June 20, 2023 – Debt and Fairness…
The Canadian Press – David Friend
Canada, Ontario reach historic $10 billion proposed First Nations treaty settlement
“The Robinson-Huron Treaty was signed in 1850 and committed to paying the First Nations groups annual amounts tied to resource revenues, but the annuity only increased once in 1875 when it rose from about $1.70 per person to $4 per person. It hasn’t increased since.” The $10 billion represents payment to a group of 21 First Nations for the use of the land without adequate annuities given the profit derived from the government use of the land. https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/national/canada-ontario-reach-historic-10-billion-proposed-first-nations-treaty-settlement/article_01cf328c-f47f-54ee-b431-82c62bdaf733.html?utm_source=thecanadianpressnews.ca&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletter%2Foptimize%2Fdaily-newsletter%2F%3F-dc%3D1687185033&utm_medium=email&utm_content=read%20more
The Canadian Press – Jim Bronskill
MPs call for reform of Canada’s extradition system to avoid ‘further injustices’ – MPs call for extradition system overhaul
The case of Hasan Diab, a Canadian citizen and university professor, extradited to France, jailed for three years, found innocent, repatriated, only to have France request another extradition, is at the roots of the acknowledged faults in Canada’s system. Diab was then tried in absentia and sentenced to life in prison. Dalhousie University law professor Rob Currie, a long time legal critic of the process, says: “They really heard us,” he said in an interview. “It shows great understanding of the problems that we were pointing out.” Canada’s Parliamentry and Human Rights Committee is calling for both overhaul and process adjustments. https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/politics/mps-call-for-reform-of-canadas-extradition-system-to-avoid-further-injustices/article_ccb856c8-6e35-5ebf-a3fd-96dcb96b063d.html?utm_source=thecanadianpressnews.ca&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletter%2Foptimize%2Fdaily-newsletter%2F%3F-dc%3D1687185033&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline
NBC News (US) – Lawrence Hurley
Supreme Court considers recoil from landmark gun rights ruling – After lower court rulings struck down long-standing gun restrictions, the Biden administration asks justices to uphold restrictions on people with domestic violence restraining orders.
The link offers a summary review of the conflicting rulings between lower courts, presidential dicta and the US Supreme Court in efforts to get mass killings under control. “One court ruled that federal law cannot bar someone from owning a gun just because that person is subject to a domestic violence restraining order… Another decided that preventing someone convicted of a nonviolent felony from owning a gun is unconstitutional… And a third found that the federal law prohibiting people under 21 from owning firearms is unlawful.” The restrictions on gun ownership are increasingly subject to little or none permitted in the light of the Second Amendment and at Biden’s request are seeking clarity from the Supreme Court. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-considers-recoil-landmark-gun-rights-ruling-rcna89261 Related article: National Public Radio / Associated Press – Multiple mass shootings across the U.S. leave at least 6 dead on holiday weekend https://www.npr.org/2023/06/19/1183041211/deadly-mass-shootings-across-the-u-s
The Toronto Star – Jacob Serebrin
Suicides in Quebec: Coroner wants friends and family included in mental health care
Coroner Julie-Kim Godin wants to have professionals in the mental health care of the province find ways to better involve family members, often excluded from the care process with the patients precisely to reduce the risk of suicide by the patient. Godin wants a change in the health form that will allow the professionals to share information with some family members who are willing to be involved. This recommendation is one of 63 in Godin’s report. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2023/06/14/suicides-in-quebec-coroner-wants-friends-and-family-included-in-mental-health-care.html?li_source=LI&li_medium=thestar_canada
Equal Justice Initiative (US)
Prison Conditions – Millions of Americans are incarcerated in overcrowded, violent, and inhumane jails and prisons that do not provide treatment, education, or rehabilitation. EJI is fighting for reforms that protect incarcerated people.
