Oct. 26, 2022
The Conversation (Queen’s) – Craig Martin
Canada’s ‘royal prerogative’ allows it to wage war without parliamentary approval
Most Canadians would likely be surprised to learn that the Canadian government has the power to engage in the use of force without requiring the approval of Parliament. The recent revelations that there are Canadian special forces engaged in training the Ukraine army has prompted renewed discussions around the exact process that gives the government the right to act in warfare apart from the Parliament. Canada has the Royal Prerogative, and is most unique in the world in that there are no constitutional restraints on the executive power to wage war. https://theconversation.com/canadas-royal-prerogative-allows-it-to-wage-war-without-parliamentary-approval-192310?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20October%2025%202022&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20October%2025%202022+CID_431040e8db5a7cfcf1a14ccfa979e791&utm_source=campaign_monitor_ca&utm_term=Canadas%20royal%20prerogative%20allows%20it%20to%20wage%20war
CBC News – Evan Dyer
Busted at 18, an Ontario man says he lost his career to Ottawa’s broken pot pardon process – Chris O’Neill says he can’t get his record suspended because the record no longer exists
There are some really strange Catch-22’s. O’Neill lost a business during the pandemic and applied for a job with a records management company that contracted with the federal government. He was denied the job because of a drug arrest record which can’t be expunged because the police, the courthouse and all records are gone. The feds have a conviction for a controlled substance, not for the 33 year old marijuana offence. The frequency of failure for the federal government pardon / record suspension process is leading to advocates describing the approach as “unsuccessful.” Part of the problem appears to be that such records are often held by both provincial and federal authorities. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cannabis-marijuana-pardon-1.6625485 Related article: CBC News (March, 2021) 3 years after weed legalization, Ontario man still can’t enter U.S. due to 20-year-old pot charge – Federal program to grant pardons too ‘burdensome,’ doesn’t go far enough, activists say https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/weed-legalization-ontario-pardons-1.6212435
Global News – Karla Renic
Nova Scotia judge sentences man to prison time in overdose death, calls it a ‘very difficult case’
The case resulted in Jesse Arthur Simpson, 32, sentenced to 2 ½ years in federal prison after a guilty plea to manslaughter involving the death of his sometime girlfriend with whom he snorted “a purple powder.” In the sentencing comments, Justice Christa Brothers said the case was a difficult one and that Simpson had shown remorse and regret for his actions. The case is a conversation piece for the notion that the one who supplies a drug in the case of an overdose is in some way legally responsible for the death. https://globalnews.ca/news/9225417/nova-scotia-judge-sentences-man-prison-time-overdose-death/
BC Tyee – Amy Swiffen, The Conversation
When Canada Banned Indigenous People from Seeking Justice – For almost 25 years, a law prevented Indigenous peoples from going to court to press treaty rights and land title claims.
In long running disputes, memory is deeply enshrined and available at the slightest touchstone. This article may help explain why Indigenous people have an instinctive distrust of law and governmental or political exchanges. When Indigenous people first began to protest, the Canadian government changed the Indian Act to make protest illegal. “In 1927, the federal government introduced Section 141 into the Indian Act. It banned the solicitation or collection of funds to pursue a legal claim on behalf of an Indigenous person or group without the permission of the Department of Indian Affairs.” As the saying goes, one cannot win for losing. https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2022/10/21/When-Canada-Banned-Indigenous-People-Seeking-Justice/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=241022
BC Tyee – Moira Wyton
Work and the Epidemic of Men’s Depression – A new Canadian survey paints a grim picture of a sometimes deadly crisis in men’s mental health.
