open up new possibilities for transformational change.” https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/our-strategy
Tweet from Trevor Burrus On Federal Pardon for Marijuana Use “Pres. Biden pardoning federal offenders for marijuana possession is an important first step in ending our failed war on marijuana. I applaud him for it. We should not have prohibited marijuana in the first place, and how we got it is wild.” https://twitter.com/TCBurrus/status/1578125022954225680?s=03
Tweet from Eric Reinhart: On Biden’s pardon “That Biden has tried to make this announcement about symbolic pardons rather than about rescheduling cannabis and thereby decriminalizing it and opening up a model to follow to decriminalize a wide range — ideally all — substances is a dumb strategic error. Whose idea was this?” https://twitter.com/_Eric_Reinhart/status/1578277080785358848?s=03
Tweet from Rebecca Kavanagh: On numbers pardoned “Biden’s announcement today is kinda smoke and mirrors. Most federal prosecutions for marijuana are for sale or trafficking, not possession — even when the amount of weed involved is very small. The number of people covered by this “mass pardon” is approx. 6,000.” https://twitter.com/DrRJKavanagh/status/1578141828804923392?s=03