Sept 20, 2023 – Affirming the child…
The Canadian Press – Alessia Passafiume
Debate over pronouns pits parental rights against the rights of children, experts say Think of kids’ rights in pronoun rules: experts
Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah, the executive director of the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity, takes issue with the framing of these policies. She thinks the framing of the discussion as a parental and political matter ignores the rights of already marginalized children. “Owusu-Akyeeah said the public debate is causing fear for children who might be affected, and this shows Canadian society still has problems with creating affirming child-parent relationships.” https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/national/debate-over-pronouns-pits-parental-rights-against-the-rights-of-children-experts-say/article_e990371e-548d-5364-bfc7-a3ec03745158.html?utm_source=thecanadianpressnews.ca&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletter%2Foptimize%2Fdaily-newsletter%2F%3F-dc%3D1694961042&utm_medium=email&utm_content=read%20more Related article: The Canadian Press Saskatchewan judge to hear injunction application over school pronoun policy Saskatchewan judge to hear injunction application over school pronoun policy | Politics | thecanadianpressnews.ca
Pew Foundation (US) – Erika Rickard Project Director, Civil Legal System Modernization
Outdated Court Policies Can Leave Children Without a Legal Guardian – States can improve court access and effectiveness for families in need of stronger caregiving arrangements
An astounding one in every twenty children in the US is living in a familial scene in which the caring adult does not have the legal authority to authorize critical medical or legal care. “Nationwide, about 3.7 million U.S. children—1 in 20—live in a household without a parent as their primary caregiver.1 Many are cared for by grandparents or another family member or friend (commonly referred to in the child welfare field as “kin”), and these nonparents routinely provide children with safe, stable environments when their parents are unable or unwilling to do so… But nonparents do not have automatic legal authority to make critical decisions, such as those regarding a child’s school enrollment or medical treatments.” https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2023/09/outdated-court-policies-can-leave-children-without-a-legal-guardian?utm_campaign=2023-09-19+PSPP+-+image&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Pew&subscriberkey=00Q0P00000oErugUAC
Toronto Star – Jacques Gallant
Controversial Harper-era sex work laws are constitutional, court rules, dismissing sex workers’ Charter challenge – A Toronto court has dismissed a constitutional challenge brought by sex workers and advocacy groups who argued that the provisions violate their rights and actually harm and exploit them.
The Harper government decriminalized the selling of sexual services but essentially left every other aspect of the sex trade criminalized. (Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, passed in 2014) Sex workers themselves challenged the law under the notion that the human rights of the workers are violated when the law puts the workers in greater danger. “While sex workers cannot be criminally charged for selling sexual services, practically every other aspect of sex work is criminalized, including the purchasing of sexual services. It’s also a crime for third parties to advertise sex work, as well as facilitate, and benefit from, sexual services.” Shortly after the release of the Court’s decision by Superior Court Justice Robert Goldstein, “the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform, one of the applicants in the case, criticized the 142-page decision on social media for containing “a lot of incorrect information” and for being dismissive of sex workers’ concerns.” https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/controversial-harper-era-sex-work-laws-are-constitutional-court-rules-dismissing-sex-workers-charter-challenge/article_f32ba2a0-3cf4-58fe-ac70-1a7cd63284c5.html?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=email&utm_email=404CAADEF7EB839FC77B1B04F0C251E1&utm_campaign=bn_199310
CBC News – Catherine Tunney
Liberals hope focus on housing, crime halts their plummet in the polls as Parliament returns
Housing and public safety say the Liberals are the two prongs of the political future. By public safety, they appear to mean getting the stagnant bill on bail, C48 started again after its May first reading but born also of many confusing and misleading notions of what bail is and how it presently works. “C-48 would make it harder for some offenders who are charged with violent crimes involving a weapon, and who have similar previous convictions, to obtain bail. It would do so by implementing a “reverse onus” provision… The bill is the federal government’s response to chiefs of police, premiers and Conservative MPs pushing for stricter bail laws.” https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/house-returns-fall-priorities-1.6968508?cmp=newsletter_CBC%20News%20Morning%20Brief_9854_1263323
Press Progress.ca – Rumneek Johal
Facebook is Blocking Canadians’ Posts About the Assassination of a BC Sikh Leader. Their Posts Were Targeted by India’s Government. Canadian Sikh Facebook users receive notifications that their posts are being taken down because they’re in violation of Indian law
Canadians were distressed this week to hear the Canadian Prime Minister say in the House that the Canadian Intelligence Services are investigating ““credible allegations” that “agents of the Government of India” had assassinated Nijjar in Surrey, BC this summer.” Now Sikh posts about the murder and the allegations are getting blocked on Facebook with notices to users that “this is because BC Sikhs goes against our Community Standards on dangerous individuals and organizations.” https://pressprogress.ca/facebook-is-blocking-canadians-posts-about-the-assassination-of-a-bc-sikh-leader-their-posts-were-targeted-by-indias-government/
Toronto Star – Wendy Gillis
Can women fix police? Why more North American police departments are trying to end the boys’ club – Led by a Black woman chief, Waco, Texas, is among a growing number of North American departments who’ve pledged to hire dramatically more female cops, in part to reduce the use of force. Will it work?