Equal Justice is exposing objectionable and even criminal conditions in US jails and prisons. This initiative involves a recognition that courts have largely abandoned the role of oversight and protests by both prisoners and advocates have a hard time getting any remedy for a wide variety of mistreatments and wrongs. “Today, prisons and jails in America are in crisis. Incarcerated people are beaten, stabbed, raped, and killed in facilities run by corrupt officials who abuse their power with impunity. People who need medical care, help managing their disabilities, mental health and addiction treatment, and suicide prevention are denied care, ignored, punished, and placed in solitary confinement. And despite growing bipartisan support for criminal justice reform, the private prison industry continues to block meaningful proposals.” https://eji.org/issues/prison-conditions/ Related article: Vera Institute for Justice – Erica Bryant Juneteenth Is Incomplete While Slavery Persists in Prisons https://www.vera.org/news/juneteenth-is-incomplete-while-slavery-persists-in-prisons (Vera is insisting on changes in the Thirteenth Amendment that allows the practice of slavery in prison as an exception to freedom of person.) Related article: The Conversation (Queen’s) – Jeffrey L. Littlejohn and Zachary Montz Juneteenth, Jim Crow and how the fight of one Black Texas family to make freedom real offers lessons for Texas lawmakers trying to erase history from the classroom https://theconversation.com/juneteenth-jim-crow-and-how-the-fight-of-one-black-texas-family-to-make-freedom-real-offers-lessons-for-texas-lawmakers-trying-to-erase-history-from-the-classroom-207678?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20Canada%20for%20June%2019%202023&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20Canada%20for%20June%2019%202023+CID_f85089772979404dcd767073143fbc9e&utm_source=campaign_monitor_ca&utm_term=Juneteenth%20Jim%20Crow%20and%20how%20the%20fight%20of%20one%20Black%20Texas%20family%20to%20make%20freedom%20real%20offers%20lessons%20for%20Texas%20lawmakers%20trying%20to%20erase%20history%20from%20the%20classroom
Truthout (US) – Kwaneta Harris & Leigh Goodmark
Criminalized Survivors Face Judgement and Abuse From Their Own Defense Attorneys – Criminalized survivors routinely encounter defense lawyers who are dismissive at best and abusive at worst.
The link highlights what may happen between a woman accused of serious crime and her defense lawyer. It also highlights the potential for stereotypical response from the defense with a number of judgments that are not neither true nor helpful. The link offers an insight into the gender bias frequently part of a woman’s desperate efforts to deal with a violent partner. “Criminalized survivors routinely encounter defense lawyers who don’t explain their options, who urge clients to take pleas they don’t understand (pleas that play a significant role in perpetuating mass incarceration), who don’t meet with their clients before trial, who are skeptical of survivors who are not “perfect victims,” who belittle and disbelieve their clients, who are dismissive at best and abusive at worst.” https://truthout.org/articles/criminalized-survivors-face-judgement-and-abuse-from-their-own-defense-attorneys/
Global News – Darrian Matassa-Fung
Surrey residents mixed on decision to retain RCMP
Surry Mayor Brenda Locke has announced that the council has voted in favour of retaining the services of the RCMP as their municipal police force, even though there had been considerable inroads and expenses incurred in establishing a separate and distinct Surrey Municipal police. There appears to be mixed reactions from Surrey residents and an allegation of a lack of transparency in the decision making. https://globalnews.ca/news/9776259/surrey-residents-mixed-decision/
Toronto Star – Wendy Gillis
Man acquitted after Toronto cops mute body cameras during arrest – The act, which one officer testified he thought was “standard practice,” amounted to “deliberate suppression of evidence,” the judge found.
The case involved two charges relating to drunk driving where the accused’s breathalyzer test recorded double the legal limit of alcohol. But police turned off the video recorder sound ‘for the investigation, a 26 second lapse. Ontario Court Judge David Porter tossed the case as suppression of evidence, a ruling that will likely impact other cases where video cameras have been interrupted. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2023/06/16/man-acquitted-after-toronto-cops-mute-body-cameras-during-arrest.html?li_source=LI&li_medium=thestar_recommended_for_you
Blog from John Howard Society (May 2023)
Prisoner experience: A woman on the sex offender registry
This blog is by a woman who is on the sex offender’s registry, unusual in itself. It is likewise interesting because recently the Supreme Court of Canada declared that a permanent and lifetime listing was offensive to rehabilitation, a sort of secondary punishment, and the court is requiring the government to find a solution to the constitutional problem of the registry. This blog looks at the rationale for the registry, the process used on the registry, the consequences for the person. As yet, there are no suggestions from government about a remedy. https://johnhoward.ca/blog/prisoner-experience-a-woman-on-the-sex-offender-registry/ (Quoted in the Community Restorative Justice Network Newsletter – a helpful and bilingual source for RJ developments https://www.collaborativejustice.ca/ )