Prison perspective…

Dec 20, 2022  Toronto Star – Rik McWhinney and Jason Demers Rik McWhinney spent almost 35 years in prison, 16 of them in solitary confinement: this is his story - In ‘The Life Sentences of Rik McWhinney,’ poems, grievance forms, letters, interviews … [Read more...]

Sentences…

Mar 5, 2021  The Guardian (Manchester, UK) – Kate Allen The government is hell-bent on diluting the Human Rights Act. We must protect it Allen, the director of Amnesty International (UK) is of the opinion that human rights stand between … [Read more...]

House of Hate…

Mar 3, 2021 MacLean’s – Justin Ling Houses of hate: How Canada's prison system is broken - Dangerous, racist and falling apart. By nearly every metric, the nation's penal system is not just failing, it's making things worse. “In fact, by nearly … [Read more...]

Dry cell…

Nov 10, 2020 – CBC News - Federal prison investigators press for changes in use of 'dry cells' - Current correctional investigator calls dry cell conditions 'by far the most restrictive imaginable' The controversy over the use of segregation in … [Read more...]

Change…

Oct. 12, 2020 Foundations for Social Change (Vancouver, BC) – The New Leaf Project The Foundation, tied to UBC, has acted on a question on all our minds about homelessness:  how does one best help the homeless find housing and food security.  We … [Read more...]

New vision…

April 11, 2020 The Guardian (UK) – The Long Read - Rebecca Solnit 'The impossible has already happened': what coronavirus can teach us about hope The outcome of disasters is not foreordained. It’s a conflict, one that takes place while things … [Read more...]

Lifers…

May 30, 2019 St. Leonard’s Society of Canada Life(r)’s Work: Developing a Modernized Strategy for Life-Sentenced People in Canada Known for its attention to issues around lifers (one in four inmates in Canada), this group has a strategy for … [Read more...]

Who will answer…

April 12, 2019 Office of the Auditor General (Report 5, Sept 15, 2017) Preparing Women Offenders for Release—Correctional Service Canada This report is somewhat dated – almost two years now, covering 2014-2017– but still very helpful in assessing … [Read more...]

Get it right…

April 23, 2017 (Ed Note: Last edition gave an incorrect title for the report from the Ontario Ombudsman on police oversight: the correct title is “Out of oversight, out of mind.”  You can find the 73 page downloadable pdf at:  … [Read more...]

Lifeline…

Oct. 5, 2016 National Association of Parole Executives (US) -   R.E. “Bob” Brown A Beacon of Hope – Sunny Ways: Life sentenced Offenders R.E. “Bob” Brown is a retired district parole supervisor in BC and offers us a scholarly pass through an area … [Read more...]