Do women make a difference in the level of violence exercised by police? In the Waco, Texas Police Department males outnumber females five-to-one. The overall US rate is twelve to one in the US (in Canada 23% of police are female) and a growing number of departments are committing to 30% female by 2030 or in short the 30×30 initiative. The question left is will such a goal once achieved be effective in reducing violence and racism or just another failed window dressing. https://www.thestar.com/news/can-women-fix-police-why-more-north-american-police-departments-are-trying-to-end-the/article_7778dcd2-f46b-5667-b72b-b1c25501a999.html
Blogger Russell Webster (UK)
The Greater Manchester Problem Solving Court – A whole system approach
This is a guest post by Fiona Deacon, Strategic lead for women for Greater Manchester, delivering a whole system approach for women on Probation.This process does not seem overly complicated or difficult but may be noteworthy and powerful nonetheless. The Problem Solving Court is “a process in which the woman, the courts, probation services and women’s centres work together to support the woman to adhere to her court order and to achieve positive outcomes for herself.” The perspective and expected outcomes may seem obviously desirable but may elude where the experience is segmented and parceled out to multiple agencies acting independently. https://www.russellwebster.com/the-greater-manchester-problem-solving-court/
CBS News (Chicago) – Todd Feurer, Megan Hickey
llinois Supreme Court upholds end to cash bail; new system begins Sept. 18
Illinois had already passed a law ending the practice of cash bail for accused persons but a 5-2 ruling by the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the law ending bail is constitutional. “The Illinois Constitution of 1970 does not mandate that monetary bail is the only means to ensure criminal defendants appear for trials or the only means to protect the public. Our constitution creates a balance between the individual rights of defendants and the individual rights of crime victims. The Act’s pretrial release provisions set forth procedures commensurate with that balance,” Justice Mary Jane Theis wrote in the ruling.” https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/illinois-supreme-court-ruling-cash-bail-safe-t-act/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab4i Related article: CBS News (Chicago) – Asal Rezaei and Chris Tye Illinois becomes first state to end cash bail https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/illinois-ends-cash-bail/?intcid=CNR-01-0623 (How the no bail works)
Tweet from Scott Hechinger on Copaganda: “Extraordinary work again from Teen Vogue – the best justice journalism outlet in the country. On the day that cash bail is finally eliminated in Illinois, they release a critical explainer on “Copaganda.” How to identify & respond to lies & fearmongering about safety.” https://x.com/ScottHech/status/1703882705732272311?s=20
Prison Journalism Project (US) – Justin Slavinski
Meet the Company Getting Rich Off My Prison’s Awful Food – Aramark, which made $13 billion in revenue in 2022, offers nine kinds of meat patties. They all taste the same.
Slavinski is an incarcerated person who writes a column called Chow-line from a Florida Prison. He draws a picture of how the food contractor for the prison system and other institution facilities make their $33 million in profit in 2022. In prison Aramark has another profitability angle: they don’t pay anything for the servers and cleaners who are free labour from the incarcerated. The other route to profit is that no one sets any dietary rules or supervises the quality of the food. https://prisonjournalismproject.org/2023/09/10/getting-rich-providing-awful-prison-food/?utm_source=Prison+Journalism+Project+Inside+Story+Subscribers&utm_campaign=ffcefec23c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_09_15_02_38&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-ffcefec23c-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&mc_cid=ffcefec23c&mc_eid=51ba856069