This is rather startling report on men’s mental health coming from Dr. John Ogrodniczuk, a professor of psychiatry and founder of the HeadsUpGuys men’s health program at the University of British Columbia. The survey of 1450 English speakers over 18 focused on the mental health of men in the workplace. “Just under half of respondents reported having poor social supports and never asking for help. About 30 per cent of men said they were at least moderately burned out, and 36 were experiencing moderate to severe anger… And about 35 per cent of men surveyed said their personal lives negatively impacted their performance at work.” https://thetyee.ca/News/2022/10/24/Work-Epidemic-Men-Depression/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=intro
The Sentencing Project (US) – Nicole D. Portman et al
Locked out 2022: Estimates of People Denied Voting Rights Due to a Felony Conviction
This latest report from the Sentencing Project is enormously disturbing for the genuine practice of democracy. The report is disturbing for the practice of denial of the vote, for the numbers involved, and for the discriminatory scope of the impact. “Laws in 48 states ban people with felony convictions from voting. In 2022, an estimated 4.6 million Americans, representing 2 percent of the voting-age population, will be ineligible to vote due to these laws or policies, many of which date back to the post-Reconstruction era. In this election year, as the United States confronts questions about the stability of its democracy and the fairness of its elections, particularly within marginalized communities, the impact of voting bans on people with felony convictions should be front and center in the debate.” Who is excluded? 1 in 50 American adults, 1 in 19 Black adults of voting age. https://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Locked-Out-2022-Estimates-of-People-Denied-Voting.pdf?emci=83687edb-cd53-ed11-819c-002248258e08&emdi=8e9ee99c-6c54-ed11-819c-002248258e08&ceid=10203385 ( A 25 page downloadable pdf.)
Tweet from Eric Reinhart: On health care and crime “A slew of recent studies show that healthcare access, in particular, is one of the most important public services for building shared safety. Here are just a few of the available studies reinforcing this neglected reality.” https://twitter.com/_Eric_Reinhart/status/1583942335754555392?s=03 (Cf string which offers links to a number of recent studies supporting the claim for a link between health care and crime.) Tweet from Eric Reinhart: On alternatives to punishment and prison “What if, rather than spending $278B each year to employ 4 million people to police & punish poor and disabled people, the US invested in a nationwide community health worker corps—with priority employment for formerly incarcerated people—to provide the care and support they need?” https://twitter.com/_Eric_Reinhart/status/1583981023913603073?s=03
Tweet from Dr. Nicole LePera: On emotional resilience “Being emotionally resilient doesn’t mean you aren’t impacted by life or that you never have “bad” days. It means you can feel a wide range of emotions and return to a stable baseline. HERE’S HOW TO BECOME MORE EMOTIONALLY RESILIENT” (cf string) https://twitter.com/Theholisticpsyc/status/1584817763155312640?s=03
Tweet from UBCIC On the arrest and handcuffing “Maxwell “They are stepping on our culture and our way of life… I take it very personally. What they did to us was out in the public street… they dragged us out in the street and cuffed me and my granddaughter. That’s something I’ll never forget.” https://twitter.com/UBCIC/status/1584652232288792576?s=03 Tweet from Angela Sterritt – On Vancouver Police apology “The two empty seats where the two VPD officers who were to apologize to Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter were supposed to sit. Leaders are here expressing their frustration.” https://twitter.com/AngelaSterritt/status/1584713483694014466?s=03
International Labour Organization (ILO) –
Global Estimates of Modern Slavery – Forced Labour and Forced Marriage
“Modern slavery is the very antithesis of social justice and sustainable develop-
ment. The 2021 Global Estimates indicate there are 50 million people in situa-
tions of modern slavery on any given day, either forced to work against their
will or in a marriage that they were forced into. This number translates to nearly
one of every 150 people in the world. The estimates also indicate that situations
of modern slavery are by no means transient – entrapment in forced labour can
last years, while in most cases forced marriage is a life sentence. And sadly, the
situation is not improving. The 2021 Global Estimates show that millions more
men, women, and children have been forced to work or marry in the period since
the previous estimates were released in 2017.” The report does not appear to include those instances of incarcerated persons forced to work for free or pittance hourly rates where the money is clawed back. The report concludes: “The scourge of modern slavery has by no means been relegated to history. The 2021 Global Estimates indicate that 49.6 million people are in modern slavery on any given day, either forced to work against their will or in a marriage
that they were forced into. Forced labour accounts for 27.6 million of those in
modern slavery and forced marriage for 22 million.” https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_854733.pdf (A 144 page downloadable pdf; Executive Summary at the start of the report and includes summary of key findings.)